Heating, Plumbing & Electrics
255 sources in the library on heating, plumbing & electrics. Each one says what the document covers and what it is good for. Name a source to see which document it is and where to read it. One at a time. Page 4 of 7.
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Cadent Gas
The exact trench a homeowner or builder must dig if they take the self-excavation option on a gas alteration, which is how the cost is reduced. Customers may only excavate on their own private land, Cadent excavates public highways, roads and footpaths, and self-excavation is not available to owners of flats, maisonettes or other shared residency buildings. The trench runs from the property wall at the new meter position and terminates 1m from the existing live gas service pipe inside the boundary. Dimensions: depth 425mm (17 inches), width between 200 and 300mm, bottom level and free of sharp or stony material, and in stony ground dig a further 75mm (3 inches) and backfill with fine material such as sand or stone dust to bed the pipe. Separation: gas pipes must be laid a minimum of 300mm (12 inches) from electricity cables and 250mm (10 inches) from other services. Changes of direction must be at 90 degrees with enough room for the bend: minimum bend radius 0.3m for 20mm pipe, 0.4m for 25mm, 0.5m for 32mm and 1.0m for 63mm. Gas marker tape must be laid a minimum of 75mm above the duct during backfill. Safe digging must follow HSE HSG47, Avoiding danger from underground services, and Cadent surveys the site first so no excavation should start before that.
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Cadent Gas
The homeowner emergency procedure and who pays. If you smell gas, call the free National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999, available 24 hours; turn the gas off at the meter unless the meter is in a cellar or basement. If a pipeline is struck during digging, even with no apparent leak, move away and keep others away, then call 0800 111 999. Cadent operates a 'make safe' service: attendance to make you and the property safe and to check for leaks is not charged, but any follow-on work by a Gas Safe registered engineer may be. When tracing a reported leak Cadent may enter neighbouring homes or dig the road, may cut off the supply if it is unsafe to leave on, and may not complete the repair in a single day. The National Gas Emergency Service does not deal with boiler or appliance faults, including a frozen condensate pipe that will not thaw, which is a matter for the boiler cover provider or a Gas Safe registered engineer.
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Cadent Gas
A service alteration is the route for relocating a gas meter, increasing the gas supply, or moving pipework to suit a renovation. The published sequence and its clock: apply online or by phone for a quote; the customer then has up to 90 days to return signed acceptance and pay; on receipt of acceptance Cadent contacts the customer to agree a start date; on average it takes 6 to 8 weeks from payment to carry out the works, with a call the week before to confirm readiness. The quote needs the distance of external pipework from the current to the new meter position, and the distance of internal pipework to reconnect the boiler if Cadent is to do that. Connections 0800 074 5788.
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Cadent Gas
States plainly that moving a gas meter yourself is illegal and dangerous, and that the meter and its service pipe are moved together by the gas transporter. For building work such as remodelling or an extension, moving an internal meter and pipe outside is presented as the easier route. Cadent aims to complete work at the property within 6 to 8 weeks of the customer accepting the quote, longer if there are local authority street works restrictions or where the meter is moving from an awkward indoor position. To get a quote the customer must supply the full property address, name and telephone number, the distance of external pipework needed to move the meter from its current to its new position, and the distance of internal pipework needed to reconnect the boiler to the new meter position if Cadent is to reconnect it. Connections Team 0800 074 5788, Monday to Friday.
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Cadent Gas
The household new-connection route. Same commercial clock as an alteration: quote, then up to 90 days to return the signed acceptance with payment, then on average 6 to 8 weeks from payment to carry out the works, with a confirmation call the week before. The key figure needed before applying for a quote is the distance in metres from the intended gas meter position to the property boundary, because the transporter prices the service pipe run from the main in the street to the boundary and then to the meter. Connections line 0800 074 5788.
