small house in france. what size electricity supply needed?

[jay679]

Hi all,
am purchasing a tiny house to renovate in France. The current electricity circuits are u/s and will be replaced. In order to have a contract for supply, i need to tell edf the supplier, the size of supply needed.
The house will be 1 bedroomed, with a bathroom, lounge and kitchen. As well as the usual smattering of sockets and light fittings in each room, i will be running a dishwasher, washing machine, tumble drier, fridge freezer, electric cooker, tv, electric water heater and possibly a couple of electric panels heaters.
What sort of size supply should i be asking for (in kVa) should i be looking to have?

Jay

 

[stef99]

most houses in the UK now are 100amp.
thats should give you a good idea.

most appliances are identical now, just with a different plug.

I can't give an exact answer as I have never been to France.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Nor have you ever looked at the way that French electrical tariffs work.

Your advice is wholly inappropriate - firstly not all EDF schemes even offer a 23kW tariff, and when they do they are eye-wateringly expensive.

http://residential.edf.com/energy-at-home/offers/electricity/tarif-bleu-56121.html

Jay - you need to do some research to learn how it works there http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=french+domestic+electrical+supply and ask on expat forums for advice. Also, maybe EDF can advise you based on property size and type.

 

[RNReindeer]

We manage with a 30 amp supply on a single phase, although we do have three phase available. (I use different phases in different buildings.)

The only poblem is using the washing m/c at the same time as the chauf-eau (water heater), micro-wave combination cooker.
Also I occasionally use a twin pot 200 litre compressor which means everything else has to be off, even then it occasionally trips the breaker. It's a simple case of resetting it.

But we have a gas hob, and a wood buner which also heats water and radiators.

You pay the charges according to your rated supply.

There's an excellent discussion here:
http://brittany.angloinfo.com/forum/viewtopic/62708/0/uprating-electricity-supply/

which is region specific.
There are other discussions on this and other regional forums. Just use the search function.

You can phone EDF and discuss it with them, explaining your intended consumption. They used to have an English speaking line (as do most French utility companies), but I don't know off-hand what number that is. I'm sue they'll transfer you if you can get past the "parlez-vous anglais?" bit.

You'll probably find that's it's cheaper than UK, partly perhaps, because you do become more thoughtful about how you use the energy. (I pay about €35 per month plus a yearly adjustment, which is not a lot.)

One final point. If you already have a supply, you do not need a certificate for your installation. No comment needed on the wisdom of having one.
If you do not already have a supply, you will need a certificate for your installation before EDF will connect you.

Bon courage
p.s. Consider off-peak for water and space heating. Also exploit that off-peak electricity for washing m/c etc.
pps. excellent post there from BAS, the web site that he refers to has telephone numbers for english speaking customers.
http://residential.edf.com/customer-services/contact/contact-us-by-phone-208807.html

 

[jay679]

Thanks all, i have been through to the edf english speaking helpline and think (!) I have opened an account and arranged for the electricity to be turned on. They are giving the phone number of my electrician in france to their technicians, to liase and meet at the property to make the supply safe and switch it on. I have opted for 9 kVA, which according to their flowchart is more than adequate. I can always change it at a later stage. At the moment i am just needing to get the supply up and running so i can start renovations.

My electrician is using the existing consumer unit box and replacing the contents with 1 RCB & 1 MCB and two sockets and adding an earth spike outside connected into it. For this they are charging €320 which is about £265. Does this seem about right?

Thanks again,

Jay

 

[RNReindeer]

Too many variables for a judgement call.
But bearing in mind that RCB/MCBs range in price from about €20 to about €100, and by the time you've inserted the earth rod and associated barrette (to disconnect for measuring), box, etc, it'll be about €30, not including any cable.
You can ssume that materials are at least €100.

Taxes for self-employed are about 50% in France, not to mention insurance, certification, travelling expenses, etc.
So the electrician might make €100 for half a days work depending on distance travelled.
If he's registered he'll have guarrantees.

Prices for materials available on Brico depot's websites. http://www.bricodepot.fr/toulon/arrivages/

 

[jay679]

Thanks for that. I think it seems a fair price then, they know i wil be needing more work done as the renovation gets underway, so hopefully they are being reasonable from the word go.

Jay

 

[mointainwalker]

I would guess that for what you describe 6 kVa would be sufficient but as you say, you can change it, but max two times per year I believe.

You should take into account that, depending what your renovations entail, you might need a bigger supply if you need, say, a crane. That's the only thing I can think of that would exceed a normal house supply.

There is a handy accessory which goes in the consumer unit called a "delesteur" which you programme to switch off different circuits if too much current is being called for( i.e. the immersion-heater switches on unexpectedly ) Cost about E 90 when I looked two-three years ago.

EDF can be a hair-tearing monolith to deal with when it's a question of anything substantial, but hopefully they can deal with the basics without inducing hysteria


Good luck and by the way, which dept are you in ?

 

[jay679]

Hi, thanks.

I am in 23, north creuse near the border with indre.

Jay