Main and supplementary bonding/ earthing to gas and water supplies
See what our customers had to say about our work on Bonding here,
and
here.
Main Bonding (Earthing)
 Main Bonding is the use of a separate thick (10mm) green and yellow copper cable, to connect the Water, Gas and Oil services to the Earth Terminal in or adjacent to your consumer unit. Connections are made on the metal pipes near the point at which they enter your home, i.e. The Main Bonding for the water is normally connected within 600mm of your Water Stop Tap.
Main Bonding is there to protect you. A fault current (amps), but if is easy to understand in volts think of it in that way instead, will always try to find a path down to earth, literally to the ground. The current will always take the easiest path to ground; the idea of Main Bonding (and Supplementary Bonding) is to create an alternative path for the current to flow that is an easier path than along one of your heating pipes, along your arm, through your body, down your legs to the wet kitchen floor and to ground. By using a thick copper cable, you are creating a path that is more inviting to any fault currents and will divert any fault currents from your body or places where it should not go, as the current flows down to ground.
 As long as the Water pipe, Gas pipe or Oil pipe, coming into your property are metallic, Main Bonding is compulsory in all circumstances even when the rest of the pipes in your house are plastic.
Supplementary Bonding
Supplementary Bonding is the use of a slighter thinner (4mm) green and yellow copper cable to connect together all metal pipes (and possible circuits) in a particular area. This area is typically the bathroom, or any other room containing a bath or shower. The 17th Edition Regulations is a little less demanding than the 16th Edition when it comes to Supplementary Bonding. There may be cases when no supplementary bonding is required in the bathroom, i.e. all the pipes are plastic. There could be other circumstances also when no supplementary bonding is required but since the regulations and calculations involved would be impossible to translate into layman's terms, only an electrician could really come to that judgement. 
Other areas where you may find or need Supplementary Bonding.
Area around Central Heating Boiler, Combi Boiler, and Immersion Heaters, where all the metallic pipes should be connected together with a green and yellow cable.
Kitchen. supplementary Bonding is installed in the kitchen, i.e. connecting kitchen sink with the hot and cold water pipes, a lot less frequently these days due to the relaxation in the 17th Edition with regards to Supplementary Bonding. That said, it's better to be safer than sorry, so if your electrician does recommend that bonding be done in your kitchen (especially in commercial and industrial settings), don't automatically be suspicious.
Emergency lighting
 An emergency light is a battery-backed lighting device that comes on automatically when a building, room or area experiences a power outage. Emergency lights are standard in new commercial and high occupancy residential buildings, such as college dormitories. Most building codes require that they be installed in older buildings as well.
The lights consist of one or more incandescent bulbs or one or more clusters of high-intensity light-emitting diodes (LED). Modern fixtures usually have a test button of some sort which temporarily overrides the unit and causes it to switch on the lights and operate from battery power even if the main power is still on. Modern systems are operated with relatively low voltage, usually from 6-12 volts. This both reduces the size of the batteries required and reduces the load on the circuit to which the emergency light is wired. Modern fixtures include a small transformer in the base of the fixture which steps-down the voltage from main current to the low power required by the lights.
For more details on
Emergency Lighting Systems and Testing click here.
Commercial and Industrial Emergency Lighting
All commercial and industrial buildings must be fitted with an Emergency Lighting System to ensure safe evacuation in the case of an emergency.
It is vital that these systems are properly maintained; not only because it is a statutory requirement and most insurance companies require it, but because the safety of you and staff may depend on it!
We can arrange regular inspection, testing and certification of emergency lighting systems every 6 or 12 months to ensure your premises fully comply with BS5266-1.
We'll also provide the required documentation and log book.
For more details on
commercial and industrial Emergency Lighting Systems and Testing click here.
Structured cabling
 A structured cabling system is a complete system of cabling and associated hardware, which provides a comprehensive telecommunications infrastructure. This infrastructure serves a wide range of uses, such as to provide telephone service or transmit data through a computer network. It should not be device dependent.
We further define a structured cabling system in terms of ownership. The structured cabling system begins at the point where the service provider (SP) terminates. This point is the point of demarcation (demarc) or Network Interface Device (NID).
For example, in a telephone system installation, the SP furnishes one or more service lines (per customer requirements). The SP connects the service lines at the point of demarcation.
