Self Build Advice Please - consumer units, sockets & switches...

[janner43]

Hi all,

We are doing a self build 2 bed bungalow in Devon which is going to be very highly insulated with u-values of..
Floor 0.15
Walls 0.14
Ceiling 0.11

With an air tightness factor of 0.8
MVHR with 89% efficiency

* Our other design spec includes no central heating system (not required with the previous specs), we'll just add a panel heater to act as a top up for the stored heat within the home when required. The MVHR should do the rest.

* An "experiment" with no central hot water - just local instantaneous water heaters (3 @ 12kw) where required. Half the plumbing, no dead leg of water, no waste hot water stored. We are not having a bath, so an instantaneous electric shower (9.5kw)

* We are having a 3.7kw solar array. The whole concept is based on the PassivHaus model with a couple of tweaks.

I don't really want to debate the design concepts - feel free to comment if you like, though .
The whole idea has been predicated on thinking differently about the designs when it comes to the heating and water heating together with an avoidance of the connection costs, plumbing, boiler purchase, boiler servicing costs associated with a gas connection (which is available).

We have a great, fully qualified sparky on the project who grew up with our son & is a good guy. I know he'll give us good advice, but I would appreciate several points of view on this please. He is kindly not supplying materials & is letting me source those to save some money. He is also arranging for a pal with the MCS ticket to commission the solar array at mates rates.

That's the background, now to the questions...

1) Consumer Unit...
I wondered if it would be a good idea to have two consumer units...
One for the heavy items - three 12kw water heaters and one 9.5kw shower
One for everything else

Or just get one large unit?

Would there be an issue with the solar array connectivity if we had two consumer units?

I like the idea of splitting as many of the circuits as possible, so what sort of config would you design if this was your build?

2) What brands are the best value for money - I'm familiar (Dad was an electrician for decades, started his trade in the 1950s) with MK, Wylex - but are they as good now as they were or are other names just as good?

3) Any recommendation on which make of sockets & switches to get?

4) Any recommendations as to the cheapest place to buy the gear from please? I already have a Trade Account at Travis Perkins (and Trade Point - don't laugh, it might be handy... )

I hope I have given you enough information & thanks in advance for taking the time to read this and for any answers / opinions / recommends you might be willing to give.

Cheers all.

 

[jackhammerJIM]

We have a great, fully qualified sparky on the project who grew up with our son & is a good guy. I know he'll give us good advice, but I would appreciate several points of view on this please. He is kindly not supplying materials & is letting me source those to save some money.


I like the idea of splitting as many of the circuits as possible, so what sort of config would you design if this was your build?

This does not make sense to me . Get him to design the circuits and mains layout . Get him to supply the materials as he will get them cheaper than you will .

 

[janner43]

He will design the circuits. But as I said, I'm interested in viewpoints from other experienced electricians.

He'll buy materials if I ask him too - but he doesn't have the time to search out bargain deals & wholesalers aren't always the best at deals... Not supplying materials was his suggestion, not mine.

 

[Andy78]

For decent quality materials a wholesaler will always have the best deals for account holding electricians.
The public will always be able to get get the same shopping list cheaper, but its going to be the poor quality junk that makes up a large portion of the market.

The electrician running the job will be able to debate circuit design, circuit division, and distribution board arrangements with you, and will be best placed to having first hand experience of the project.

 

[andyb]

I don't really want to debate the design concepts.

Not sure about 3 x 12Kw water heaters and a 9.5Kw instantaneous shower.
Talk to your electrician.

 

[Jimbosmith]

First off im not qualified yet so wait for someone with more experience than me. But il give it a shot

3x 12kw heaters and the shower is a hell of a load before you even get into the rest of the circuits for the house.

I would personally go down the route of a Contactum Metal clad with RCBO for the lighting, sockets and the rest of the stuff.

For the Heaters i wouldnt even know where to start, comes to like 52A per heater and as to my knowledge you cant diversify the load. I just hope they dont all get turned on at once.

