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  • Established 1985over 40 years in the Borders
  • 9 full-time electriciansAll 18th Edition qualified
  • SELECT 17074 · ECA 1683735NSI, MCS, OZEV & RECC
  • £10m / £5m insuredEmployers' & public liability
  • Free fixed-price quotesSupplied free, no obligation

Service overview

Electrical work built for farm conditions

Farm buildings destroy electrical installations that were specified as though they were houses. Ammonia, dust, moisture, vibration, rodents and wash-down between batches all shorten the life of anything not chosen for the job.

What the service covers

We install and maintain farm supplies and submains between buildings, distribution boards in agricultural buildings, livestock shed and parlour wiring, grain store and drying plant supplies, workshop and machinery power, yard and security lighting, water pump and borehole supplies, ventilation and heating controls, generator changeover arrangements, and inspection and testing across the whole holding. Solar PV, battery storage and EV charging are installed by the same team where a farm wants to cut bought-in energy.

Who it is for

Arable, livestock, mixed and estate holdings across Berwickshire, the wider Scottish Borders and North Northumberland, from single-shed jobs to a full holding survey with a phased programme of upgrades.

When it is needed

Before harvest or housing rather than during it; when converting or repurposing a building; when adding drying, milling, ventilation or robotic equipment; when the yard is dark and the supply keeps tripping; when insurance or an assurance scheme inspection asks for evidence of safe electrics; and immediately when there is any sign of heat, arcing or shock.

Why professional work matters

The consequences on a farm are unusually direct. Ventilation failure risks livestock. A drier stoppage risks a crop. A shock hazard in a wet parlour risks a person. Specification matters more than price here, and it is the reason we choose IP-rated equipment, armoured cable and mechanical protection as standard rather than as an upgrade.

The cost of leaving it

What happens when farm electrics are left to deteriorate

Agricultural installations often date from a different farming operation entirely, extended piecemeal across forty years of changing use.

  • Livestock losses from a single failure

    Ventilation, water and heating all depend on power. A failed supply in a housed shed becomes an animal welfare emergency within hours, usually overnight and usually at the worst point of the season.

  • Fire risk in dust and straw

    Grain dust, straw and bedding combined with hot terminations, damaged cable and unsuitable fittings are a straightforward fire risk. Farm building fires are catastrophic because the loss is the building, the stock and the crop at once.

  • Wash-down destroys the wrong equipment

    Domestic-grade accessories in a parlour or wash bay fail within a season. Water tracks into enclosures, terminals corrode, and RCDs start tripping for reasons nobody can find.

  • Rodent and mechanical damage

    Unprotected cable runs get chewed, snagged by machinery or crushed in doorways. Armoured cable and proper containment cost more once; unprotected cable costs every year.

  • The common shortcut

    Running a long unarmoured lead to an outbuilding, hanging a domestic consumer unit in a dusty shed, and adding new plant to a supply that was sized for lighting. All three appear on almost every holding survey we carry out.

Our process

How the job runs, start to finish

  1. 01

    Step 1: Holding survey and inspection

    We walk the buildings, look at the incoming supply, the submains and the boards, and identify both the immediate hazards and the capacity you have to work with.

  2. 02

    Step 2: Priorities and fixed-price quote

    You get a written schedule split into what must be done now and what can be programmed, priced as a fixed sum. Free quotes supplied.

  3. 03

    Step 3: Installation around the farming calendar

    Work is timed around housing, harvest, lambing or calving. Where a building must stay live, we phase the work and provide temporary arrangements.

  4. 04

    Step 4: Testing and verification

    Every circuit tested and recorded, insulation resistance, loop impedance, RCD operation and rotation on three-phase plant, before anything is handed back into use.

  5. 05

    Step 5: Certification and ongoing cover

    Certificates and test results for your assurance and insurance file, and out-of-hours cover in place for agricultural emergencies going forward.

Payment by bank transfer (preferred) or card. Deposits on larger jobs only, agreed case by case before we start.

What you get

The difference it makes on your site

Out-of-hours cover for agricultural emergencies

Farm emergencies do not respect office hours, and we cover them. Out-of-hours calls are answered for existing customers; call-out is charged at approximately 1.5 times the standard rate.

Specified to survive the building

IP-rated enclosures, armoured cable, galvanised containment and mechanical protection chosen for ammonia, dust, damp and wash-down.

Timed around your calendar

Work programmed for the gaps in the farming year rather than dropped into the middle of harvest or housing.

Capacity checked before plant arrives

Load assessed before driers, mills, robots or chargers are connected, so the supply is upgraded on plan instead of discovered on the day.

Lower running costs

LED yard and shed lighting, correctly sized pump and fan supplies, and where it stacks up, solar PV and battery storage installed by the same MCS certified team.

Local, since 1985

Working from offices in Coldstream and Duns on these holdings for over 40 years, with nine full-time electricians who know what a Borders farm building does to an installation.

