Just what does a one-man-band sparkie get up to over the course of a year?
That's the question everyone wants answered I'm sure, so I decided at the end of 2014 to keep some statistics relating to my daily working activities throughout the course of a whole year.
Really though, I must stop having these ideas as, like my picture-a-day plan, this quickly became an admin overhead I could do without, therefore my New Year resolution for 2016 is to not keep track of anything superfluous. Still, it (kind of) makes interesting reading... at least for me if nobody else.
So, without further ado, except to say that if you're reading this on a phone you'll need to rotate to landscape to fit the table in, let's see what I've been getting up to over the course of a full twelve months....
| Activity | # | Comment |
| Audio visual | ||
| Hang flatscreen TV/monitor on wall | 4 | |
| TV aerial/satellite outlets installed | 13 | |
| Satellite dishes installed/adjusted/maintained | 3 | |
| TV aerials installed/adjusted/maintained | 4 | |
| Hidden HDMI/video cables installed | 7 | |
| RF/Satellite/video cable manufacture | 16 | |
| Custom installation of other audio/video hardware | 5 | |
| AV outlets installed | 7 | |
| Splitters/boosters installed | 3 | |
| Consumer unit/earthing | ||
| Old fuse box/consumer unit replacement | 9 | |
| New build or secondary/additional consumer unit installed | 9 | |
| Main earthing upgraded/repaired | 7 | |
| Bonding/supplementary bonding upgraded/repaired | 4 | |
| Earth rods installed | 3 | |
| Burned out/faulty breaker/RCD issue rectified | 5 | |
| Breaker/RCD upgrade/downgrade | 25 | Where an MCB has been changed for an RCBO or a breaker/RCD has been changed as it was rated incorrectly |
| Nuisance tripping faults investigated & rectified | 12 | |
| Tail pairs replaced/upgraded | 2 | |
| Generic wiring | ||
| Full/partial rewire | 3 | |
| New socket or lighting circuit | 47 | Brand new circuit for power or lighting |
| Dodgy DIY/cowboy wiring issues corrected | 73 | Fixing bad stuff installed by others |
| Non DIY/cowboy wiring issue traced/repaired | 9 | Wiring fault on a professional installation |
| L-N reversals corrected | 8 | Correcting stuff wired arse-about-tit |
| Broken CPC faults rectified | 7 | Correcting breaks in circuit protective conductors |
| Circuits/part circuits decommissioned/made safe | 74 | Disconnection/removal of old wiring |
| Broken accessories replaced | 47 | |
| Functional accessories replaced/upgraded | 108 | Working sockets/switches etc. replaced for new/decorative accessories |
| Plugtops/connectors (e.g. IEC) fitted/replaced | 42 | BS1363 plugs or other power connectors fitted |
| Single to twin outlet socket conversions | 4 | Converta sockets (i.e. no change of backbox) |
| New socket outlets/spurs/switches/isolators installed/relocated | 399 | |
| Exterior socket/FCU installed/relocated | 16 | |
| Armoured cable terminations | 24 | |
| Armoured cable feeds installed to outbuildings | 8 | |
| SWA cable splices | 3 | |
| Exposed cores repaired | 31 | |
| New flex installed to an appliance | 3 | |
| Custom conduit (plastic or steel) installations | 7 | |
| Loose accessories secured | 8 | Incorrect screws or not properly mechanically installed |
| Bathroom | ||
| Shower feeds installed | 4 | |
| Shower/fan isolators installed/replaced/upgraded/relocated | 15 | |
| Electric showers installed/replaced | 3 | |
| Extractor fans installed/replaced | 24 | |
| Shaver sockets installed/replaced | 7 | |
| Whirlpool baths/hot tubs installed | 1 | |
| Kitchen | ||
| New cooker/hob circuits installed | 14 | |
| Cookers, ovens or hobs connected | 25 | |
| Oven/cooker element replaced | 1 | |
| Cooker hoods/extractors installed/replaced | 3 | |
| Lighting | ||
| Lighting occupancy sensors/PIRs installed/replaced | 6 | |
| All new downlights installed (with LED lamps) | 287 | |
