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A way to check without spending any money on secondary meters etc would be to switch every single breaker off on your consumer unit for 24 hours which should be ok if the house isn't always in use. Obviously, it should be the same reading at the start and end of this period. Next test...

Thanks folks, Thats great! I knew they existed, i couldn't see them in the MK book, but ive found them now ive got the part numbers. The clipseal was new to me so is handy to know. Thanks again, Stuart

Hi, Im helping out a family member with a farm with some old-old... old wiring. Most the switches are just old Bakelite types which are not in the slightest waterproof, then there are modern household switches too - again in areas with a splash/water ingress potential. There are plenty...

Its just an expansion tank as the cylinder acts as a thermal store with an inbuilt coil which is the heat exchanger which heats the mains pressure water going through it. Current cylinder is 120L and i can fit a 210L cylinder in its place with the top of the cylinder just below the expansion...

Hi, Im looking to fit a larger hot water cylinder in my flat which is all electric/economy 7. Can i replace the hot water cylinder such that the take off at the top of the cylinder is just level with the expansion tank bottom rather than 2-3ft below it as it currently is now? There are no...

I worked in Comet for a 2 years at the store in Aberdeen when i was an Engineering student. The general advise from the manufacturers on their shop display recomendations was to leave them on all the time - especially the projection units and plasmas to avoid thermal cycling. CRT's were ok...

The owner thought that he had done well to ensure the power was within the range of the power quoted on the adapter. Its probably understandable that the guys didn't understand the current ratings. Does make you think about the electricity bill as they have the window TV's on 24x7!! Thats...

You need to watch some consumer electronics quotes a very high current figure, such as 2A making you think 360-380W of consumption when in fact it will only consume 200W. This isnt a problem, but if you plug in 3kW of name plate rating appliances in, its possible you may be taking more than...

For a very long time there has been talk of warm superconductors which would allow you to send 100,000A's down a cable which if it were standard materials would be only good for perhaps 100A. I think its going to be a very long time before that happens as its yet to become practical outside...

Was on the scotish power HV saftey and switching training course last week at Cumbernauld and the 11kV stuff was all quite tamper resistant. All switches and things were padlocked which intelocked with covers etc. Would be easy enough for somebody to cut into thing tho. All the 11kV stuff...

You need to bear in mind that you need to keep the phases balanced. If its, say a 30kVA Generator then this is 10kVA per phase. Ive seen transformers and generators go pop due to heavily unbalanced phased. What is the total load of your PA and lighting? Its probable that the generator...

Too much hard work, anyway, i always get the spring stuck in the thing im bending!!

your preaching to the converted, i used to work for www.regentech.co.uk and also designed two hydrogen powered house, one was "black" hydrogen derrived from natural gas, the 2nd was "green" hydrogen from renewables. The customers website is http://www.berwickshirelimited.co.uk/hydrogen.html...

They will save you a good bit but with less light. Have a look at: http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/MLFL226.html Roughly the same as a 200W halogen but cost only 27% in electricity http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/TL3500H.html These are not as bright, about the same as a 150W...

just put a shallow angle 90degree bend at the end of the 20mm conduit http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/MT20BNDslashS.html and up the wall into the back of the socket, or nearby it. Could be worth putting in an empty conduit allong side (with draw string through tho!) as in the future...

Are they mains or low voltage lights? If its low voltage, they may have separate transformers or voltage converters which may have failed, although often they will just have one. Sometimes these fittings can overheat and the base/socket the lamp plugs into gets damaged so you have no/lose...

:D No point in making H2 from the PV electricity to then burn. Just heat from the electricity directly. Unless you are storing the H2 to allow for seasonal variations. If not storing at all, then dont even use PV, have it all thermal and increase the efficiency of solar gathering! On...

Double check the fuse rating in the plug, i know somebody who put two lamps into one plug then went out and and sought and bought a 10A fuse. The reasoning was that the plugs came with a 5A fuse, he now had two lamps so that means 10A. He even went and ordered 10A fuses from a local...

You could buy a contactor on its AC3 "Motor" rating then you would be sure it shouldn't burn out due to the lighting. So if you have 2kW of lighting, get a contactor for at least a 2kW Motor. If they don't have an AC3 or motor rating, over spec by 2-3 times The costs of a big contactor...

Where do you live? Like many others in the Scotish Hydro region who are all electric, i have this sevice called THTC (Total Heat, Total Control). I have two separate meters (modern systems use one with two screens) and a teleswitch. One meter and one CU is for all the domestic loads...