Getting on Mains Electricity

[Rainbowrider]

Can anyone give me any advice how this all works? It would be lovely to have mains at the new yard we are in the process of building, but people keep telling me it would cost too much.

Our land (5 acres) is next to a house on one side, another stable yard with mains on one side, and on another side is the area's council yard, where of course there is mains too. We are about 1/2 a mile or less from the village.

Can anyone give me advice, or tell me where to start? eg Cost, time it takes, anything I wouldn't have thought of....

I can make phone calls as soon as I finish work!

 

[louise4208]

I'm not sure,your local council should be able to tell you where to start.
Having he same trouble at my place, it's no fun fumbling around with battery lamps and torches. I hope to be sorted by the winter!

 

[equity]

Hi,
I just enquired about getting mains elec, quoted from £4,000 if we got our own contractor to do digging etc, to £5,000 for the elec company to do it all. Elec pole across road from yard with houses either side. So back to the generator grrrrrr.

 

[louise4208]

[ QUOTE ]
Hi,
I just enquired about getting mains elec, quoted from £4,000 if we got our own contractor to do digging etc, to £5,000 for the elec company to do it all. Elec pole across road from yard with houses either side. So back to the generator grrrrrr.

[/ QUOTE ]
Didn't realise it would be that much, especially if there is main lines nearby. I've just bought my place so may have to save up for another year or so!
I haven't got a generator, how much did yours cost, and where did you get it from?

 

[equity]

Hi, I'd check with your elec suplier as prices may vary. I'm going to have to wait as I can't justify paying that much for lighting and the odd kettle. I got a little generator from Woolworths for about £50. Did have a larger one but had loads of problems with it. You can get power packs from Halfords, about £80 and low voltage lamps. They need charged up regularly as they don't last long, but if you get two you just take one home evey night to recharge and once in a routine they are pretty useful.

 

[Booboos]

It depends what you need. In general you need two things:
an electricity meter
and connection to that meter

If your house is by the stables you will have an electricity meter so you only need to connect to that. You will need a man with a digger to do the groundworks and a qualified electrician to do the installation. Cost will depend on the distance from the house as the cable itself is expenssive and what fittings you want at the other end, e.g. lights, sockets, security lights, fittings for heater/washing machine, etc. To give you an idea it cost us £2,500 for the electrician only to put in all the above for 4 stables and tackroom situated about 200 yards from house.

If you need a meter, you need to contact the electricity company. This will be an added cost, they are the only ones who can put a meter in for you and you will have to wait quite a long time before they can get round to it (or at least that was my experience with Yorkshire Electricity). You will then have all of the above costs to add to it.

You can get generators from most serious took and DIY shops. Northern Tools have quite good prices in general.
http://www.northerntooluk.com/search.asp...ors+Up+To+3000w
For what you want you don't need enormous capacity, but give them a call and describe what you need to run off it and they should be able to advise.

 

[Rainbowrider]

I could handle £4K, could sell car or save up for a while,I thought it might be more like £15K!!

I am using a big generator at the moment which runs lights and power tools, but I want a horse walker, security lights, alarm, a pond water pump, and electric fence on too! I will make a few calls and see what I can find out.

 

[Rainbowrider]

Forgot to say, we have our own JCB digger, and we have all the wiring, switches, fittings etc all ready to go. If we don't use them for mains, we will just connect them to our generator.

 

[LCobby]

The cable from the neareest mains to you input and fuse box wil be expensive, so tis the distance that will make a huge difference,even if you dig your own trench for it.

 

[Rainbowrider]

Thanks, so, do you think they use the closest, or the do they just tell you where to dig? Do they measure it to where it goes onto your land, or to where you have the fusebox?

 

[BBH]

I had mine done last year and it cost £ 4,000 + vat and the main pylon was about 100 metres away. The fixtures and fittings were another £ 2,000 and £ 1200 for a groundworker to dig a trench, sort the sand etc. In total it was about £ 10,000. What I would say though is be careful that they don't put you on commercial rates which is dearer than domestic supply.

Oh forgot to add £1800 for the pipes to lay in the trench.

 

[Rainbowrider]

Thanks for that breakdown. It shows I could save a bit if I get my OH to lay the pipes and do prep work. I bet we could get a pylon within 100 meters, but I suppose that depends on where I am allowed to put it. Still a LOT of money though....

 

[TayloredEq]

I would say that you guys have all been lucky!!

We needed 3 phase electric, dug our own trench. All the electricity company had to do was lay the cable and turn the current on and supply the board and they charged us £18,000 for the priveledge!!!

 

[Booboos]

If you need three phase it's a disaster. We were thinking of putting a ground source heat pump in which would have meant no oil bills for heating/hot water anymore and great for the environment and we got quoted £14,000 from the electricity company to bring the three phase from a pylon in our own field, 100 yards to the house!!!!! Needless to say we couldn't afford it...