Consumer Unit in Airing Cupboard?

[pmarston]

Hi,

I'm looking to move my domestic hot water tank and the only place that seems to be an option is under the stairs. The consumer unit is already under the stairs and I'm wondering if it'll have to be moved - I can't find any info about this anywhere, so am hoping it's OK.

Can anyone tell me one way or another?

Cheers,

Phil

 

[Steve]

Any excesive heat may affect the tripping characteristics of the unit.

OOI, where is the hot tank now? If its upstairs it may be there for a reason and may not be moveable. Consider a combi boiler.

 

[pmarston]

Thanks Crafty,

So you don't think there's any issues with locating major plumbing and water source along side the distribution of electricity?

The cottage is a 2 up 2 down, with the up being in the roof space - so not a lot of space. The tank is in the bathroom (which is on grnd flr) and we want to make room for a shower. The only fuel for the house is electric, we're to far from mains to have anything else (gas, water, sewage), so combi is out though may go for wood at some point. We're getting solar water heating put in (just for the DHW) and we'll get a new tank at te same time. I just want to be sure that we wont have to get the CU moved first because of some building regs or other.

Cheers,

 

[Steve]

Thats fair enough. In a lot of custom built homes, all the water heating and storage, air distribution and handling, electricity distribution and technical panels are located in one central room. I cant see a problem with it, the only reg that might apply is the all encompassing "reasonable protection"

 

[Adam_151]

Cant remember the number off hand, but there is a reg that calls for parts of the electrical installation to be installed in such a way that no reasonably expected maintaince work on either services will havee a determental influence, so be carful its out the way of the clumsy plumber and his blow lamp, etc

 

[pmarston]

Thanks guys.

re: blow lamp - I was thinking more about springing a leak - the last house we were in a joiner nail-gunned the skirting board through a central heating pipe even when there was chalk on the floor saying "pipes", when the nail was pulled out we had a new shower!

I guess there's not much you can do to protect from that kind of stupidity the same idiot might nail gun the ring main.

Thanks for the help,

Phil

 

[Lectrician]

We had real problems with a site where they removed a wall between a room with a boiler and tank in and a store room which had the consumer unit (actually an MEM type B board with single phase conversion kit). It also had several dimmer packs for the MEM dimmer system.

The site was fine for a couple years, and then when the wall was removed, there was real problems with the dimmer packs. Not so much with the CU, although there are around 80 circuits, and all are lightly loaded.....it was a "I have loads of money....nothing but the best" kind of install - every room had more than one lighting circuit, and a single 4mm radial socket circuit........with RCBO (thought the RCBO king would be pleased).

 

[pmarston]

Problems?

Over-heating?