Given the emergence from lockdown this spring, with the rule of six outside continuing to prevail for some time and the impending summer months, you would be well served turning your attention to garden improvements that you can make a little earlier this year. Carrying out any planned projects could make the time you spend in the garden this year much more enjoyable and also set you up well for future years. Our blog discusses some helpful ideas for the garden that can be implemented with the help of our team of qualified electricians and possibly a little help from Plumb4U as well at times!
Bring outdoor space to life with light
Why not illuminate your garden with some smart lighting from Philips Hue? They have a number of different systems which can be attached to walls near seating areas or mounted on the ground to illuminate trees, shrubbery and pathways. The lighting comes with a smart bridge so you can set “scenes” in your garden using different colour lighting combinations to make a really beautiful coloured light show. In addition there are automatic timers which can be set on the bridge to bring on the lighting at different times. There are also tap switches which you can mount outside in a weather resistant casing or inside your back door to save your favourite 3 lighting “scenes”. In addition the lights can be switched on and the colour adjusted from your phone or they can also be managed from an Alexa or similar app in the home.
For a trendy take by seating areas try the Philips Hue Econic wall light at £139.99 or if you prefer something a little more traditional try the Econic Outdoor Pedestal Light at £129.99. For pathways and shrubbery the Lily Outdoor Spotlight with White and Colour Ambience at £79.99 is a great spotlight with a durable plastic spike and the Fuzo Outdoor Pedestal Light £109.99 lights up stairs and pathways really well.
Escape to your “Man Cave” or Summer House for some well-deserved peace
Why not read a book or indulge in one of your latest hobbies down the garden in the garden retreat, but first throw some light on the subject. We can quote for any needed improvements to lighting that are needed be they modern LED strip lights or something a little more in keeping with the ambiance of a garden house or retreat.
In addition, why not think about the heating and cooling for this much loved space? In winter this type of building often suffers from being too cold hence doesn’t see the light of day and in the summer it often gets too warm so is also neglected. We can fix this with an air source heat pump to provide cooling in summer and heating in winter. This type of solution is also environmentally friendly and can sometimes be set up to run from solar PV thus saving money. In addition we can provide you with extended WiFi connectivity in remote locations in your garden should you wish to get some peace but still stay connected.
Heat your pool for free using an Air Source Heat Pump plus PV
If you do have PV on the roof, you are likely to have around 4kW of PV as that was the maximum you could have sent back up to the grid when the government were incentivising people to do this. The bottom has somewhat dropped out of this market given people get rates as low as 2p per hour now for sending their 4kW back into the grid – what a rip off….!
But think of it this way – what if you can take your 4kW and make 20kW out of it with an air source heat pump during the day to heat your pool? The maths is fairly simple for someone well-tuned in electrical engineering – you can save a whopping £20 per day by heating your pool during daylight hours in this way!
Speak to both Electric4U and Plumb4U about this type of opportunity which ideally utilises both sets of skills to reap the benefits of solar power combined with the very latest in renewable technologies.
Luxuriate in some warm bubbles with friends
Have you ever thought about getting a hot tub but thought it was too expensive a toy to install and heat. Surprise surprise – we know a way of cutting your heating bill (see above). And we can install the very latest in hot tubs sourced from a great company in Europe by arranging the import and installation at half the price of a similar model in the UK.
Call us now to get a quote!