Every structured cabling system is unique. This is due to variations in:
 • The architectural structure of the building, which houses the cabling installation;
• The cable and connection products;
• The function of the cabling installation;
• The types of equipment the cabling installation will support -- present and future;
• The configuration of an already installed system (upgrades and retrofits);
• Customer requirements; and
• Manufacturer warranties.
The methods we use to complete and maintain cabling installations are relatively standard. The standardization of these installations is necessary because of the need to ensure acceptable system performance from increasingly complex arrangements.
These help to ensure a proper cabling installation.
The benefits of these standards include:
• Consistency of design and installation;
• Conformance to physical and transmission line requirements;
• A basis for examining a proposed system expansion and other changes; and
• Uniform documentation.
For more details on home neworking systems ckick here.
Heating controls
Myths Explained
There are many known tips that we pick up over the years regarding our home heating controls that enable us to save both energy and money but which ones are true and which are simply olds wives tales?
As society becomes more aware of energy efficiency in the home there are more and more myths regarding energy saving issues. This in turn leads to misconceptions regarding how to save energy. If you have recently upgraded your existing heating system you are probably aware of the energy saving benefits that come with it. Here are a few energy saving myths explained.
Investing in Heating Controls
Can changing your heating system really save you money? Upgrading with intelligent heating controls can help you to get the most out of your heating system. Modern heating controls have a number of settings and programmes available rather than simply switching on and off. This allows you to have your heating on only when you need it. The more ways to control your heating the more you can save.
Operating Heating Controls
 We are told to turn off our appliances to conserve energy but haven't we all heard the rumour that turning our appliances on and off can use more energy than you would use by simply leaving them on? If you are one of the many people that have been told about that surge of electricity that occurs when an appliance is turned on, rest assured you will waste more energy by leaving on your lights, TV and appliances while you are not using them. The same principle can be applied to your heating controls, although the opposite is true in this case. Should you leave your thermostat at a constant temperature of should you constantly change it to fit your needs? Intelligent heating controls find the perfect temperature for your home.
Intelligent Heating Controls
Although you may be aware of the savings that come with intelligent heating controls you may still be wary of the initial costs. Many people have ruled out an intelligent heating system without further thought as they think the installation costs will be expensive. In truth intelligent heating controls are an affordable way to save energy.
Electric sockets - 5 amp or 13 amp
See what our customers had to say about our work on sockets
here,
here,
and
here.
 Contrary to popular belief there are a few different types of sockets available and being used in the UK at this time. The most common is the now standard 13 amp square pinned socket to fit the standard 13 amp plug. These can be used for any device sold in the UK today so why are there different sockets anyway.
The 5 amp small round pin socket is now primarily only used for lighting circuits. Most of us will have our standard or table lamps wired into a normal 13 amp plug, with a 3 or 5 amp fuse to protect it, and plugged into a standard 13 amp socket. These would then be switched on and off when required as the sockets are permanently connected to the power.
 However let us imagine that you have a rather large house( or hotel) with a big lounge and although you have a couple of main lights in the room you might also have a few wall lights, to create a different lighting mood, also switched on by the light switches beside the door. To then create yet a different mood you might have a few standard lamps and a few table lights dotted around the room but also want to turn them all on with a light switch rather than spending a few minutes running around. For this purpose the 5 amp round pin plug and socket is still very much in use.
Another light switch would then be wired directly to these 5 amp sockets so that when you plugged in these lights, all with the special 5 amp round pinned plugs, they could all be switched or in fact dimmed together.
 The main reason for this is that the cabling used for lighting is 1.5mm cable and wouldn't be able to take the power that could be drawn through it should someone then accidentally put in a couple of 13 amp heaters or something as this would normally require 2.5mm cabling.
Well the rare 15 amp socket which is a large round pinned socket looks similar the smaller 5 amp (so as one won't fit in another) is now only found in theatres for the specialized lighting that they may use there or in older factories..
We employ reliable professionals who are trained to deal
with all aspects of electrical faults. AA Electrical
Services is a reputable installation, repair and
maintenance service company covering the South East
area. Our team of electricians provides you with
maintenance of your electrical installation and
appliances as well as a fast and reliable breakdown
service. Recognising current British standards, our
electrical engineers are NICEIC registered, Part P accredited and qualified to 17th edition standard, as
certified by the Institute of Electrical Engineers
(IEE). This enables us to offer the highest levels of
professional service to you.
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