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Citizens Advice
Sets the boundary between a warranty and statutory rights. Warranties and guarantees are additional to legal rights and are most useful after the first 6 months, when the burden of proving the fault was present at delivery switches to the buyer. Statutory rights on faulty goods run for up to 6 years in England and Wales and 5 years in Scotland. An extended warranty on electrical goods lasting 12 months or more can be cancelled with a full refund within the first 45 days, and after that only a partial refund proportionate to time elapsed, and not at all once a claim has been made.
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Citizens Advice
Consumer facing cost and suitability check for heat pumps. Gives 2024 average installed costs of around £13,000 for an air source heat pump and around £31,000 for a ground source heat pump, and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grants of £7,500 towards an air to water heat pump, rising to £9,000 where the home is off the gas grid and heated by oil or LPG, and £2,500 towards an air to air heat pump. Advises obtaining at least 3 quotes, and covers the practical prerequisites: insulation and draughtproofing first, radiator sizing, hot water cylinder space and outdoor unit siting.
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Citizens Advice
Fault finding and rights for a domestic gas boiler. The checks before calling anyone: hot water set to at least 50 degrees C at the boiler, boiler flow temperature at least 65 degrees C, cylinder thermostat at least 60 degrees C, and the hot water programme timed to come on 1 to 2 hours before it is needed. On rights, a boiler bought within the last 6 years supports a claim against the seller or installer, and a fault within the first 6 months is presumed to have been there at installation so is far easier to prove. Repairs and replacement must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
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Citizens Advice
What it costs and takes to move a meter during building work. Moving the meter a short distance on the same wall is arranged with the energy supplier; moving it further, or moving the supply itself, has to go through the local electricity or gas network operator, which usually charges at least £400 and can charge over £1,000 depending on the work. Appointments are normally within working hours, meaning roughly 9am to 5pm, in a time slot of 2 to 4 hours. If the supplier misses the appointment or fails to give proper notice, it must pay £40 compensation within 10 working days, and a further £40 if that payment is late.
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CO-Gas Safety
Carbon monoxide risk figures from the charity. UK residents spend around 90% of their time indoors, and the most important avoidable indoor contaminants are the products of combustion. Less than 2% CO in air can kill or maim in between one and three minutes. Extrapolating from university research in 2006 and 2011, more than 3 million people are exposed to levels above 50 parts per million of CO in their UK homes, against a WHO 24 hour guideline of 6 ppm, and known deaths and injuries cost the UK taxpayer £178 million a year. States that a CO alarm must meet EN50291 and that such an alarm should not cost more than £20. Also sets out what to do after suspected exposure, including allowing the Gas Emergency Service to isolate appliances.
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Electrical Safety First
Explains the two protections and why they gate any new electrical work. Earthing gives fault current a path through the protective conductor so a fuse, circuit breaker or RCD disconnects the faulty circuit. Bonding connects separate exposed metal parts so the touch voltage between them collapses in a fault, and is used in two forms, main bonding and supplementary bonding. States that on any electrical work, however small, the electrician must first check the existing earthing and bonding meet the required standard, because the safety of the new work depends on them. On rewiring, redundant cable should be removed, or if that is impossible permanently disconnected from any supply. Also states smoke or heat alarms should be at least one per floor, tested at least monthly and replaced every ten years or at the replace by date, and that an EICR is the way to certify work left uncertified by an unregistered electrician.
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Electrical Safety First
Evidence on DIY electrical risk and the boundary of what a householder may do. In a survey of 1,000 electricians, more than 30% had reports of electric shocks caused by incompetent DIY and 15% reported DIY causing an electrical fire. States that higher risk work such as anything in a bathroom or the installation of a new circuit must be carried out, or reviewed and signed off, by a registered competent electrician, and that a lot of domestic electrical work is notifiable so the local authority must be told and the work certified. Recommends periodic inspection at least every 10 years in an owner occupied home and every 5 years in rented accommodation, and a minimum of one smoke alarm per floor with a heat detector in the kitchen, tested weekly.
