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The future of residential building electrical installations

Arran Cameron
This is a spin-off from the discussion What is the best way to wire ceiling lights.


What do you think is the future of residential building electrical installations in 20 to 30 years time? Will they in modern and modernised houses be significantly different from what they are today or will they most likely be barely changed from what they are today?


Will consumer demand be a driving force for change or will electricians only make changes from the status quo in order to comply with updated wiring regs?
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    perspicacious:

    We've now got flat TVs in the middle of a wall rather than the obligatory double and co-ax in the corner to start with!



    As ever, BOD's posting merits a response. I got a marketing e-mail the other day from my local B&O dealer - now's your last chance to get a telly (as with other brands) smaller than 55 cm, or was that 55 in? So the corner is no longer any use, and if you don't have a chimney breast, it'll have to be the middle of the wall.

    I intend to do a "French" so that every socket is a dedicated radial so that the controls/metering mentioned above can be readily accommodated (including E7 or equivalent), hard wire Cat 5e or 6 as a network everywhere, provision for an ELV system of back-up lighting, use of the combination plates of two double sockets and modules in every room wired back to a future UPS supply, power and comms at high level adjacent to windows etc etc. Obviously as it's mine, time and the associated minimal material cost isn't an issue.


    Wires - how 20th century!


    In the 20th century, I installed some ethernet cable so that Mrs P and I could connect our PCs to the 'Net. In due course, my router died. I could not find a wired in replacement - Cisco would not talk to BT. So now I have to be wireless. And yes, there are security implications.


    Back to the OP - I think that the development will be the smart home stuff. God alone knows why you would want to turn things on and of using a 'phone when you are still at work, but the young generation thinks differently from us old fogeys. ?

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    mapj1:

    Every piece of PVC cable in use now, that is not overloaded, will still be serviceable, and the majority  will still be in service




    Will PVC cables still be manufactured and sold or will they be banned and only LSF cables allowed for new installations? 




    The other way to look at this is to look back - how much has changed in wiring practice since say 1980 or 1990 ? Some, but not that much, electricians probably do have a copy of the regs now, back then many would not have bothered, filament lamps give way to LED, but the the bayonet lamp holder is still going strong as the popular interface (and by 1990 we had CFL lamps already ). USB sockets may come and stay or come and go.




    Not all that much has changed apart from consumer units and light bulbs since 1980. It is possible that building electrical installations could mirror office technology. Most offices of 1980 featured the same machines as found in offices of 1920 or even 1900, but in the next two decades office machinery underwent a massive transformation.




    If anything as we have to use less energy, and it looks like  the next generation will rebel against consumerism generally ,  the rate of change may actually reduce.




    The younger generation is more consumerist than any from the past.



     

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    Sparkingchip:

    Electrium describe a Wylex eight way consumer unit with surge, arc protection and double pole RCBOs as the ultimate consumer unit.


    Eight ways is more than enough for most homes.




    3 ring mains

    Upstairs lights

    Downstairs lights

    Outside lights

    Central heating boiler / electric water heater

    Electric heating

    Electric cooker - for when gas cookers are banned

    Burglar alarm


    More like at least 10 ways and that's before installing fancy accessories like kWh meters for individual circuits (itemise your electric bill), time switches, controllers etc.



     

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    Alcomax:




    ?    "There has been plenty of opposition towards alternative ways of wiring ceiling lights and strong defence of the ceiling rose junction box with its loop-in wiring over on the other discussion, so how exactly will similar minded electricians fare when dealing with solar panels and smart home technologies? "



    Very well, thanks.


    I think that this statement, likely being a reflection of attitude

    Are building electricians generally stubborn people resistant to change or, to a certain degree, prone to luddism?



    is perhaps a reason the OP stated in another thread


    In my locality it's a bit tricky to find an electrician who is good when it comes to owner occupied houses where the owners want to add advanced features like smart lighting or home automation.



    I expect the OP's phone number is  in several electrician's contacts as "PITA AVOID!"



     

     




    100% agree with this, particularly the last bit

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    Arran Cameron:




    Sparkingchip:

    Electrium describe a Wylex eight way consumer unit with surge, arc protection and double pole RCBOs as the ultimate consumer unit.


    Eight ways is more than enough for most homes.




