ips Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 We are considering installing hook up in our CL, as we are pretty sure that many folk particularily caravaners just cannot live without it. We have tryed to contact elec supplier for am estimate to install however its a very tedious task being passed to different dept and the request for plans etc. Presumably the elec supply is buried under the road which serves ours and 3 other propertys so will have to be brought from the road into the field (about 5m) and then I can install all the wiring and bollards etc. from there supply box. So has anyone had any similar experience of having an elec supply installed if so who to ring and approx cost ? Thoughts on the general theory of hook up = more punters etc welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josie gibblebucket Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 You could look at www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk Trouble is, you will have to charge such a lot to recoup your outlay. Though I agree that a lot of people do want hook ups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 ....the following (from the "other side") may give some background if you haven't already seen it. I suspect the C&CC requirements are similar (they certainly require Public Liability Insurance, and an annual electric test certificate). http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/media/7704111/electric_hookup_information_jun_2011.pdf Unless you are NICEIC (or similar) qualified and registered (and I have a niggling feeling you may have mentioned some qualifications in the past), I personally wouldn't recommend, from a liability point of view, that you install the equipment yourself. I'm pretty sure you're going to have to have it certified after installation, anyway. As you are experiencing difficulties in dealing with the electricity supplier, I would suggest it might be better to seek a quote from a recognised caravan site installer, experienced in the game, and capable of providing an end-to-end service (including all negotions with the elec supplier). As to site occupancy, I've little doubt that, all things being equal, those sites with electricity will attract more people, particularly in the "shoulder" seasons - but you might want to dwell on what that means for consumption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 Thanks josie and robin Well have been on phone to a company who do this type of thing and ball park is £2.5 - £5k just to get it into field its about what I suspected acctauly, So lets say another £500 for the elecs (robin, we do not have the paperwork for the final install we only have gas cert's but could do it no probs and then have one of a few contractors we use inspect and sign it off) quick calculation is approx 2000 nights at £3 per night to recoupe the outlay less whatever elec is used so lets approximate that at half so thats 4000 nights bookings not including the cost of annual certification (we allready have full public liability insurance so thats not in the calculations) prob be at least 5 years before we got your money back. Lots to think about :-S PS- would be easy if we had elec near by but field is 75yds away from our house so no easy install Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 How far from any of your other buildings with an electrical supply is the field? How many EHUs do you propose installing? Am I right in thinking a CL is limited to 5 vans at once? If so, with reasonable planning, and allowing for 25 metre cables, it should be possible to feed all 5 pitches from one pillar. Max load = 5 x 15A = 75A. However, you are not obliged to cater for the max, and can install MCBs rated at, say 10A each, giving maximum draw of only 50A. There is also a concept of diversity, that says not all hook-ups are used at full capacity at the same time, but I'm not sure how that would play with only 5 circuits. It seems to me that all you really need is to take a feed from an existing metered supply (via a check metre if you wish - so that you can monitor how much is actually being taken) via a stand-alone consumer unit with an RCD and the 5 MCB's, and run 5 SWA cables in the same trench from there to the pillar. All the kit is standard electrical kit. Any competent electrical contractor should be able to carry out the installation, and if you were to hire a mini-digger and knock out the trench, prepare the pillar base, and possibly buy and mount the pillar, a competent electrician should be able to do the rest. The only thing that needs careful choice is the pillar itself, where there are various designs, some better than others. Many of the French sites we visit seem to use units by Legrand, and these should be available from the likes of RS Components. Have you tried getting in touch with the CC or C&CC sites departments to see what installation they recommend? I should have thought that with their experience they would be able to give some good advice on what is needed and what to get. Unless you already know your normal supply cannot take the additional load, or you are obliged to take out a separate business electrical supply, making a new connection in the road seems like needlessly expensive overkill to me. You won't be selling the electricity, just charging more for a pitch with than for a pitch without, for the provision of the service. If the MCBs are installed where only you can get at them, and you aren't sure your client may not just plug in after dark :-), you can just isolate the unused sockets by tripping the MCBs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 Thanks but the problem is that there are NO buildings within 75yds of the field therefore the supply would need to be from the main supply wich we assume is under the road. :'( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Where is the 75 yard restriction coming from? Why can't they run a sub-main from an existing terminated supply to a new company fuse? I think you need to get someone to a site meeting to discuss options. Try getting an electrical contractor to visit and give you costed recommendations if the supplier won't play ball. It shouldn't take a competent person that long to work out what would be needed. They do it all the time for builders. The supply companies are only billing organisations now anyhow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Another aspect is how long do you expect to be living there and having a cl, and whether an all ehu cl would add anything to the value of your property should you wish to sell it? I suspect that it won't add value per se but might possibly make it more readily saleable which adds up to a similar end effect - maybe? On the basis that you have quoted it hardly seems worth the effort and you can bet your life that unless you get a fixed price quotation as opposed to an estimate the cost will rise as snags are discovered when installing - according to Prof Sodde's Law that is!