good practice or should it be compulsory

[MG201]

the fitting of a small emergency light above or near consumer units especially where it is located in areas such as small dark cupboards or under a stair case ? this is both for ind and dom cases, im not talking about a massive fitting just enough to illuminate area if needed. any thoughts on this matter greatly appreciated , was thinking of asking for this to be done this as standard in all installations, ps before any cheeky comments im not a spark im a site manager so obviously i will never have the skills and knowledge of a professional spark , although at times i wonder from some of the so called sparks that appear on sites

 

[Midwest]

Perhaps its an idea - but part of the CU for domestic - that should be consider for the 18th 1st Amendment. Lets face it, they've considered AFDD's and earth rods up the ying yang.

Incidentally davesparks unlike you to refer to a regulation, without a reg no'

 

[MG201]

If the installation was designed before that particular regulation came in to effect then he is correct, he should be installing in accordance with the regulations it was designed to. If you wish to make a change to that design then it would likely be a chargeable extra/variation

Yes he is right but as he never got the work till Jan this year he is at it

 

[MG201]

If the installation was designed before that particular regulation came in to effect then he is correct, he should be installing in accordance with the regulations it was designed to. If you wish to make a change to that design then it would likely be a chargeable extra/variation

Yes he is right but as he never got the work till Jan this year he is at it

 

[davesparks]

Yes he is right but as he never got the work till Jan this year he is at it

What do you mean by ‘never got the work till jan’?
Do you mean he was asked to start the design in January or that he was given the work in January having completed the design at some time prior to that?

 

[MG201]

What do you mean by ‘never got the work till jan’?
Do you mean he was asked to start the design in January or that he was given the work in January having completed the design at some time prior to that?

He was not involved with previous phase. It was another subbies that done that. Since they went under he has been taken on to provide the electrical package for this phase. ( long story from what I can gather its his brothers company that went bust and basicly handed him the works.. a lot of secret hand shakes going on )

 

[Daniel Oake]

Although he may have come late into the build, he might be able to still install these plastic consumer units due to the design being submitted pre 2015, I think...

 

[westward10]

Just in case you do not have a copy, I think this may be considered fair use!View attachment 43374

You splashed out then

 

[The Ghost]

splashed

Yeh had to really or the course would have been a waste of money you are lost without those BS books there is no way you can figure your way around without them so got the two BS5839/1 and 6 and the BS5266/1838/50172 for the emergency lighting. Ouch!

 

[Deleted member 26818]

I have been arguing with a subbie on a site . He says its ok to fit a plastic board as the housing scheme was all designed in 2015 even though phase 2 has all metal boards. He has bought or acquired 110 of these cu and thinks he can use them on site. Lol now I'm just waiting to see what corners he will try cut to recoup the £ he has lost on these boards. Why and how he gets any of the work I dont know he has a secret handshake is my guess. Any way i suggested the light to him as located in cupboard under stair ( cu issue even worse ) and thought it would be a present safety feature we could use ( pride on our product and all that )

He’s quite correct.

 

[MG201]

He’s quite correct.

He might be right but is it not a bad practice especialy from what's memt to be a reputable company to allow him to do it. After all if a house owner gets it tested next year they will flag up a C2 for it ?? Or is that wrong thinking

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

I have been arguing with a subbie on a site . He says its ok to fit a plastic board as the housing scheme was all designed in 2015 even though phase 2 has all metal boards. He has bought or acquired 110 of these cu and thinks he can use them on site. Lol now I'm just waiting to see what corners he will try cut to recoup the £ he has lost on these boards. Why and how he gets any of the work I dont know he has a secret handshake is my guess. Any way i suggested the light to him as located in cupboard under stair ( cu issue even worse ) and thought it would be a present safety feature we could use ( pride on our product and all that )

likely take all the protective devices and din rail out and put on empty metal boxes.

 

[The Ghost]

will flag up a C2 for it

If I recall correctly C3 where under a stairs in ESF best practice guide.

 

[westward10]

That is merely a Guide.

 

[Baker1988]

Yeah C3 if under the stairs but if they are new builds i would say it is highly unlikely that the boards will be under the stairs, if its a bit prodject with many houses then they will probily be in the kitchen or in a cupboard in hall way. So next year when tested they wont be coded at all. So if he wants to put plastic in then i dont see he is doing any thing wrong with it been designed before amenent 3 came into place.

 

[johnduffell]

Generally homeowners would know their way around their house better and there wouldn't be many people involved, also budgets are tighter.
With workplaces the could be all manner of different employees dealing with consumer units with varying levels of experience and the employer has a duty to make sure it's a safe environment.
Although having said that there's a statistic about most accidents happening in the home!