Advice
Electrical guides & practical advice
77 plain-English guides on faults, costs, certificates, systems and home projects — written from real domestic jobs across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Surrey.
Faults & symptoms
What common household electrical symptoms usually mean, what you can safely check yourself, and when to stop and call an electrician.
- Electric Keeps Tripping? Why Your Fuse Box TripsA consumer unit that trips is doing its job — the question is what it keeps objecting to.
- Flickering Lights: Causes and FixesFlicker is a symptom with a short list of causes — and one of them is genuinely worth acting on quickly.
- Burning Smell From a Socket or SwitchThis is the one symptom on this site where our advice is to stop using the circuit today.
- RCD Will Not Reset: How to Find the CircuitAn RCD that will not stay in is holding back a live earth-leakage fault somewhere on its side of the board.
- Sockets Not Working on One WallDead outlets in a group almost always mean one broken connection, not several failed sockets.
- Half the House Has No PowerA house split neatly in two is a board-level symptom, not a coincidence.
- Outdoor Sockets and Garden Lighting That TripGarden electrics live outdoors, and outdoors is where every weakness in an installation eventually shows.
- Electric Shower Tripping the ElectricsShowers combine the highest load in most houses with the wettest environment — so faults show up early.
- Buzzing Switches, Dimmers and FittingsSome buzz is harmless electronics; some buzz is a connection you should not ignore.
- Bathroom Extractor Fan ProblemsA fan that does not clear steam is a damp problem waiting to become a decorating problem.
- Why Does My RCD Keep TrippingAn RCD trips because it detected earth leakage. It is doing its job.
- How Electricians Actually Find Electrical FaultsFault finding is a process of elimination, and the more information you can give at the start, the fewer steps it takes.
- Intermittent Electrical Faults and How to Pin Them DownAn intermittent fault is not a mystery, it is a fault with a condition attached. Finding the condition is the job.
- The Board Trips When I Plug Something InIf it trips the moment you plug something in, you have already narrowed the search enormously.
Cost, process & paperwork
How domestic electrical jobs are priced, how long they take, what happens on the day, and which certificates you should end up holding.
- What Affects the Cost of a Consumer Unit UpgradeTwo identical-looking boards can be very different jobs once the cover comes off.
- What Drives the Cost of a House RewireA rewire is priced on access and disruption far more than on cable.
- How Long a Rewire Actually TakesThe electrical work is only part of the calendar — plaster drying is often the longest single item.
- What Happens During an EICRAn EICR is a structured assessment, not a look around — and knowing the routine makes the day easier.
- EICR Codes C1, C2, C3 and FI ExplainedFour codes decide whether your report is satisfactory and what you must do next.
- Electrical Certificates: Which One You Should GetThe right certificate depends on whether work was new, altered or merely inspected.
- How to Choose a Domestic ElectricianThe cheapest quote and the clearest quote are rarely the same document.
- Adding Sockets Instead of Living With Extension LeadsExtension leads are a symptom: the room has fewer outlets than the way you live in it.
- What Electrical Work Needs Building Control Sign OffSome electrical work has to be notified to building control. Plenty does not.
- Part P Explained for HomeownersPart P is about electrical safety in dwellings. It is shorter and simpler than most people expect.
- How Much Does It Cost to Wire an ExtensionExtension electrics are priced by scope and access, not by floor area alone.
- What a Home EV Charger Installation CostsThe unit is a fixed price. Everything around it is where quotes diverge.
- Partial Rewire or Full Rewire: How to DecideA partial rewire is the right answer more often than people think, and the wrong one more often than they hope.
- What an EICR Costs and What You Get for ItThe cheapest report is rarely the one you want, because a proper EICR is priced by how long testing genuinely takes.
- How Electricians Price Domestic WorkTwo quotes for the same job are usually pricing two different jobs. The trick is spotting where they diverge.
- What It Costs to Add a Socket or TwoThe socket costs a few pounds. Everything else is about how hard it is to get a cable there.
- Can You Rewire a House in Stages?Yes. A staged rewire is normal, as long as the order is planned and every finished stage is tested before you live with it.
- EICR Code Examples: C1, C2, C3 and FI in Real HomesThe codes make far more sense once you see the kind of thing that gets each one.
- Can a Homeowner Do Their Own Electrical Work?Some jobs, yes. The law cares less about who does the work than whether the right work is notified and safe.
- Does Rewiring a House Add Value?Rarely in the way a new kitchen does. Its real value is in protecting the price and making the sale go smoothly.
- What Does Rewiring a House Involve?Two main visits' worth of work with plastering in between, plus planning at the start and paperwork at the end.
- Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) ExplainedAn Electrical Installation Certificate is the proof that new electrical work was designed, built and tested properly. If you paid for new circuits, you should have one.
- Electrical Condition Survey: What It Is and When to Get OneWhen people ask for an electrical condition survey, what they almost always need is an Electrical Installation Condition Report, the formal inspection and test of existing wiring.
- How Long Does a Consumer Unit Replacement Take?For an average house, a consumer unit replacement usually takes about a day, and the power is off for most of that day.
