Re: British (european?) kitchen counter electric outlets

On 10/06/2024 15:34, john larkin wrote:

On Mon, 10 Jun 2024 08:00:18 +0100, Jeff Layman <Jeff@invalid.invalid>
wrote:
 

On 10/06/2024 01:04, john larkin wrote:

On Sun, 9 Jun 2024 23:38:28 +0100, TTman <kraken.sankey@gmail.com>
wrote:
>

On 08/06/2024 23:53, Don Y wrote:

In the US, we are required (new construction) to have two dedicated 20A
(2400W) circuits to service countertop "small appliances".  In addition,
there is also a requirement for a relatively tight spacing between
(duplex) receptacles -- the intent to keep cords short (IIRC, < 4ft...
we settled on 3').
>
SWMBO was watching a britcom and commented at how few receptacles/outlets
were in evidence to serve the countertop.  Granted, each outlet is rated a
fair bit higher than US (each US outlet being 2400W -- the full load rating
of the branch circuit supporting it).  But, still, how do you address
NUMBERS of appliances in use, concurrently -- where each appliance will
likely draw only a fraction of the rated branch circuit's current so
total load isn't an issue?
>
E.g., we (presently) have a ~1KW microwave oven and a ~1KW toaster as
ever-present loads.  To that, it is not uncommon to add an electric
wok, hand or stand mixer, pizzelle iron, etc.  The abundance of
outlets makes it easy to add appliances as well as providing flexibility
over where they can be put into use.
>

We mostly fit double outlet sockets 20-30 cm above worktops on the wall.
Each socket ( there can be several spread around the kitchen area) can
supply ( in theory) 30 Amps @ 230V. Back at the main fusebox, there will
be a 30 Amp MCB( miniature contact breaker). All the sockets are wired
in a 'ring main' format to prevent excessive volt drops at any outlet. A
kettle will have a typical power rating of 3kW so ~13 Amps draw. Other
main appliances - dish washer/washing machine/oven etc mostly have thier
own separate supplies. Ovens will be wired using 6mm
cable.Microwave/toaster coffe maker will be plugged itto a wall socket
in the kitchen. Plugs will be fitted with either 3A/5A or 13A fuses
depending.

>
Our serious heat loads (house central heat, fireplace, water heater,
cooktop, clothes dryer) are natural gas. It's simple and very
reliable. Do brits commonly use gas at home?

>
Much more so than electricity for heating as it's much cheaper - about a
third to one quarter of the cost.
>
There is a move here to get people to install air-sourced heat pumps
instead which use electricity and are said to provide about the same
heating as gas for a similar cost as they output about 3 - 4kWh of heat
for every 1kWh of electricity they consume (ground-sourced heat pumps
are more efficient but fiendishly expensive and need a lot of land). All
this is to support the use of renewable energy from solar or wind power.
What is often not made clear is that current heating systems will have
to be replaced almost entirely as ASHP provide heated water at a lower
temperature than the currently-used gas or oil burners do. This
necessitates using much bigger radiators and/or installing underfloor
water heating. And to be added to that is the need for better insulation
so that heat loss is reduced.
>

How much do you pay for electricity in a typical month?

>
How long is a piece of string? It will depend on personal preferences,
weather conditions, how efficient the heating system is (including
losses), etc. We have a "price cap" in the UK which - sort of - controls
the prices of gas and electricity. From
<https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58090533>: "From 1 July until 30
September, gas prices will be capped at 5.48p per kilowatt hour (kWh),
and electricity at 22.36p per kWh". It would be possible to find (much)
lower prices than those, depending on the tariff used from the company
who supplies the power.
>
I'm not sure if you can see that BBC page in the USA, but if so there's
a lot more information there.

 I wonder how gas can be rated in KWh. That must asssume some sort of
gas-to-electricity converter machine.

There's no conversion machine. Here is the explanation from a gas bill last year:
"Your gas meter measures usage in units, but like all suppliers, we have to do a bit of maths to turn it into kWh. Here's how it works:
GAS UNITS USED X CALORIFIC VALUE (39.1) X VOLUME CORRECTION (1.02264) ÷ 3.6"
That particular month, I used 146 units according to the gas meter, so the calculation was:
146 x 39.1 x 1.02244 / 3.6 = 1621.6 (rounded to 1622kWh)
The caloric value and volume correction varies slightly depending on the source of the natural gas. Note that for modern gas meters, 1 unit = 1 cubic metre.

The easy way would be to compare direct gas heating with resistive
electric heating, both of which are crazy inefficient.

??? Forgetting for the moment the source of the electricity, resistive electric heating is 100% efficient!

There is a movement here to eliminate gas to Save The Earth. Berkeley
CA forbids running gas to new-construction homes. I'm sure that will
keep Climate Change from affecting Berkeley.

Similar here. There's going to be a ban on gas heaters for new homes from 2025 (probably?). See <https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/gas-boiler-ban>
--
Jeff