Customers FAQ'S
Please read this page before emailing us your questions, the answer may be here.
Electrical
A: RCD stands for residual current device. It is a breaker, found in fuse boards from about the 1980's onwards. They are designed to trip quickly, interupting the supply to the circuit they are protecting, when an 'imbalance' is detected between the neutral and live, or when there is a current in the earth wire of the protected circuit, above a preset limit (usually 30mA).
A: If you are unable to reset the RCD in your consumer unit, it is most likely that there is a faulty appliance plugged into a socket somwhere. Most likely culprits are things that contain water such as kettle's, iron's, washing machines, fridge freezes etc.Try unplugging all appliances from all sockets then resetting the rcd. If the RCD does not reset contact a qualified electrician.
A: .Yes, you should try and test the RCD about once a month to ensure that it trips out. When pressing the test button it is advisable to test and reset the RCD a couple of times to ensure it is correctly operating. Power to any circuit protected by the RCD should isolate when the RCD trips out.
A: To meet current regulations fuseboards should provide RCD protection to certain circuits. This is dependant on usage of the circuit, how the circuit has been wired and potential hazards surrounding/near the circuit. For example downstairs final ring circuits,external circuits and bathroom circuits should have RCD protection.
A: Wiring does age and deteriorate, but this does not mean that it is unsafe. We would advise that you have a test and inspection of the electrical circuits to confirm that they are safe. This is less costly and less disruptive then simply having old replaced by new.
A: This is the European harmonised colours that were issued 31 march 2004. All PVC electrical cable after that date must be coloured brown for live, blue for neutral and the copper earth which is sleeved up, during termination by the electrician, with green and yellow sheathing.
A: This could be due to a few things such as loose connections in the fitting or at the dimmer switch, bulbs not screwed/puhsed in tightly enough, so poor connection. Over rating or under rating of the dimmer switch. Or even the make of the dimmer switch, we have known cheap models to do this. I would advise checking if the bulbs are loose first if the problem persists, work out the wattage of all the bulbs on the light fitting then check the rating of the dimmer. If you want to check the wiring connections on the light fitting and at the dimmer switch make sure you isolate the supply first. If you are still unsure contact us and we will send one of our electricians.
A: Generally they tend to be the mains halogen type of fitting with no fire protection. We prefer to fit the low voltage fire rated downlighters. Although the are initally more costly than the ones you have mentioned they are definately the more cost effective and safer alternative in the long run. Mains halogen bulbs blow quick thus you have to replace them frequently. Most recessed fittings in dwellings now have to be fire rated to meet building regs as the heat build up from these types of fittings can cause a fire.