Hot tubs are fast becoming increasingly popular for owners of French homes. Whether it be an inflatable or portable system for 2-4 people or something that is permanent for up to 8 people with music and lighting systems integrated.
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Many customers who have them say they would not be without it.  Have to say, if I were to choose between a swimming pool or a hot tub, it would be a hot tub for me! 

The inflatable hot tubs can be plugged into normal socket [depending on power rating], again must have RCD protection.
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Over the last 18months I have been called upon to help with the installation of both inflatable and permanent hot tubs, and will be only too pleased to assist if this relaxing feature is something you want for your home - [email protected]

As a registered and insured tradesman myself, I hear lots of horror stories from customers and potential customers who have experienced unpleasant circumstances. As a registered and insured tradesman I have no qualms in presenting any details to any customer. For me, I want a customer to feel that they can do business with me that is legal.

When you are seeking the services of a tradesman the likelihood is that you will ask for recommendations from people that you know or from your local magazine. Don't take these at face value. There are a number of obligations that you need to consider before anyone crosses your threshold and commences work, as there are serious implications for the homeowner should you choose to use unregistered or uninsured trades people on your premises.

There are a number of sites that you can visit to check siret numbers :
https://www.infogreffe.com/societes/
http://www.manageo.fr/
http://www.societe.com/

However, please note that these sites will only provide details of the main and primary activity and not any subsequent activities.  If in doubt, feel free to call your local Chambre de Metier and ask them to verify what they are registered as, or enquire with your local Mairie.

Don't be afraid to ask to see attestation or confirmation of the relevant insurances attributed to trades. Who is the insurance with? Are payments up to date? We all know France loves a law and insurance. Each activity needs to have the corresponding insurance. Insurance for one activity does not cover for all.  Please note that there is difference between public liability insurance and decennale insurance and some trades are required to have both. If you have doubts, eliminate them from your research.

Artisan tradesman are required to have decennale insurance and a carte professionnelle – this provides confidence to a potential customer that they have had their qualifications verified by the Chambre de Metier and are appropriately insured. Plus artisan tradesmen are not allowed to register additional activities. For example as a registered artisan electrician you won't see me offering to cut your grass.

Devis and factures will need to show siret number and insurance details, these are recent requirements, so if you don't see this on any paperwork, again feel free to eliminate from your research.

Devis should be clear and set out exactly what will be done. Do not sign a devis until you are happy that everything you want done is included. There should be no hidden surprises between devis and facture. Be clear about when works are to commence, particularly when there are a number of trades involved.

A reputable tradesman will ask for a deposit or materials to be paid.

A reputable tradesman will clearly state how future payments are to be made.

A reputable tradesman will not insist on being paid cash.

A reputable tradesman will happily give you references of customers that you can contact if you request to do so.

A reputable tradesman will have more than just a mobile number to be contacted on. 

It is not unusual to seek 2 or 3 devis and a reputable tradesman will be aware of that. You as a customer should be able to ask questions and feel confident about who you are dealing with, as ultimately they will be working in your home and you will be paying them. So any doubts or concerns you have eliminate them from your research.

Always work with a reputable tradesman, there are serious implications as a home owner should an unregistered or uninsured or not appropriately insured tradesman be working in your home. Should an accident or death take place in your home, you as the home owner will bear some responsibility.

​Should you wish to sell your house you may be asked by the Notaire to provide invoices for major works that have been carried out within a certain timespan. If you are unable to do this, you may find yourself footing a bill should something untoward happen in the future once your home is sold.

Much of my work is rewires and renovations for domestic properties in rural France, and appreciate it when I get an opportunity to do electrical work at non-domestic premises, especially a milking parlour.

Very recently I was asked to take a look at connecting a 3 phase milking machine for local enterprise, Noah's Ark Farm based in Bouin. I made a visit before commencing works to see a huge carefully dis-assembled milking machine with its wiring loom completely intact. More than happy to undertake the work so returned the following week to find the machine re-assembled and mounted ready for re-connecting the wiring loom.

​The fuseboard, fed with 5 core cable [3phase] had to be moved to a safer location as goats, apparently, can be a bit disruptive. I also installed a 3 phase cut off switch that was within easy reach for extra safety measures. In a short space of time an impressive ramp and trough system had been built ready to milk many goats at once.

On completion, the system was tested to make sure that the motors worked in conjunction with the pump and suction hoses [apologies for the terminology, electrics and farming are two very different things]. We made sure the safety cut off worked, voila and the system was ready for the lady goats in no time.
Wishing Noah's Ark Farm all the very best with their increased milking facility.

For more information visit their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/NoahsArkFarmBouin/
They produce a variety of quality farm reared free range meats and eggs all year round. Plus they are taking turkey orders for Christmas already!  

The use of an LED light bulb allows a lower consumption of 80% compared to a conventional incandescent bulb. This can save you money, as on average 12.8% of total electrical consumption is lighting.

There are a number of reasons to consider LED lighting in your home

On average the running cost of an LED light bulb is €2.25 when compared to €11.07 for a halogen bulb per year.

LED bulbs don't contain harmful materials such as mercury and lead found in other bulbs.

People believe that yo have to compromise in light quality when using energy saving light bulbs. This is not the case with LEDs. They reach brightness almost immediately and also come in different shades. There are also dimmable options too and even LED security and flood lights.

LED are very low wattage but give you the effect of high wattage light, e.g. a 5 watt LED is equivalent to an old 60 watt bulb. These comparisons are clearly marked on the box to give you the 2 levels.