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK5 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Try Western Power, I use them for all supply alterations and installations etc. They will send someone out to inspect and give you a quotation for a new supply, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryW Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 ips - 2012-03-28 3:47 PM Thanks but the problem is that there are NO buildings within 75yds of the field therefore the supply would need to be from the main supply wich we assume is under the road. :'( I have only had to manage such a connection once in the past and from what i remember it was very expensive and does take a lot of phone calls to establish the department you need to deal with. They don't normally deal direct with the public so you won't find them in the yellow pages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 It seems an awful lot of expense for something that you 'might' get a greater benefit out of by having more people staying, but your breakeven point is at least 5 years, and that's assuming the prices are as you've estimated and they don't go up (for the yearly checking/servicing etc or the cost of the electricity itself), and that you don't have any repairs etc to carry out. Have you checked to see if your Public Liaibility Insurance premium will increase as a consequence as 'more risk'? Also, have you thought about the extra 'aggro' factor having to look after those who keep tripping the MCB, use unsafe cables etc ... :-S What about when you're away and someone else is looking after the site ... will he/she be happy to get more aggro? :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolly1965 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Being in the commercial property game I would think that EHUs would increase the value of the business, should you decide to move on. Caravan Parks, CLs etc are very sought after and rarely come on the open market and the more facilities the better. Personally, as a newbie - I would still prefer to have the benefit of a EHU and £3/per night sounds reasonable to me. I far prefer to use CLs rather than club sites, as they tend to be quieter and the people on them much more friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 What a shame you are considering doing this, please leave the all singing and dancing to the main sites and keep CL's as they should be no frills and inexpensive. Pricing increases on CL's for things that are not needed stop me from using them and I know for definate I am not alone. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Basil - 2012-03-28 9:41 PM What a shame you are considering doing this, please leave the all singing and dancing to the main sites and keep CL's as they should be no frills and inexpensive. Pricing increases on CL's for things that are not needed stop me from using them and I know for definite I am not alone. Bas Its unanswerable, really, Basil. There are others, like us, who wouldn't use any site without shower, toilet, and EHU. We accept that these facilities cost more to provide, so the charges are higher. So, for a CL, I would imagine the only way to know whether it is worth the investment is to calculate the capital cost, the desired payback time, the probable uptake, and the possible effect of the higher charge on turnover. Not easy! If my memory is correct, and CLs are limited to 5 vans, then I'd think the cost of provision anywhere further than 25 metres from a CEE socket mounted on a convenient house, or barn, wall would be unlikely to pay back. Whether there are other, intangible, benefits that would make the provision worthwhile for the owner in non-monetary terms I know not, but I'd be very surprised if the cost of running in a new supply from the road for 5 vans would ever prove anything other than an expensive white elephant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 Thanks to you all for some very interesting and infromative replies. just the info we needed to make an informed decision. mrs ips (site owner I am unpaid groundsman :-D ) nearly fell over when I told her the cost impications, that and the replies from some who like us would rather use our own facilities and not pay for something we will never use has helped us make the decision not to install ehu at this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Hi Not sure if this is of much help, but a site down by us Scotts Haven has grown from a field, to having electric not only for the CS site but for the rally site as well, they are situated out in the sticks and he has done the work bit by bit. I do not know the ins and outs but he might help you as one site owner to another. Caroline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 Thanks caroline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Please don't do it, adding EHU, showers, loos to me defeats the objective of a CS/CL if people want those facilities let them use a commercial site. Like Basil, having to pay for something we don't need puts us off and won't do it unless we really need a site in the location. Just because we have a newish van a lot of site owners think we have cash to spare, when I've asked for reduction for not using EHU on a CL I was met with the reply "posh van like that you can afford it". Won't be going there again. A lot of owners are probably like us, spent most of the life sayings on the van our other investments have plummeted, s*d all interest on any cash we have left. Yes we have got a nice, van a capital investment to allow us to holiday in comfort with our own facilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FRANKP60 Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Hi not sure if your CL is registerd with C C or C and C Club but ,When we where on CL with electric was talking to owner and despite paying for proper electricans and having a certificate to prove it,the Caravan club insisted on sending there own inspector to test it out and also wanted £200,for the privilage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 Wow thanks for that. We are C&CC so CS not CL as I keep incorrectly refering to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 Lenny Totally agree we never use showers even if its there and wont pay for EHU unless its in with the price so no option. Rest assured the EHU idea is now shelved so the £6 pn remains unchanged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Good news for the next time we go north. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cattwg Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Here's another one who likes CL/CS's to be simple with no showers or e.h.u. etc. Cattwg :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 We currently use very few CL's, due to many not having EHU, as we currently require electric for charging wife's Wheelchair Batteries. We are considering buying a Portable Generator to give us more selection of sites, so if we proceed (90% certain) I guess the size of CL will come into the equation, to enable us to be far enough away from others so as not to cause noise disturbance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Flicka - have you tried asking the non-EHU ones if they would be prepared to allow you to plug in your wife's buggy charger in their property (shed, garage etc) for a fee? That way it would enable you to use more of the non-EHU ones ... we've certainly come across this on non-EHU sites we've used in the past where the courtesy is extended for disabled visitors. Afterthought ... I've just thought of a great business opportunity ... wind-up buggies!!! :-> Now then, where are you Gromit ... :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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