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Do I have to wait all day for your electrician?
No, we provide 2 hour time slots for our electrician to arrive. The vast majority of call-out work can be completed in less than an hour .
Do you provide free quotations?
For larger projects such as lighting design, LCD wall mounting and AV installations, house rewires etc. we will provide you with a free quotation. Obviously, it is not cost effective for us to send someone to quote for a repair. In that instance we charge per hour + VAT, with a 1 hour minimum charge.
Are your electricians qualified?
Yes, all our electricians are NAPIT or NICE qualified.
Are you insured?
Yes, we carry £2 Million worth of insurance.
Q: What is an RCD?
A: RCD stands for Residual Current Device. These are what used to be called ELCB’s (Earth Leakage Circuit Breakers). They are usually fitted as standard to most domestic consumer units in houses built after around 1980. Note that they tend to only protect certain parts of the distribution panel wiring (e.g. the kitchen or utility ring main), in a so-called “split-load” consumer unit. They are designed to quickly trip and interrupt the supply to the circuit they are protecting, when an imbalance is detected between the neutral and live in the case of an RCD, or when there is a current in the earth wire of the protected circuit, above a preset limit (usually 30mA), in the true ELCB. You can also purchase “plug-in” ones, ideal for mowers, vacuums, and hairdryers, and an RCD plug (replaces the plug), for things like showerpumps. For an excellent article on how an RCD works, see the TLC ARTICLE. Although the primary protection is the fuse in the plug, these do not blow for some fault conditions, and they are there mainly to protect the wiring and the appliance from overloads. To protect the user from electric shocks and earth leakage faults, the RCD is ideal for this.
Q: My RCD on the consumer unit trips out, what do I do?
A: If this is a solid fault (i.e. it won’t reset), it is most likely due to a faulty appliance that is plugged in all the time, but has developed a fault. Most likely culprits are the washing machine, dishwasher, or dryer. Try unplugging each one in turn, until the RCD holds latched in the ON state. If it is not one of those items, and your freezer is also on that circuit, then try unplugging that too. If that is NOT the problem appliance get an extension lead and plug it into a plug in another room - as a temporary measure (on a circuit not affected), until you locate the faulty appliance. Other likely culprits are the kettle, a steam iron, (usually anything that comes into contact with water!). However, don’t forget that even small things like radio alarm clocks, phone chargers and mains adaptors can cause the RCD to trip out, so go around and check ALL your items. If you still cannot find the problem, call in a professional electrician.
Q: What should I do if I'm unsure about electrical safety?
A: You should contact a fully qualified electrician, such as Shoreditch Electricians who will be happy to reassure you and visit your premises if needs be. Call us on 0844 318 9120 or contact us by e-mail.
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