| Exterior light replacements | 21 | |
| All new exterior lights installed & wired in | 34 | |
| Ceiling/wall lights hung/rehung/replaced | 136 | |
| All new (non downlight) lighting circuits installed | 16 | New ceiling pendants/wall light circuits |
| Tungsten/halogen/CFL lighting converted to LED | 204 | |
| Old downlight fittings replaced/converted to new LED | 96 | Conversion of MR11/MR16/R63/R80 fittings to Gu10 LED or similar |
| Faulty ELV SELV transformers/GU5.3 lampholders replaced | 5 | |
| LED strip lighting installed (m) | 24 | Flexi-strip LED custom cut to size |
| Fluorescent battens/2D lamps converted to LED | 6 | |
| Bespoke feature lighting designed/installed | 8 | |
| Like-for-like bulb/starter changes | 60 | |
| Old/faulty luminaires rewired/repaired | 6 | |
| Defunct luminaires removed | 25 | |
| Switch drops added/relocated on existing circuit | 32 | New or moved switch drops |
| Telephony/broadband/networking/comms | ||
| Relocate/reterminate/repair telephone/broadband cabling | 8 | |
| New telephone outlet installed | 6 | |
| CAT 5e/CAT6 network cables/faceplates installed | 2 | |
| Cat 5e/6/telephony cables decommissioned | 24 | |
| Heating & water | ||
| Electric radiators/storage heaters installed/replaced | 9 | |
| Damaged/faulty underfloor heat mats repaired | 1 | |
| Immersion/water heaters installed | 1 | |
| Heated towel rails installed | 6 | |
| Timer/boost controllers installed | 9 | |
| Thermostats/controllers rewired/relocated/replaced | 4 | |
| Instantaneous hot water solutions installed | 1 | |
| Electric fires repaired/maintained | 1 | i.e. new switch/element etc. |
| Pond pump/filter installations | 1 | |
| Safety, security & access | ||
| PAT tests performed | 295 | |
| Full/partial EICR (periodic inspections) performed | 27 | |
| Mains linked smoke/heat/CO2 alarms installed/replaced | 37 | |
| Intruder alarm installation | 2 | |
| Intruder alarm maintenance | 1 | |
| PIR/contact sensors replaced/new sensors installed | 13 | |
| Intruder alarm false alarm investigation/rectification | 2 | |
| Doorbell/extension bell installed/replaced | 7 | |
| Emergency lighting bulkheads installed/replaced | 4 | |
| Full CCTV systems installed | 2 | |
| Individual CCTV cameras installed/replaced/repaired/maintained | 13 | |
| FP200 fire panel supplies installed | 1 | FP200 cable installation |
| Miscellaneous | ||
| Mechanical works | 4 | Mechanical installation to prevent access/damage to electrical accessories |
| Solar PV maintenance | 1 | |
| Metering/monitoring installations | 2 | |
| Switch flicking! | 11 | Call-outs to non operative equipment that was just turned off |
| Blown fuse replacements | 6 | |
| Energy efficient lighting upgrade power savings (W): | 15520.5 | See below |
Number of bookings logged in the calendar for 2015: 301
It's funny how things change year from year. For example in 2014 there were a lot of CAT-5 and CAT-6 installations, but no intruder alarms.
The number I'm most proud of is the lighting power saving where fifteen and a half kilowatts have been knocked off the grid since this time last year. This means that at the end of 2014 there was 15.52kW being used to drive energy inefficient lighting which is no longer sucking power from the grid. Those same homes and businesses still have nice, bright, clean lighting, but now that LED or fluorescent alternatives have been installed where halogen or tungsten used to be, they are saving pounds off their electricity bill and the grid doesn't have to work so hard to keep them a-glowing. Long may that trend continue!
I've expanded the number of trades I team up with, so the last twelve months have been my busiest to date and has seen me working six days a week on the tools for much of the year just to keep up. I intend to slow down a little and get my weekends back in 2016, so if you want my services, try to book early to avoid disappointment!
AFF6