Garage consumer unit

Hello All, I want to have garage consumer unit but not sure where to start. Does any one have any advice as to what I should be looking for?

Asked by Pete on 31st Mar 2020
Expert Trade Answers
"Hi
This is not a job that should be carried out by a DIY person, only a registered compatant person should carry out this work. There is no way for a DIY person to carry out the essential testing procedure that is put in place to check the essential safety features are in place and working that are there to protect against electric shock and fire.
Kind regards
Matt"
Answered on 3rd Apr 2020 - Member since Sep 2019 - report
"Dig an 18-inch deep trench for the outdoor electrical wire, which you will run from the main panel box to the garage sub panel. Use 1 1/4-inch PVC conduit for a 100-amp sub panel or 1-inch PVC conduit if the sub panel is 50 amps or less. Run the conduit from the garage to the main panel box."
Answered on 31st Mar 2020 - Member since Jan 2019 - report
"Hi
There are 2 immediate questions:
Firstly what electrical equipment will you be running in your garage. If just lights and a couple of sockets then a 16 amp supply will be OK
Secondly, how far will there be a cable run, above ground or buried, and I prefer to run a garage supply from the house consumer unit
An important though more expensive option is to consider a 32 amp supply as these days more and more people are installing car charging points, so a 32 amp supply via 6mm cable needs to be considered
Hope this helps
Serge"
Answered on 31st Mar 2020 - Member since Apr 2017 - report
"I can’t see anyone who has said this yet. But this is classed as notifiable work and would need signing off with a certificate from a qualified electrician or you could be prosecuted."
Answered on 3rd Apr 2020 - Member since Jan 2020 - report
"Hi Pete,

My name is Nick from Pars Electrical, normally, when selecting a garage consumer unit, you would need to factorize what appliances you have/you want within your garage, that being sockets, lights and what other items you would have.

Kind Regards,

Nick

http://www.pars-electrical.com"
Answered on 31st Mar 2020 - Member since Aug 2019 - report
"Hi you should be looking for a rcd mini fuseboard with about 2 ways on it for sockets and lighting. These are relatively cheap around £50 to buy."
Answered on 31st Mar 2020 - Member since Feb 2020 - report
"They do a garage board which Is normally two circuits a lighting
Circuit and a power circuit normally enough for a garage."
Answered on 31st Mar 2020 - Member since Dec 2018 - report
"Get an authentic circuit breaker switch to supply power to the garage."
Answered on 9th Apr 2020 - Member since Mar 2020 - report
"You need to check your existing consumer unit to see if there is a spare way to supple your new consumer unit.
If so great. Then you need to determine the final circuits being installed to check total usage. Then choose the appropriate cable size. Etc"
Answered on 31st Mar 2020 - Member since Mar 2020 - report
"Start with working out your loadings. Refer to IET on-site guide to assist with a diversity study (sockets/hot tub/electric vehicle). Work out where you want to position the DB & then work out the route back to the main fuse board (DB) & a length. Once you have this information, an electrician would carry out a cable calculation to determine the size & protective device to be used.
If your looking for a quotation, it would be worth taking photos of the Distribution board, cable route & final location to assist in a speedy quotation.
Simon Lintern-Auream Energy Ltd

Hope this help"
Answered on 31st Mar 2020 - Member since Mar 2017 - report
"You should be looking for an electrician to fit a consumer unit, sign off and look at what overall works need to be done for an accurate quote."
Answered on 31st Mar 2020 - Member since Mar 2020 - report
"Hi,

It all depends on what you are using the garage for. If it is just a basic couple of sockets and 1 or 2 lights I would suggest a 2 way RCD main switch garage consumer unit

Thanks

Luke"
Answered on 31st Mar 2020 - Member since Jul 2019 - report
"You need an electrician
He will use Armate cable from existing house towards your garage. Then you can have point there. Thanks"
Answered on 31st Mar 2020 - Member since Mar 2020 - report
"My advice is to seek the advice of a qualified professional who will be able to help you with needs. They will provide you with sound advice after assessing and asking questions about what you are planning for the garage.
Plus any work you want done needs doing by a domestically qualified electrician. Mo"
Answered on 31st Mar 2020 - Member since Mar 2019 - report
"Yes you should be looking for a registered Electrician"
Answered on 5th Apr 2020 - Member since Apr 2020 - report
"Do you have any electric supply in your garage at the moment
If yes then you need an electrician to check the situation for further advise.
If no, I think you should start with the paperwork, applying to an electricity supplier."
Answered on 31st Mar 2020 - Member since Jan 2020 - report
"Firstly what do you need power for in the garage? If it’s just lights and a couple of sockets for general use like mowing the lawn or using a power tool, then this would be my advice.
See how and where you are going to get the supply from. Ideally it’s best if it can go back to your consumer unit if there is a spare way with rcd as additional protection. If not you may have to spur off a socket circuit but if you are going to have more than one point in the garage the supply will have to go direct to a garage consumer unit or to a fused spur first. Then wire everything else on the load.
Also if your garage isn’t attached to the house and you need to run a cable externally then you will probably have to use a pvc/swa cable to do so."
Answered on 1st Apr 2020 - Member since Jun 2017 - report
"Contact a qualified electrician to do this work for you as this is not as straight forward as you think or are being told as this requires rcd protection and a specific cable from the consumer unit to supply the garage.
Billy"
Answered on 31st Mar 2020 - Member since Mar 2020 - report
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