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Electrical Safety First
What to check on the electrics of a property before buying or renovating. States plainly that electrical checks are not included in a standard home survey, so an existing Electrical Installation Condition Report should be sought and, failing that, one commissioned from a registered electrician. Viewing checks: plug sockets and light fittings for wear, the consumer unit for RCDs, and working smoke alarms. To test for an RCD look for the Test or T button, and pressing it should cut power to the circuits it protects; where there is no working RCD, use plug in RCDs on all sockets. An older consumer unit without RCDs or circuit breakers is not automatically unsafe, and only an EICR will say, but look for physical or thermal damage and discoloration. Electrics more than 50 years old should be checked and updated. Landlords in England and Scotland must have an EICR every five years; owner occupiers are recommended to have one every ten. Alarms: minimum one smoke alarm per floor with a heat detector in the kitchen, tested weekly.
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Electrical Safety First
Electrical design rules for a kitchen fit out. Socket outlets and switches must be fitted a safe distance from the sink, which where possible means at least 30cm horizontally. Large appliances such as fridges, dishwashers and washing machines installed under worktops leave their sockets unreachable, so each should be controlled by a switch placed above the worktop. Notes that many accidental house fires start in the kitchen, usually from incorrect use or damaged cooking appliances, and that the combination of water, hot surfaces, trailing cables and high power appliances is what makes the room hazardous. Maintenance rules include keeping the oven and grill free of built up fat and grease, a major fire cause, and defrosting the fridge and freezer at least once a year.
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Electrical Safety First
What to do about electrics after a property floods. Do not touch any switch, socket or appliance while standing in water, and do not turn the supply back on until the installation and every affected appliance has been professionally inspected and tested by a registered electrician. All electrical equipment that has been in contact with flood water must be checked and tested before reuse rather than dried and reused. Fire and rescue services can assist with evacuation and with limiting property damage. Contact the distribution network operator rather than attempting to isolate a flooded cut out or meter yourself.
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Electrical Safety First
Safety and maintenance of a fixed extractor fan. The wiring regulations require a readily accessible and easily operated means of isolation for maintenance of a fixed fan, and divide a bathroom into three zones by proximity to water, with different fan types permitted in each zone. On maintenance: dust and grime clog the air intake, which slows or stops the blades, trips the thermal cut out, raises power consumption and noise, and leaves moisture in the room, increasing damp and promoting mould that can spread to adjacent rooms. Warning signs to switch off and call an electrician are a burning smell, unusual noise, buzzing or crackling arcing, or a tripping circuit breaker.
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Electrical Safety First
Ten point electrical fire prevention checklist for the home. Starts with confirming the consumer unit contains an RCD, and recommends plug in RCD adapters at individual sockets where the fusebox has none. Gives the periodic inspection intervals: every 5 years or at each change of occupancy, whichever is sooner, for tenanted property; at least every 10 years for an owner occupied home; at least every 5 years for a business; 3 years for a caravan; and 1 year for a swimming pool. Notes that the average success rate of an electrical product recall in the UK is just 10 to 20%, which is why product registration matters.
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Electrical Safety First
Electrical Safety First's consumer page on consumer units. It states that modern consumer units have a main switch plus fuses and/or circuit breakers, and makes the point a note on upgrading should carry: an older unit that lacks RCDs or circuit breakers does not necessarily mean the installation is unsafe or requires upgrading, and it is an Electrical Installation Condition Report that determines whether the installation is still safe. Useful as an authoritative brake on the claim that every rewireable fuse board must be replaced on sight.
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Electrical Safety First
Sets out socket and extension lead overload. Overload occurs when appliances plugged into one lead together exceed the maximum current rating printed on it, and a socket overload calculator is provided to check the total load. Gives the recommended periodic inspection intervals for the fixed installation: every 5 years or at each change of occupancy, whichever comes sooner, for tenanted property; at least every 10 years for an owner occupied home; at least every 5 years for a business; 3 years for a caravan; and 1 year for a swimming pool.