    3 ring mains

    Upstairs lights

    Downstairs lights

    Outside lights

    Central heating boiler / electric water heater

    Electric heating

    Electric cooker - for when gas cookers are banned

    Burglar alarm


    More like at least 10 ways and that's before installing fancy accessories like kWh meters for individual circuits (itemise your electric bill), time switches, controllers etc.



     


     




    2 socket circuits with the house split vertically 

    Lighting 

    Space and water heating 

    Cooker

    EV charger


    That is six circuits, seven if you split the space and water heating. There is no reason for the burglar alarm to have it’s own circuit.


    With a supply capped at 45-amps that is more than enough circuits.


    Currently most supplies are being capped at 60-amps, that’s not enough to fully load two 32-amp socket circuits without any other usage.


    Andy Betteridge 


     

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    Time for input from a moderator.


    How big are French electric supplies? #LisaMiles


    Andy Betteridge
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    Sparkingchip:



    2 socket circuits with the house split vertically 


    Modern practice is to have 3 ring mains - upstairs, downstairs, kitchen - or else a separate socket for a washing machine on a 16A breaker if the kitchen doesn't have its own ring main.


    Lighting 


    It's convention to have 2 circuits for upstairs and downstairs lights although with LED bulbs just one circuit on a 6A breaker should be sufficient for most houses. I hold the view that outside lights should be on a separate circuit from inside lights in order to prevent water ingress from tripping a breaker that plunges the inside of the house into darkness.  


    Space and water heating 


    I hold the view that a central heating boiler should have its own circuit rather than being powered from a ring main despite it being a fairly low current device. An electric water heater should definitely have its own circuit. The number of circuits for space heating will depend on the systems that are installed.


    Cooker


    A 32A circuit


    EV charger


    Always have a spare position or two in the consumer unit for when the time comes to install the EV charger.




    That is six circuits, seven if you split the space and water heating. There is no reason for the burglar alarm to have it’s own circuit.


    A burglar alarm is a safety critical circuit. You don't want to ever encounter a situation where a burglar breaks in and the burglar alarm doesn't operate because it lost its power when something plugged into a bedroom socket tripped the breaker!




    With a supply capped at 45-amps that is more than enough circuits.


    Currently most supplies are being capped at 60-amps, that’s not enough to fully load two 32-amp socket circuits without any other usage.


    I have an 80A supply fuse. 60A is probably enough for most houses with gas heating and cooking but all electric houses require at least 80A to be on the safe side although in reality 60A supply fuses can sustain a 100A load for a few hours without blowing. 100A supply fuses are common in recently built houses.

     

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    You have just described what you currently think the requirements for a domestic electrical installation are today, I am describing what I think installations will be like in a few years time.


    Even so, you are not taking into consideration things like burglar alarms have battery backup.


    Andy Betteridge 


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    Kelly towers was wired by the bloke lived here before me we have upstairs ring main on 32 A MCB ring main for the lounge and part of the kitchen again on 32A RCBO 16 A RCD radial for dining room part of kitchen and my shack 16A radial x 2 for my disco room lighting is split between 3x 6amp MCBs oh and the shower on its 40 A MCB and old cooker circuit which is down rated to a 16 A RCBO  This is all more than adequate for my needs even when my parents were here we never had any issues the DNOs main fuse is 100 amp I know this cos I've seen it would a similar system be good as a way to wire all houses in future? Incidentally there is ONE way spare on the board if a future resident has need for it
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    Reducing the number of circuits flies in the face of 314.1. However, reduced consumption may lead to reduced size cables. E.g. let's have 20 x 10 W LED luminaires on a circuit - that's still less than 1 A. Terminals might have to be altered in order to accommodate thinner conductors safely, but 0.5 mm2 would suffice.


    Gas will have run out, so houses will be all electric, but insulation is already so good that heating requirements would be no more than a few kW. Similarly, highly insulated fridges and tumble driers with heat pumps (which already exist) will mean that kitchens will no longer need powerful circuits. It is, however, difficult to see how the power of kitchen hobs could be reduced significantly. With smaller power requirements, socket circuits will become less powerful, and once again thinner conductors will be required. With less power consumption per device, 13 A plugs and sockets may become obsolete and be replaced by smaller ones.

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