In detail

Farm systems, buildings and specification

Each building type on a holding has its own failure mode, and the specification follows from that rather than from a standard price list.

Livestock buildings and parlours

Wash-down areas need IP-rated enclosures, stainless or plastic containment where appropriate, correctly positioned isolators and RCD protection sized to avoid nuisance tripping on long runs. Ventilation and heating controls need reliable supplies and, where welfare depends on them, alarm or standby arrangements. Cable is routed clear of livestock, machinery and the pressure washer.

Grain stores, driers and handling plant

Dust-rated fittings, sealed enclosures, three-phase supplies sized for motor starting on augers, fans and elevators, and local isolation at every machine. Grain plant is used hard for short periods, which is exactly when a marginal installation fails, so we test and check before the season rather than during it.

Yard power, lighting and security

Steel wire armoured submains at correct depth, yard sockets and 3-phase outlets where machinery needs them, LED floodlighting on photocell or PIR control, and CCTV and intruder alarm systems through our fire and security team, increasingly the first thing farms ask about after a theft in the area.

Workshops, water and remote buildings

Workshop supplies for welders and compressors, borehole and water pump supplies with volt drop calculated over long runs, and supplies to remote buildings, stables and field shelters. Volt drop is the failure most often designed in by others on rural sites; it is calculated here before cable is ordered.

Energy generation on farm

Farm buildings offer large, well-oriented roofs and a daytime load profile that suits solar particularly well. We install MCS certified solar PV (NAPIT NEP-66400) and battery storage, and OZEV approved EV charging, with the array sized against your actual consumption rather than the available roof.

Agricultural versus domestic and commercial work

A farmhouse is a domestic installation; the buildings around it are not. Agricultural work needs higher ingress protection, more mechanical protection, longer submains, three-phase provision, and consideration of livestock welfare and crop risk in the event of failure. The certification is the same; the specification and the consequence of getting it wrong are not.

Accredited for this work

  • SELECT17074
  • ECA1683735
  • NSI Approved (Fire)NSI-000082/FS/S
  • BAFESP203 Registered
  • MCS via NAPITNEP-66400
  • OZEV ApprovedEV chargers
  • RECCRegistered
  • SMAS WorksafeSSIP approved

Before you call

Agricultural Electrical Services: your questions answered

How much does agricultural electrical work cost?

It is priced per holding and per building after a survey. You receive a written fixed-price quote split into immediate hazards and programmable works, so you can act on the urgent items and plan the rest.

How quickly can you quote?

Free quotes supplied. Larger projects requiring design take one to two weeks.

Do you cover out-of-hours farm emergencies?

Yes. Out-of-hours cover is specifically provided for agricultural and domestic emergencies. Out-of-hours calls are answered for existing customers; otherwise leave a message and we return urgent calls promptly. Call-out out of hours is charged at approximately 1.5 times the standard rate.

Can you work around harvest, housing and lambing?

That is how we programme farm work. Timing is agreed at survey stage, and where a building must remain live we phase the work and provide temporary arrangements.

Are you insured for work on a farm?

Yes: £10m employers' liability and £5m public liability, with RAMS produced for virtually all jobs and SMAS Worksafe SSIP accreditation held.

How long will a farm installation last?

Correctly specified, decades. Domestic-grade equipment in a shed or parlour can fail inside a couple of seasons, which is why ingress protection and mechanical protection are specified from the start.

Do I need periodic inspection on farm buildings?

Harsh environments warrant shorter inspection intervals than houses or offices, and assurance schemes and insurers increasingly ask for evidence. The report we issue states the recommended next inspection date.

Can you connect a new drier, mill or robot?

We assess supply capacity, phase balance and starting current first. If the existing supply cannot carry the plant, we price the upgrade rather than connect it and leave you to find out at full load.

What guarantee is provided?

Manufacturer warranties are confirmed at quotation: solar panels, for example, carry a 25-year warranty and SolarEdge inverters 10 years. We do not issue a formal written workmanship guarantee, but we always return to put right anything we have done incorrectly.

Which areas do you cover?

The Scottish Borders and North Northumberland from Coldstream, including Duns, Greenlaw, Chirnside, Kelso, Eyemouth, Jedburgh, Wooler and Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Related services

Agricultural Electrical Services near you

Working from Unit 4 Home Pl, Coldstream TD12 4DT across the Scottish Borders and North Northumberland.

See the full list of service areas, read about the company, or return to the homepage.

Get a price

Sort the farm electrics.Before the season does it for you.

Book a holding survey and you will get a written, prioritised, fixed-price schedule, plus out-of-hours cover for agricultural emergencies once you are on our books.

01890 882981
  • Established 1985 | over 40 years' experience
  • SELECT 17074 · ECA 1683735 · SMAS Worksafe SSIP
  • £10m employers' and £5m public liability cover
  • Free quotes supplied

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Related electrical services and areas we cover

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