Replace Double Gas Oven with Electric

[mcprinter]

Looking to replace our Built in, Eye Level Double Gas Oven.
Thinking about Electric instead of Gas.

No spare slots in the Consumer Unit.
Presume an additional one-way with 32A MCB will be required with 6mm Cable to a connection Point and Isolating Switch?

As I understand it, the Connection Point can be inside the Tall Unit where the Oven is.

What about the Switch?
This cannot be in a Cupboard or above the Oven.
Could it be mounted to the Side of the Unit the Oven is in?

Pic is before I tiled.
Double Socket and Fused Spur for Cabinet Lights.

I have presumed this is not a DIY Job and will be getting an Electrician in but wanted to get an idea of what is required/possible.

Thanks

 

[winston1]

Looking to replace our Built in, Eye Level Double Gas Oven.
Thinking about Electric instead of Gas.

Think hard. Electricity is four times the cost of gas. (look at the kWh rate cost on your bills, and point them out to your partner).

No spare slots in the Consumer Unit.
Presume an additional one-way with 32A MCB will be required with 6mm Cable to a connection Point and Isolating Switch?

4 mm cable is sufficient for 32 amps. Isolating switch is not a requirement near the oven. You can isolate at the new single way CU.

As I understand it, the Connection Point can be inside the Tall Unit where the Oven is.

Yes.

What about the Switch?
This cannot be in a Cupboard or above the Oven.
Could it be mounted to the Side of the Unit the Oven is in?

As you don't need one, there cannot be rules as to where it can be. If you want one common sence says don't put it above the oven but no reason it can't be in a cupboard or to the side of the unit.

Pic is before I tiled.
Double Socket and Fused Spur for Cabinet Lights.

I have presumed this is not a DIY Job and will be getting an Electrician in but wanted to get an idea of what is required/possible.

Thanks

Can be DIYed but as it is a new circuit it is notifiable before you start.

 

[mcprinter]

Thanks Winston.

Thought I read somewhere that an Isolation Switch was a requirement.
Or is that only where it is on a shared Circuit?
It made sense that the Oven could be easily isolated in an emergency.

TBH Mrs Mc liked the look of the available Double Gas. Not a huge selection for Built in Double Gas.
The current one is a 20+ Year Old New World that still looks good but uneven cooking and no longer Sparks when cold.
We started talking about Fan assisted etc and got onto Electric.
Might well stick with Gas

 

[ericmark]

Think hard. Electricity is four times the cost of gas. (look at the kWh rate cost on your bills, and point them out to your partner).

Not really in use, as with electric there is no need to get rid of the burnt gas, so it retains the heat far far better than gas, it also does not warm the kitchen as much, and does not require the kitchen to have forced ventilation to get rid of the exhaust from gas.

On top of that you can get better control, my electric over you can select top, back or side heating, with our without a fan, with features like closed door grilling, better versions also offer steam. Mine has 12 options for how the oven is heated. Of course the same is true of solid fuel, where the combustion air can be drawn from outside, and the exhaust is always directed up a flue, and setting of the dampers can direct how the oven is heated, so not unique to electric.

As to power a stand alone cooker is normally 32 amp, and the oven in a stand alone cooker tends to use the ability to switch on multi-elements together, however built in ovens are normally limited to 13 or 16 amp, so functions like closed door grilling use a time share system, and it does not work as well as same function in a stand alone cooker.

Most of the EU have 16 amp supplies, where UK have 13 amp supplies, so it depends on the market aimed for if it needs 13 or 16 amp, the BS 7671 suggests non portable items over 2 kW should have a dedicated supply, however we seem to ignore that, with washing machines, tumble driers, dish washers all being simply plugged in. Main point is plug needs to be in free air or forced draft or the fuse can cause plug to over heat.

There are ovens which use more that 16 amp, normally double ovens, but it would depend on which oven selected to if a dedicated supply is really required.