Your sparks should just design everything and then give you a list of things to order.

 

[jackhammerJIM]

He will design the circuits. But as I said, I'm interested in viewpoints from other experienced electricians.

he doesn't have the time to search out bargain deals & wholesalers aren't always the best at deals...

If he is as good as you say he is then he already knows the best products at best prices and where to get them .

 

[janner43]

Not sure about 3 x 12Kw water heaters and a 9.5Kw instantaneous shower.
Talk to your electrician.

I did wonder myself & checked with him before we bought them, but he felt that diversity meant it would be OK. There are only two of us living there & at worst we'd only have 2 running at the same time.

 

[andyb]

I did wonder myself & checked with him before we bought them, but he felt that diversity meant it would be OK. There are only two of us living there & at worst we'd only have 2 running at the same time.

That's fine then.

 

[davesparks]

You want value for money in your consumer unit I personally would go for a Schneider DB fitted with rcbos as I think that would be the best quality option at what are pretty reasonable prices these days.
But of course if what you actually want is the cheapest option then go and get something off the shelf in screwfix.

As far as splitting loads across 2x CUs I would split the loads equally across the two boards, so that you don't put heavy load on one and light load on the other. That way the 'value for money' components in the CUs will be less likely to fail too soon.

 

[Electric Magic]

2) What brands are the best value for money - I'm familiar (Dad was an electrician for decades, started his trade in the 1950s) with MK, Wylex - but are they as good now as they were or are other names just as good?

3) Any recommendation on which make of sockets & switches to get?

Regarding question 2, I've found the quality of terminal screws on the earth and neutral bars in more recent Wylex boards to be poor (though I haven't fitted one of the new metal ones). Crabtree Starbreaker are made by the same company as Wylex but are much better quality and the MCBs and RCBOs plug in (quicker installation and arguably a safer product) though they cost a bit more. The MK boards are pretty cheap but a reasonable quality and better in my view than other similarly priced boards I've seen from BG and others. I've only seen plastic Schneider boards and not the new metal ones but as a respected forum member like Davesparks rates them I'll probably give one a go myself at some point.

Regarding question 3, if you are going for standard white pvc fittings, my personal favourite is the Hager Sollysta range. Like Stella Artois it is reassuringly expensive (but not that expensive, a bit of shopping around on the internet - don't just use Google people pay to get to the top of that use other engines too - and you can find double sockets for £2.32 and single switches for £0.56). The terminals use good screws and are arranged sensibly for installation and testing; they look good; and the light switches have a neutral terminal for those wanting to wire from the switch (which means even though the switch might cost a few pence more you'll save a bit on not using a connector of some kind). I also use Click Mode stuff, which is a bit cheaper than Hager (and a little lower quality but still pretty good), because it can be used alongside Click Minigrid stuff (a modular system that is pretty flexible).

 

[janner43]

My sparks agrees with you & Dave - he likes Schneider & Hager. So have decided on Schneider CU and Hager Sollysta plugs, switches etc.

 

[joehat]

I did wonder myself & checked with him before we bought them, but he felt that diversity meant it would be OK. There are only two of us living there & at worst we'd only have 2 running at the same time.

Maybe for you but maybe not so good with guests of future owner!!

 

[joehat]

I would go for an electric combi boiler, long run its overall better.
Think about replacement of water heaters Ect, it will mount up, that was you could also have better pressure of water.

 

[Midwest]

Op, please excuse me, but I have suspicious nature. I'm just wondering if your electrician really exist? If you have a 'fully qualified sparky' on the project, then most of the questions you're asking, could easily be answered by him. Some of the ways you have replied, are like the royal 'We'. I'm aware of self build projects, where the owners take on most if not all of the different trades. There are self build forums dedicated for that purpose. I question the viability of having 3 x 12kw instantaneous water heaters and a 9.5kw shower, albeit there's only two of you, it may overload your supply. If are considering some of ths work yourself, it may be you should consider asking joining the DIY part of this forum, where you questions will still receive a good response.