Systems & comparisons
Plain-English comparisons of the parts and systems that go into a modern domestic installation, so you can choose with your eyes open.
- RCD vs RCBO: What the Difference Means at HomeThe difference is not protection quality — it is how much of your house goes dark when something leaks.
- Metal and Plastic Consumer Units ComparedThe move to non-combustible enclosures was a response to real failures, not a fashion.
- Surge Protection Devices in a Domestic BoardAn SPD protects connected equipment from transient voltage spikes — not from every electrical mishap.
- Arc Fault Detection Devices (AFDDs) at HomeAFDDs target a failure mode that other protective devices genuinely do not see.
- LED Downlights, Spotlights and Retrofit LampsThe right choice depends on whether you are replacing lamps or replacing a ceiling's worth of old transformers.
- Getting LED Dimming RightMost LED dimming complaints are a compatibility problem, not a faulty lamp.
- Smart Lighting: Wired, Wireless and HybridThe most important smart lighting decision is where the intelligence lives.
- Ring and Radial Socket CircuitsBoth designs are valid; the choice affects cable, protection and how faults present.
- USB Sockets Versus Plug-In ChargersBuilt-in USB is about tidiness and permanence rather than raw charging speed.
- Planning Outdoor and Garden LightingGood exterior lighting is mostly about restraint, direction and IP ratings.
- Do I Need a New Consumer Unit for an ExtensionSometimes yes, often no. Testing answers it rather than guesswork.
- Planning Lighting for an Open Plan Kitchen ExtensionOpen plan rooms do three jobs at once, so the lighting has to as well.
- EV Charger Installation at Home: How It Actually WorksMost of the job happens before anyone drills a hole: the survey decides whether the installation is simple or awkward.
- Planning the Wiring for a Smart HomeThe cheapest time to future proof a house is while the walls are open. The second cheapest is never.
- Smart Switches and Dimmers: What Actually WorksThree products solve the same problem in different places, and choosing the wrong one is why smart lighting annoys people.
- Downlight Spacing and Layout That Actually WorksMost bad downlight schemes are not too dim. They are evenly spaced in the wrong places.
- Under Cabinet Kitchen Lighting Done ProperlyWorktop lighting is the single upgrade that makes a kitchen feel finished, and it is usually done as an afterthought.
- Solar and Battery Storage: The Electrical SideThe panels are the visible part. The connection into your existing installation is where the practical decisions are made.
- Do I Actually Need a Consumer Unit Upgrade?An old board is not automatically a dangerous board, but some of them genuinely are.
- Smart Lighting Installation: What to ExpectA good smart lighting job starts with the wiring, not the app. Get the cables, switch boxes and fittings right and the clever part becomes easy.
Property types & projects
Electrical planning notes for particular property types, renovation projects and household situations across Buckinghamshire and beyond.
- Landlord Electrical Duties and the Five-Year EICRRented property has a defined inspection cycle and a defined deadline for remedial work.
- Electrical Checks Before You Buy a HouseA homebuyer survey will note the electrics; it will not test them.
- Rewiring Period and Character PropertiesIn a period property the wiring is the easy part; getting to it without damage is the job.
- Electrics for a Kitchen RefitThe kitchen carries more electrical load than any other room, and gets the least planning time.
- Electrics for a Loft ConversionA loft conversion adds rooms, load and — importantly — fire detection requirements.
- Wiring a Home ExtensionAn extension's electrics are only as good as the installation they connect to.
- Powering a Garden Office or OutbuildingA garden office is a small installation in its own right, not a long extension lead.
- Electrics for Working From HomeMost home offices were bedrooms, and bedrooms were wired for a lamp and an alarm clock.
- Electrical Work in Flats and MaisonettesIn a flat, the boundary between your installation and the building's is the first thing to establish.
- Bathroom Electrics and ZonesBathrooms are a special location, and the rules are about water and distance rather than paperwork for its own sake.
- When Does a House Need RewiringAge is a clue. Condition and test results are the evidence.
- Electrics for a Kitchen Extension, Start to FinishA kitchen extension is the most electrically dense room most homes will ever gain.
- Rewiring During a Renovation, How to Sequence ItA renovation is the cheapest time a house will ever be rewired.
- EV Charging for Flats and Shared DrivewaysThe electrical problem is usually simple. The ownership and metering questions are the hard part.
- Garden Lighting Installation: A Practical GuideA garden lit well uses fewer fittings, aimed lower, than most people expect.
- Security Lighting and Sensors That Do Not Annoy YouA floodlight that comes on forty times a night stops being security and becomes background noise.
- Rewiring a House You Are Still Living InIt is entirely possible to live through a rewire. It is much easier if the phasing is agreed before anyone lifts a floorboard.
- Moving, Raising and Replacing SocketsThe best time to move a socket is the week before you decorate, not the week after.
- Notifiable vs Non-Notifiable Electrical WorkIn England, three kinds of domestic electrical work are notifiable: new circuits, a replacement consumer unit, and changes to circuits in a room with a bath or shower.
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