Electrical Advice & News
Straight-talking guidance on fuse boxes, rewires, EICRs and staying safe — plus the latest from B.P.H.Electrics across Slough, Windsor and the Thames Valley.
The new landlord register is coming... and no valid EICR could mean no registration
The Renters' Rights Act sets up a national database every private landlord has to be on. Your compliance paperwork sits on it... so the EICR you've been meaning to renew is worth sorting before the…
Read More
Thinking about a heat pump this winter? The electrical question your installer might gloss over
A heat pump needs its own circuit, the network usually has to be told, and on an older house your main fuse can be the real hold-up. The bit to check before you sign... not after.
Read More
The money you save on a cheap sparky can cost you more at Building Control
If the electrician you hire isn't on a scheme, the certificate problem doesn't disappear... it lands on you, with a Building Control fee and a delay on top. Here's the maths the cheapest quote leav…
Read More
The survey says your house has "no main bonding"... is that dangerous?
That line on your homebuyer's report sounds alarming and then the surveyor tells you to "consult a qualified electrician." I'm one of those... so here's what it actually means, in plain English, fr…
Read More
"Can I just plug my new oven into a normal socket?"
Sometimes yes, sometimes absolutely not... and it's the rating plate on the appliance that decides, not the sticker on the box in the showroom.
Read More
Your landlord EICR is about to expire... and half of Slough's runs out the same month
The first wave of mandatory EICRs is hitting its five-year expiry across 2025-26. If yours was done in the 2021 rush, it lapses this spring... and a lapsed certificate is a real problem now, not ju…
Read More
Quoted a few grand for the electrics in your kitchen refit? Here's what's actually in that number
A new kitchen drags in more wiring than most people expect... a cooker circuit, appliance circuits, a fused spur for the hood, and very often the fuse box itself. Here's how to tell a fair scope fr…
Read More
Still chasing your sparky for the certificate weeks after the job's done? Here's why that's on you to fix
The build's signed off, your client wants the electrical certificate for their file... and you're the one firing off texts every few days. What that document actually is, what can and can't be held…
Read More
Where the electrician fits in your extension... get the order wrong and your plasterer's stood waiting
A sparky's-eye guide to sequencing first fix and second fix on an extension, so no trade turns up to a job it can't start.
Read More
Whose job is it to get the electrics signed off on your build? (It's not who you'd think)
The legal duty sits with your client... but it's you, the builder, who eats the stalled completion when nobody notified Building Control. Here's how to keep the certificate from holding up your fin…
Read More
The first-fix sparky vanished... and now nobody will sign off the job
Why a first-fixer who takes the money and goes dark can leave a builder's job not just unfinished but uncertifiable... and how to make sure it never happens on your site.
Read More
New place, new agent, no EICR anywhere... does the old certificate still count?
You've bought a rental or switched letting agents, the electrical certificate has vanished in the handover, and nobody's sure if you need a fresh one. Here's how it actually works.
Read More
Your tenant says a socket's sparking or smells of burning: the first hour, step by step
A calm, ordered what-to-do-right-now guide for landlords... including the exact steps to forward straight to your tenant.
Read More
Slough landlord licensing is coming back... get your EICR sorted before it lands
The council has proposed reviving borough-wide HMO and selective licensing. Here's what's actually in force today, and why I'd get the electrical paperwork straight now rather than in the scramble.
Read More
Your HMO licence wants more than a standard EICR... the electrics that actually get checked
A satisfactory EICR is the floor, not the finish line. Here's what an HMO licence really expects from your wiring, your fire detection and your emergency lighting... and why passing one rulebook do…
Read More
No, the Renters' Rights Act doesn't rewire your rental in 2026... here's what actually changes
A Slough electrician cuts through the scare stories: what really lands on 1 May 2026, when the Decent Homes Standard actually bites, and the one electrical duty you already have.
Read More
The paperwork slip that turns one fine into two... and can quietly void your fire cover
For landlords: a lapsed EICR and a missing copy are two separate breaches that stack... here's what "up to £40,000 per breach" really means, and why it can also reach your buildings insurance.
Read More
C1, C2, C3: what your EICR codes actually mean... and when a "fail" isn't dangerous
A plain-English guide for landlords to the codes on your EICR... which ones are a genuine fail, which one isn't, and how to tell an honest inspection from a padded one.
Read More
"Just stick a new fuse box on it"... why a new consumer unit won't fix knackered old wiring
A new board is the brain of your electrics, not the arteries. Here's why bolting a modern consumer unit onto tired old cables often means it trips from day one... and how I work out what you actual…
Read More
Getting a tingle off the tap or washing machine? That's an earthing fault, not static
A faint buzz off a tap, a radiator or the front of the washing machine isn't "one of those old-house things"... it's electricity finding a path through you. Here's what it really means, and why it…
Read MoreNeed an Electrician, Not an Article?
Fuse box, rewire, EICR or an emergency — B.P.H.Electrics is a call away.
Call +44 7722 132736