Since you live in England kitchen is not a special location, it is in Wales, and since the CU is full you can't have a new circuit, you can only add on to an existing one, so it seems Part P will not stop up DIYing the job. I am sure that is not in the spirit of the law, but if a MCB is changed, or a new cable used, that does not make it a NEW circuit as the circuit already existed, you have just altered an existing circuit. This does not mean no requirement to inspect and test, but does mean unless you want to change the CU the law is not stopping you.

There is no difference to electric and gas as far as isolation goes, it may be nice to have a local gas tap, or electrical isolator, but not required, since the clock stops when you turn off the power, most people never turn off the isolator, with a hob it was nice to have an isolator which could be used in case of fire without reaching over the cooker of course, but with modern induction hobs setting anything on fire is hard, and they auto disconnect anyway at a set temperature, at least mine does.

There was a case for gas, but today only reason for gas is to use a wok, everything else electric gives better control and heats the kitchen less, so costs less in air conditioning or if not got an AC is nicer for the cook to work in.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Thought I read somewhere that an Isolation Switch was a requirement.

You probably did. It is not.

Or is that only where it is on a shared Circuit?

Nope.

It made sense that the Oven could be easily isolated in an emergency.

If you want an emergency switch then it should be visible and readily accessible.



Are you sure there is not already an unused 'cooker circuit' somewhere?

 

[flameport]

While an isolator is not technically required, using the MCB for isolation is far from convenient when the oven needs to be cleaned.
If it's a consumer unit where an RCD covers multiple circuits, a fault in the oven can cause that RCD to trip even if the oven MCB is off.

Gas ovens are useless, which is why most people stopped using them decades ago.

 

[ericmark]

I find the existence of gas ovens has resulted in cook books limiting information on how to cook. Mrs Beeton lived before the gas oven was common, and for that matter before electric, and it would have contained information on how to set the dampers so side, bottom, top of oven heated for different foods, but when it was re-written for gas, this was removed, so when we got an electric oven with the ability to heat sides, back or top, the only cook book to tell you how to set the oven was the one which came with the cooker.

We use the door closed grilling, only need to turn the food once, but many of the other features are simply not used, as not taught in school or by mother to daughter as they simply loss the skill due to use of gas oven and hob.

My daughter-in-law it seems has taken to time to re-learn the skills, but only because she cooks for a school, so needs to cook in an efficient manor, she actually uses steam in the oven, and has spent the time to experiment with cooking methods, but I simply take the pizza out of the packaging place it on a non stick sheet on a tray and switch on oven. I read the instructions for how long, and temperature and that is limit to my cooking.

As to RCD it is built into the MCB as a RCBO, so if it trips it only affects the oven, it is a pain to reset as have to go outside and into a flat under main house to reset, and the same would apply if I wanted to isolate in an emergency, so the local isolator is good in my case, but mother had all the kitchen RCBO's in the kitchen, so it was just as easy to turn the RCBO off as the isolator, although she had an isolator it was not really any good as placed where one needed to reach over the hot plate to reach it.

She did have a kitchen fire, sent my sister in to turn off cooker, and she turned on the eye level grill instead, setting alight a towel which had been put on top of the cooker, which I throw outside, the floor was quarry tiled so it did not matter if ash was split on the floor, the electric cooker replaced the Aga solid fuel one.

A fire in this house would be more serious, floor made of wood, and a porch between kitchen and outside, so not as easy or as quick to take anything burning outside.

Every home is different, and there is no such thing as the best, it is what suits you, I would not consider cooking on gas, having to lug the gas cylinders to and from the supplier is not my idea of fun, and even with two cylinders and change over tap, one is likely to forget and run out of gas, but where already piped into the home, with a mains supply, I can see the advantage. But would still use electric. I like my creature comforts, but on TV adverts not in my home.

 

[mcprinter]

You probably did. It is not.


Nope.


If you want an emergency switch then it should be visible and readily accessible.



Are you sure there is not already an unused 'cooker circuit' somewhere?

I thought it was a requirement.
Thanks for confirming that it's not.

Not aware of an existing Cooker Circuit.
I have 4 x 32A MCBs. 3 are for Sockets. 1 is a mystery so you may be onto something.