CU in utility room?

[ivixor]

Hi all,

Just bought our first house, a 1950s ex-council.

The CU, meter, etc. are in a sort of cupboard in the utility room (utility is seperated from kitchen with a door).

Access to the CU is very poor, being deep inside a cupboard which has been modified to be approx 80cm deep and something like 40 wide. Effectively this cupboard has been changed from shallow + wide to narrow + deep.

At some point we will be redoing the kitchen, and I am guessing that it would be necessary to upgrade the CU/meter tails at the same time, to allow connection of electric oven.

I suppose my questions are: Is the siting of the CU likely to be an issue? Can we install a sink in the utility room at a later date? Having a sink in the same room as the CU seems somewhat wrong to me.

Cheers

[/quote]

 

[Steve]

Not a problem having a sink in the same room. A bath/shower might cause issue though.

Show us a picture of the situation and we'll tell you.



Electric oven uses less than a kettle. Usually just plug in.

Electric hob uses about the same as an electric shower. Gas hob is better to cook on and more efficient.

 

[Lectrician]

Gas hob is better to cook on and more efficient.

Thats just an opinion.....

I doubt installing an oven or a hob is going to necessitate upgrading the supply tails TBH.......lets have some photos of what you currently have

 

[ColJack]

my CU is in my kitchen, mounted above the boiler and about 3m from the sink ( diagonally up.. )

as long as you can't have a hand in the sink and reach to reset a breaker I can't see a problem..
obviously you have to be aware of splashes and such so in the cupboard under the sink or drainer is a no-no..

 

[PrinceofDarkness]

It's not a question 'of a hand in the sink' as far as the Regs go. It's a matter of bare-foot contact with a fixed shower basin or a bath tub.

Therefore, there's no rule to preclude the installation of a CU in a Utility Room, Kitchen. Cloakroom, WC or similar.

There's certainly a problem with enclosing the CU with a deep cabinet in any location, though - particularly if it also houses the suppliers equipment. But that's a matter of reasonable access to the equipment - and not 'water-related'.



Lucia.

 

[RF Lighting]

There's certainly a problem with enclosing the CU with a deep cabinet in any location, though - particularly if it also houses the suppliers equipment. But that's a matter of reasonable access to the equipment - and not 'water-related'.

 

[Steve]

 

[PrinceofDarkness]

Quite so, RFL. A fine example of the 'access' that I was on about.


Lucia.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Electric oven uses less than a kettle. Usually just plug in.

Increasingly, particularly with the sort often chosen by people redoing their kitchens, they use more than that. Companies whose principal market is mainland Europe design with the expectation of 16A circuits to plug into...

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Gas hob is better to cook on and more efficient.

Thats just an opinion.....

One which is shared by just about every professional chef in the world.....

 

[ColJack]

don't know about efficient, but it's certainly faster on gas... or at least I found it to be when I moved..

 

[Chri5]

I've just done soft sunny side over eggs, smoked crispy bacon, tesco's black pud, bubble (made from yesterdays veg left overs) and beans.

All tasting much better for cooking on gas.

That must be absolute proof that gas is better.

No doubt I'll be producing my own in a few hours time- just as well it's redec outside time at the moment

 

[GaryMo]

I agree, a gas hob is the best option for cooking but my preference is an electric induction hob which is far superior to a standard halogen or cermaic hob and far closer to a gas hob.
Temperature can be raised or lowered in an instant, just like gas. They also look far better and are much easier to clean.