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Electrical Safety First
Fuse ratings and plug checks. The UK standard is the square pin 13 amp plug, and manufacturers have standardised plug fuses at either 3A or 13A, though 5A fuses remain in some older equipment and are still sold. Rule of thumb: appliances rated 700 to 3000 watts, 3000 W being the maximum rating of a wall socket, take a 13 amp fuse, coloured brown. Worked examples: 3A for a table lamp, standard lamp, television, video, computer or soldering iron; 13A for a washing machine, dishwasher, fridge, freezer, power drill, vacuum cleaner, microwave, kettle, toaster or iron. A replacement fuse must match the original rating. Plug and cable checks, made only with the plug removed from the socket, cover secure cable attachment at both ends, cuts, nicks or crushing, absence of joints or insulating tape repairs, cracked casing, melted plastic or discoloration from overheating, and the BS 1363 mark on the back of the plug.
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Energy Ombudsman
Confirms the Ombudsman can review disputes with electricity and gas network operators over loss of service, or a problem with a connection or a repair, which is the route for a renovation held up by a new or altered supply. Lists the electricity distribution network operators signed up to the scheme, including Eastern Power Networks, Electricity North West, London Power Networks, Northern Powergrid (Northeast), Northern Powergrid (Yorkshire), Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution, South Eastern Power Networks and Southern Electric Power Distribution. The operator has 8 weeks to resolve the issue unless it issues a deadlock letter allowing earlier escalation.
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Energy Saving Trust
Domestic battery storage sizing, cost and life. Capacity is measured in kilowatt hours and a typical home system is around 10 kWh. A typical unit measures about 100cm x 60cm x 25cm, slightly taller and wider than a washing machine but much less deep. Cost ranges from £1,500 to £10,000, with a 5 kWh system around £4,600. Typical lifespan is about 10 to 12 years, and the system stops discharging at a set floor, perhaps 20% of total capacity. Last updated 19 August 2026.
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Energy Saving Trust
How to identify and choose a domestic boiler. Heating and hot water account for over half of annual energy spend. A boiler is a condensing model if it is a gas or LPG boiler installed after 2005, or an oil boiler installed after 2007. On cylinders, upgrading hot water cylinder insulation to 80mm saves around £45 a year in Great Britain and £35 in Northern Ireland, and when replacing a cylinder it should be sized no larger than needed. Replacement costs quoted on the page are around £3,500 and £3,200 by system type. Notes solar water heating can supplement but never fully replace a boiler or immersion heater because sunlight varies through the year. Last updated 20 May 2026.
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Energy Saving Trust
Practical domestic ventilation rules. Internal doors need a 10mm gap between the bottom of the door and the top of the carpet or flooring so air circulates. Extractor fans should be run, or a window left open, for around 15 minutes after showering, bathing or cooking. Trickle vents should be kept open all year round including in winter, and reopened promptly if they are ever shut to keep cold air out. Ventilation matters as much in winter as in summer.
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Energy Saving Trust
Water use figures for a UK home. Ofwat puts average personal use at around 150 litres a day. A UK Government report puts hot water at around 18% of a household's heat demand. Swapping an inefficient shower head for a water efficient one saves a typical home £65 a year in Great Britain and £25 in Northern Ireland across combined heating and water bills. Consumer Council for Water figures put a running tap at around nine litres a minute, and it takes just 95 seconds of a typical running tap to use as much water as filling a washing up bowl. A dripping tap wastes thousands of litres a year, so washers should be changed promptly. Last updated 19 June 2026.
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Energy Saving Trust
Cheap heat loss fixes with the payback attached. A hot water cylinder jacket costs about £30 in Great Britain and £30 in Northern Ireland and is a straightforward DIY fit. An existing jacket should be at least 80mm thick, and adding an 80mm British Standard jacket over a tank with only 25mm of built in foam saves £45 a year in GB and £35 in NI, more than the jacket costs. Insulating exposed indoor hot water pipes saves around £6 a year in both GB and NI. Savings are stated on January 2024 fuel prices for a typical three bedroom semi detached house, gas heated in GB and oil heated in NI.
