Kitchen Electrics
Cooker, LED, Sockets & Smart Tech
Mid Somerset

Most full kitchen electrics jobs take between one and three working days on site, depending on scope. A simple refresh — pendant, downlights, a few extra worktop sockets, replacement cooker isolator — is usually one day. A typical kitchen refurb with new cooker circuit, induction hob, dedicated dishwasher and washing-machine spurs, downlights, under-cabinet LED and Quooker spur is two days first-fix and one day second-fix, ideally split around the kitchen fitter's programme. We co-ordinate with the kitchen fitter so cables are in the wall before the units land and second-fix happens after worktops are installed.

Often, yes. Adding new circuits in a kitchen — a dedicated cooker circuit, a separate ring main, a Quooker spur, an induction hob — triggers Part P notification, and any new circuit must be on a 30mA RCD (typically a per-circuit RCBO). If the existing consumer unit is a rewireable-fuse board, a split-load with shared RCDs, or has no spare ways, we'll usually recommend upgrading at the same time. It's much cheaper to do both jobs together than to come back. We'll tell you straight on the survey whether it's needed or not — see our fuse board upgrade page for what that involves.

Yes — sockets, USB-A/C, hob, even induction-extractor downdraft units can all sit in a kitchen island. The cabling has to be planned at the slab/floor stage because once the island is built and the worktop is on, retrospective cable runs are very disruptive. We mark up the island plate or floor before screed/tiles, drop conduit or cable up through the carcass, and second-fix sockets and isolators when the worktop is in. Worktop sockets in islands cannot sit above the hob and must be at least 300mm from any sink edge — same as the rest of the kitchen.

Integrated appliances need dedicated above-worktop isolators because once the unit is built in, you can't reach the plug to switch it off in an emergency. We fit a labelled grid switch (or individual fused switched-spurs) above the worktop — typically four switches: dishwasher, washing machine, fridge-freezer, waste disposal — wired down to a fused connection unit behind the appliance. That way every appliance can be safely isolated without pulling the unit out. Standard practice on every kitchen refurb we do.

Every job ends with paperwork. New circuits get an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) under BS 7671. Smaller alterations get a Minor Works Certificate. Either way, where Part P notification is required (any new circuit, any work in a special location), we lodge the notification automatically through our NAPIT registration — you do not need to apply separately. You'll receive PDF copies of the certificate and the NAPIT compliance certificate from the national database, which is what insurers, mortgage lenders and surveyors look for.

We do the electrical side — running a dedicated 13A spur with isolator switch above the worktop down to a fused connection unit behind the unit, sized correctly for the Quooker tank. Plumbing connections (water inlet, filter, waste) are done by the kitchen fitter or plumber — not our trade. We're often booked alongside the plumber to make sure the tap is electrically and hydraulically ready on the same day. Same approach for instant-hot-water taps from any other manufacturer.