Generic case study. We do not name the pub, the village or the operator, the value is the load schedule, the kitchen-side staging and the way front-of-house dimming was kept clean of kitchen noise.
The brief
A long-established country pub near Bruton, refurbished under new operators with a serious kitchen ambition. The brief: take a tired single-phase consumer unit feeding a small domestic-style kitchen and turn it into a 3-phase commercial-grade install that could carry twin induction hobs, a walk-in cold room, full ventilation, an EPOS run, dimmable front-of-house lighting and a 7 kW car-park EV charger for diners. Reopening night was fixed and non-negotiable.
What we did
- 3-phase supply upgrade. Liaised with the DNO for a 3-phase 100 A per phase head, mains tails uprated, new TP&N distribution board landed in the cellar with full per-circuit RCBO Type A protection and a Type 2 SPD on the incomer.
- Commercial kitchen power. Twin 32 A induction hobs on dedicated radials, 16 A radials for combi oven, fryer, salamander, dishwasher and pass heat lamps. EPOS clean ring isolated from kitchen noise on its own RCBO.
- Walk-in cold room. Dedicated 16 A radial, alarm-on-fail interface to the cellar BMS, lit interior, magnetic door switch.
- Extract canopy interlock. Kitchen extract canopy hard-interlocked with gas solenoid valve and induction hob isolation per BS 6173 and DW/172 best-practice principles.
- Front-of-house lighting. Dimmable LED downlights across bar, dining and snug, 4 dimming circuits zoned by area, scene control on a wall plate behind the bar. Pendant runs over each dining table on individual switching.
- Bar electrics. Glasswasher and bottle-cooler radials, ice-maker dedicated supply, low-level cellar-line fed circuits with IP-rated joinery cut-outs.
- Car-park EV charger. 7 kW Type 2 untethered Hypervolt with PEN fault detection, Type A RCBO at source, posted as a customer amenity for diners.
- Hikvision CCTV across kitchen pass, cellar, bar and car park, 4-channel NVR in the manager office, retained for licence-condition compliance.
- BS 5839-1 fire detection refresh across kitchen + cellar, heat detection over hob line, smoke loop in trade areas.
- BS 5266 emergency lighting across all escape routes, FOH and BOH, 3-hour, self-test, logbook left on site.
- Click Deco Plus screwless metallic accessories throughout the trade areas, robust, hospitality-grade, easy to wipe down.
The kitchen load schedule
This is the heart of any pub fit-out. Get the load schedule right at design stage and the rest is easy. Get it wrong and you trip the kitchen on a Saturday night service.
| Circuit | Spec |
|---|---|
| Induction hob A | 32 A radial, dedicated, Type A RCBO |
| Induction hob B | 32 A radial, dedicated, Type A RCBO |
| Combi oven | 16 A radial, 3-phase if rated |
| Fryer + salamander | 16 A radials, separately protected |
| Dishwasher / glasswasher | 16 A radials, RCBO Type A |
| Walk-in cold room | 16 A radial + alarm-on-fail interlock |
| Extract canopy | Interlocked with gas solenoid + hob isolators |
| EPOS & tills | Clean ring, RCBO, surge-protected |
| FOH lighting (4 zones) | Dimmable LED, scene wall-plate |
| Car-park EV charger | 7 kW Type 2 Hypervolt, Type A RCBO, PEN detect |
Eight-day install sequence
- Day 1, DNO supply switch. Cut over to 3-phase 100 A per phase head, temporary supply maintained for the cellar.
- Day 2, Cellar TP&N board landed. Sub-mains run, full RCBO consumer unit fitted, every circuit individually protected.
- Days 3-4, Kitchen first fix. All radials pulled, hob feeds, cold-room feeds, canopy interlock cabling, EPOS clean ring.
- Days 5-6, FOH first fix + bar. Dimming circuits, pendant feeds, bar low-level circuits, glasswasher and ice-maker radials.
- Day 7, Second fix. Click Deco Plus accessories, induction-hob isolators, scene wall-plate programmed, EV charger pedestal landed and bollard-protected.
- Day 8, Test, commission, handover. Full BS 7671 inspection-and-test, fire alarm cause-and-effect verified, emergency lighting 3-hour duration verified, EV charger commissioned, paperwork issued in time for the reopening night.
Certification & paperwork
- BS 7671 Electrical Installation Certificate, full, NAPIT-format, every circuit reading logged
- Part P Building Regulations Compliance Certificate, NAPIT-notified to local building control
- BS 5839-1 fire alarm commissioning certificate
- BS 5266 emergency lighting periodic-test certificate, 3-hour duration logged
- EV charger commissioning report
- O&M pack, isolation map, weekly-test routine, kitchen interlock procedure
- VAT invoice, itemised by phase, VAT @ 20%
Why this approach. A pub fit-out is two jobs that share a postcode. Kitchen is brutal, hot, dirty and load-heavy, design for the worst Saturday night you'll ever have. FOH is mood, atmosphere, dimming, scene control, cleanness, design for a romantic Tuesday in February. Build them on separate phases of the new TP&N board so the kitchen never poisons the dimmable lighting with noise.
Who it's for
Country pubs, gastropubs, restaurants, cafés, hotels with food offer, boutique B&Bs adding a kitchen, microbreweries with a tap-room, farm-shop kitchens. Anywhere a commercial kitchen, a front-of-house lighting scheme and a customer-facing car-park EV charger have to coexist on the same supply.
Also see: commercial electrical, kitchen electrics, EV chargers, CCTV & security, emergency lighting.