LED lighting is very flexible and adaptable. You can have the option of traditional light bulbs, downlights, strip lights, outdoor and come in most colours.

So next time the light bulbs blow or if you are thinking of installing new lighting let it be LED.
Having recently purchased a French home myself, I will definitely be using plenty of LED lighting.

It is quite common in older French property to find that the electrical system is supplied in 3 phase, as opposed to single phase.  

When called to quote on electrical work on french properties by new proprietors, I am often asked what is the difference and what does it mean? And more often than not, there are numerous common problems such as when the kettle is switched on the power cuts off or when the hoover is used the power trips. This is because small electrical items can draw a large amount of current. E.g. A kettle can draw around 8amps for the period that it is boiling.

A 3 phase system can work well if you have and use a small amount of electrical appliances or a large incoming supply. With single phase these problems are less likely.  3 phase is a balance of loads. 

For example, using an incoming supply of 60amps [60A], the supply is split into 3 x 20A. Old houses in France usually have outbuildings so having 3 phase means that the supply might be split as follows: 20A for the house, 20A for the barn and 20A for the workshop. Bearing in mind that many years ago there would have been less use of electrical items such as kettles, hoovers, radios, tumble dryers, washing machines. Therefore, very little tripping of power in the kitchen. If you have purchased a property today with 3 phase and plug in all of your appliances – you are very quickly going to over draw on the 20A. E.g. a washing machine may draw 10amps, your freezer may draw 4-6 amps, then when you put the kettle on, another 8amps could be drawn and click you exceed the 20A and the power trips out. With single phase you have 60A feeding the house, you have one large supply coming directly to your dwelling. So your appliances can be switched on with no problem of overload.

I have recently worked on a property which had to be reverted back to 3 phase purely because there was not enough power to the house. I.e. it needed 90Amps minimum which could not be provided by single phase. Therefore I have had to very carefully balance all 3 phases at 30A.
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No phase can be exceeded, so a qualified electrician has to carefully balance the phases so that should all items be working at one time the current drawn will not overload any of the phases.   

I was asked to rewire a small house at Melleran in August. The current owners are looking to sell the property and were aware that the old installation was outdated and impractical. It was agreed with the customer that the new system would be installed in surface mounted trunking due to timescale and practicalities.

I installed new cabling to service sockets, switches and lighting to 3 bedrooms, bathroom, toilet, kitchen and lounge and attached barn.

While the installation was in progress, the customer asked if 3 electric radiators could be added. Of course! It was easy to add the circuits at this stage and I installed wiring for future additions. The fuseboard was then fitted and connected and the installation tested.

The install was completed in the 2 weeks as promised and I wish them all the very best with their future sale.
To see what the electrical diagnostic entails visit here

Testimonial:  Paul rewired our house promptly, efficiently, was flexible and highly professional at short notice. He arrived on time every day and worked very hard and was obviously very knowledgeable and experienced. I enjoyed having him around and liked his sense of humour and thoughtfulness. I used him by recommendation from another highly satisfied customer and would recommend him to anyone myself. I will use him again and feel confident in doing so.

The last couple of months have been busy for Electricien Anglais En France with the van clocking up some miles.  Here’s a round up of electrical works carried out in April and May.

Bouin 79: Installation of new time clock for swimming pool pump.

Chaignepain 79: Start of full rewire for new purchasers. Overhaul of electrics to blend with customers needs.

Fontenille 79:  Corrective works for new house purchase. Diagnostic report had identified a number of corrective works.

La Gours 16:  Start 1st fix installation for ongoing project.


Lezay 79:  Kitchen sockets for kitchen for one customer and installation of separate cooker feed for another. Another customer wanted lighting and extractor fan installed for new bathroom.

Loize 79:  Connecting extractor fan and new outside lighting for one customer and connected an additional satellite feed installed additional sockets and phone points.

Lusseray79:  Client had new kitchen fitted and wanted lighting and circuits updated.

Montalembert 79: New external supply for workshop and install required number of sockets and lighting.

Paizay Le Tort 79:  Conversion of barn into bedroom with en suite. Installing lighting, sockets and heater outlets.

St Martin L’Ars 86:  New feed for hot water boiler.  Initial visit also identified lack of earth rod, so new earth supply installed plus replacement of VMC unit.

Tillou 79:  Barn converted into new lounge area.  Wiring for sockets and wall lighting plus adding new circuits to garage, outside lighting and pond pump.  Regular visits to another Tillou based client for lighting repairs and additional lights and sockets.

Electricien Anglaise En France is definitely keeping homes electrically safe!! 

Gite owners recently required my services for their workshop area. Having had a new roof on a large barn area, it was perfect timing to address some electrical issues and upgrade to accommodate the busy 'laundry' area and a newly planned games room. The existing wiring was not suitable for the power required.

I started by installing a new feed cable from the main incoming supply at the main house to connect to a newly installed fuse board in the workshop. From the new fuseboard wiring, sockets and switches were installed as per French normes to accommodate the heavy usage of appliances attributed to gite ownership.

A satellite feed was installed on the first floor games room, and the customer had also chosen some nice large domed lights to be installed there too.

This was a great project to work on, one where the customer had the foresight to make better use of space within the barn and ensure that functioning areas were compliant.  

Electricien Anglais En France has worked with a number of gite owners to ensure that accommodation and working areas are compliant.