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Energy Saving Trust
Solar thermal performance and cost. Hot water accounts for around 11% of the average energy bill. A typical installed system costs around £5,300. Output is seasonal: roughly 90% of hot water demand in summer falling to around 25% in winter, averaging about half of annual hot water needs, so the system is always paired with a conventional boiler or immersion heater. Installation by an MCS certified contractor brings both workmanship and product warranties, typically several years on workmanship and longer on the collectors themselves. Maintenance requires a thorough check every five years to flush the system and replace the fluid mix. Last updated 20 May 2026.
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HomeOwners Alliance
Bathroom refurbishment budgets. The average new bathroom costs £6,000. Self managing the project typically lands between £3,000 and £6,000, with the advice to put the bulk of the budget into tiling and plumbing and sacrifice finishing detail. A cheap bathroom suite can be found for as little as £200, but accessories, shower fittings, taps, tiles and grouting can double the price. Fitting the bathroom yourself can save up to 60% of the cost, but gas and electrical work must go to a professional, and an electric shower must be installed by a registered electrician. A simple home sauna starts at around £5,000.
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Leeds Beckett University, Centre for the Built Environment
Tests the industry rule of thumb that background infiltration equals the blower-door result divided by twenty (n50/20, or q50/20 in the UK). Background ventilation rates in four new-build UK dwellings were measured directly by tracer-gas decay and compared with the pressurisation method using the conventional divide-by-twenty rule and Sherman's modified rule which accounts for building-related factors. The conventional rule over-estimated the air change rate in two dwellings and under-estimated it in the other two; the modified rule matched in two and significantly under-estimated in the other two. The conclusion is that the rule of thumb can produce significant errors in estimating infiltration, which in turn corrupts predicted in-use energy and CO2 emissions and can lead to ventilation strategies giving either unacceptable indoor air quality or unnecessary energy use, and that appropriate UK climate and building correction factors have yet to be devised. Johnston and Stafford, Indoor and Built Environment, 2016.
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Leeds Beckett University, Leeds Sustainability Institute
88 side-by-side fan pressurisation and low-pressure pulse airtightness measurements in existing dwellings of differing age, size, form and construction. Results: across the sample the mean airtightness reported by the two methods differed by only 2 per cent, but for individual homes the difference ranged from minus 84 per cent to plus 67 per cent, so the two tests can give wildly different answers on any one house even though they agree on average. Regulatory context stated: UK Building Regulations set a maximum airtightness of 8 m3/m2/h at 50 Pa for new dwellings, reducing to 5 m3/m2/h at 50 Pa or less in 2025 with the Future Homes and Buildings Standard; compliance is demonstrated by fan pressurisation or the newer low-pressure pulse test as set out in CIBSE TM23:2022. There is no maximum airtightness requirement when refurbishing an existing dwelling, though both methods are being used to inform retrofit, and existing homes have more varied and complex leakage paths than new build.
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Leeds Beckett University, Leeds Sustainability Institute
Review of measured in-use indoor air quality in more than 600 Passive House or PH-like newly built or retrofitted dwellings (Rojas, Fletcher, Johnston and Siddall, Energy and Buildings 306, 2024). Findings: pollutant and CO2 concentrations are generally lower than in naturally ventilated homes, attributed to the required balanced MVHR system, and the quality assurance of PH certification measurably improves ventilation and IAQ performance. The paper adopts CO2 up to 1400 ppm as the indicator of acceptable ventilation from a health perspective, assuming low-emitting materials, and notes typical steady-state figures of 1350 to 1800 ppm for standard occupancy assumptions. Numbers a specifier can use: PH ventilation criteria require MVHR heat recovery efficiency above 75 per cent, specific fan power including controls below 0.45 Wh/m3, supply and extract air flows balanced to within 10 per cent, and internal leakage of the MVHR unit limited to under 3 per cent. Filter grade moved to ePM1(50 per cent) or better in November 2018. The named weakness of the standard is the lack of a cooking fume capture requirement, combined with efforts to avoid the energy losses of extraction.
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London Fire Brigade
Lithium ion battery fire risk in the home, relevant to home battery storage, e-bike charging in a garage or utility room and site tool charging. Batteries present a fire risk when overcharged, short circuited, submerged in water or physically damaged. Practical rules: use the charger supplied with the device, and if replacing it buy a branded genuine product from a trusted supplier because counterfeit chargers often fail UK safety regulations; avoid storing, using or charging at very high or low temperatures; protect cells from crushing, puncture and immersion; do not leave items on charge after the cycle completes, so not overnight; never cover a charger or charging device, including using a laptop power lead in bed; and do not overload sockets. If a battery starts swelling or expanding, stop charging immediately, turn the device off and do not remove the casing or tamper with it.
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London Fire Brigade
Where to put detection in a home and which type. Smoke alarms go in every room where a fire may start, not just the hall and landing, but never in a kitchen or anywhere with excess smoke or steam; a heat alarm, which triggers on a rapid rise in temperature, goes in the kitchen instead and is not set off by cooking fumes. States around 60% of home fires start in the kitchen. Recommends alarms with a 10 year or long lasting sealed battery, and interlinking battery or mains alarms so that one detection sounds them all, which matters most where someone's escape may be delayed. Mains powered alarms must be installed by a qualified electrician. Domestic fire suppression such as sprinklers is raised as an option where quick escape is unlikely. LFB offers a free Home Fire Safety Visit and will fit free smoke alarms where existing ones are inadequate.
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Loughborough University
Analysis of existing boiler monitoring data from around 4,600 homes to test how many are heat pump ready without works. Findings: 31 per cent of monitored dwellings could run a low temperature heat pump with no radiator upgrades at all, and around two thirds could take a high temperature heat pump. This directly contradicts earlier government analysis based on building surveys, which concluded that almost all homes would need radiator upgrades. The research argues many existing emitter systems are already fit for purpose, which substantially lowers the predicted cost and disruption of a heat pump retrofit and identifies more precisely which dwellings genuinely need improving first. Led by Dr Stephen Watson at Loughborough's School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering with lead author Laurence Childs of the UCL Energy Institute, published January 2025.
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National Grid Electricity Distribution
Contains the rules on where a meter may sit and two fully worked cost examples. Permissible meter locations: in an external meter box (recommended), inside the property on an external wall, or in a suitable weatherproof meter cubicle; the cubicle detail is 1.5m high by 0.6m wide by 0.45m deep, and the internal-wall position allows 1,250mm by 550mm. Meters must not be located inside a dustbin, coal or refuse store, above doorways, in a bathroom, toilet or shower room, in a basement or cellar, under stairs where headroom is less than 2m, on plasterboard or drywall partition walls, close to a water source that could damage the equipment or cause an electrocution risk, or anywhere in breach of BS 7671. A surface mounted meter box protrudes 230mm from the wall, so check it will not obstruct or be damaged; a flush fit box is best built into new brickwork. Once the works are complete the meter box and cable guard become the customer's property to maintain. Worked example 1, overhead supply: overhead re-connection £1,091 plus £182 plus £91, no trench, total £1,364. Worked example 2, underground supply, customer excavation: underground re-connection £980 plus 10m of cable at £26/m (£260), total £1,240; the same job with NGED excavation: underground re-connection £2,437 plus £260 of cable plus 5m grass trench at £83/m (£415) plus 5m tarmac trench at £169/m (£845), total £3,957. A joint hole is needed to expose the existing cable, with at least 200mm of excavated ground below the cable, and warning tape is laid 75mm above the cable depth. Preparatory work such as installing the meter box must be finished before the visit or the job may be cancelled and an aborted visit charged. Bespoke offers are needed to move a three phase supply, to replace an overhead cable with an underground one, for routes crossing third party land, and for routes needing traffic lights or road closures.
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National Grid Electricity Distribution
If the meter is only moving a short distance with no change to the supply cables, the job belongs to the electricity supplier, who is the legal owner of the meter, and the DNO is not involved at all. Where the supply cable does move, the customer must arrange for the supplier to move the meter on the same day National Grid moves the supply, and must have an electrician attend to connect the supply internally. National Grid checks whether the route crosses neighbouring land and obtains landowner permission where it does. Works are normally completed within 90 days of acceptance and payment. Customers managing their own trenchworks are warned about the risk of digging in the garden and under the house near existing electricity, gas, water and telephone services.
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NHS
The clinical authority for what carbon monoxide does and how many alarms a home needs. Lists symptoms as headache, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, weakness, tiredness and confusion, chest and muscle pain, shortness of breath, flushing and loss of vision, and notes the tell-tale pattern that symptoms worsen in an affected room and improve on leaving the building. Names the appliances that can produce carbon monoxide when badly installed, faulty or poorly maintained: gas boilers, gas cookers and clay ovens, gas or paraffin heaters, wood, gas and coal fires and portable generators, plus barbecues or camping stoves used indoors and engines run in a garage. The prevention advice is specific: get a carbon monoxide alarm for each room of the home containing an appliance that burns gas, oil, coal or wood, have appliances properly installed and serviced regularly by a qualified and registered engineer, and keep chimneys and flues clear. Directs readers to call NHS 111 for suspected poisoning and 999 for breathing difficulty, sudden confusion or loss of consciousness.
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NHS
Relevant to a property left empty during works or a newly commissioned hot water system. Legionnaires' disease is caught by inhaling tiny water droplets carrying the bacteria, from air conditioning systems, humidifiers, spa pools and hot tubs, and taps and showers that are not used often. It is usually picked up in hotels, hospitals or offices where the bacteria have entered the water supply, and is less commonly caught at home. It is not usually caught by drinking contaminated water, from other people, or from ponds, lakes and rivers. Symptoms include a cough lasting 3 weeks or more; travel and stays in the last 10 days should be reported to a doctor, and antibiotic treatment usually lasts 1 to 3 weeks.
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NI Water
The single entry point for Northern Ireland connection and asset work, listing the applications a homeowner or small developer actually needs: record requests and a site visit to confirm a connection; pre-development enquiry for a single unit, multi unit or commercial scheme; impact assessments including odour assessment; wastewater capacity information; Article 161 applications; new connections; trade effluent and septic tanks; and lead pipe replacement or separation of supply. Charges are set out in the Developer Services Summary Scheme of Charges 2026/27. A practical warning is given that an application posted with insufficient postage is held at the Post Office, NI Water will not pay the shortfall and has no way to notify the customer, so postal applications should be correctly stamped.
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NIE Networks
The meter board is the wooden (sometimes other material) board carrying the electricity meter and main fuse, mounted on a wall or inside an outdoor meter box; the meter cubicle is the outdoor box that protects the equipment. A board that is old, worn, damp, rotten or vandalised must be replaced by the homeowner's own electrician, who removes and re-attaches the electrical equipment and fits a new board, while NIE Networks temporarily removes and re-attaches the meter and its own equipment, quoted through a connection application for an alteration. Critical warning repeated twice: under no circumstances may an electrician or electrical contractor remove NIE seals or equipment to do this work, as it is illegal. Replacement meter box doors and keys can be bought from most builders merchants, electrical wholesalers or online. If NIE Networks finds a defect such as a damaged or missing door or a wet or damp backboard it writes to the customer requiring repair. A meter that has come loose from the backboard should be reported immediately on 03457 643 643 as it may be a dangerous situation.