Northwave Engineering Ltd

14/05/2026

Sometimes a job hits a little differently.

A little while back, we completed a new electrical supply installation for The Palladium Club in Bideford. A grassroots music venue right here in North Devon.

Having spent most of my teenage years in bands and playing live music, this one was close to my heart.

Venues like the Palladium are the backbone of the local music scene, the places where bands find their feet and artists find their crowd. The new supply meant they could run their brand new stage setup, amps, mixing desk and speakers, all properly powered, no unwanted noise or hums.

Safe to say, the sound is incredible. It's brilliant to see a local venue get the infrastructure it deserves, and even better knowing it's going to give more local bands and visiting artists the platform they need.

My son's a drummer. He's already a fan. 🥁

Big love to Ben Nigh and the team at The Palladium Club.

Here's to many more great nights.

The Palladium Club

13/05/2026

A question worth asking: When did someone last look at how your building’s controls are actually set up?

Not just 'Is the heating working?', but are the schedules, setpoints and occupancy settings doing what they should be doing?

For a lot of buildings, the honest answer is: no-one really knows. The BMS was commissioned, handed over, and then left to run. Energy bills arrived each month, and just paid.

We do building energy surveys for commercial premises, schools and offices. It's a practical look at what's happening, what isn't, and what's worth changing. No obligations!

Feel free to get in touch if it sounds relevant to you.

11/05/2026

Does any of this sound familiar?
These are five of the most common signs a commercial building is wasting energy and they're more common than you'd think. We see them regularly across offices, schools and business premises.
The good news: most of it is fixable, and usually without replacing any major equipment.

Drop us a message if you'd like to know more about how a building energy survey works.

15/04/2026

The only way to really accurately plan a commercial solar + storage installation is using half hourly meter readings and a good 12 months of data.

Just taking headline daily or monthly usage figures doesn’t account for peak loads or any time of use.

We do it properly:

no guess work
no “off the shelf” designs.

Just well modelled solutions designed for your business with room for expansion as your energy needs evolve.

27/03/2026

It’s almost 18 months to the day Northwave Engineering started and this pic was taken at the dining room table. 18 months on and we’re still working from various kitchen/dining/cafe tables, but what a journey it has been so far.

Two friends, lots of conversations over many years and then finally, over a pint in the pub and the infamous words “what’s the worst that could happen” - Northwave was born.

There was one mission from the start - “Do things once, Do things right”.

We set out to shake up our industry and we’re doing it - one awesome project at a time. Delivering exceptional quality, On Time, On Budget and we’re not afraid to shout about it.

24/03/2026

Summer sun is quickly approaching… are your solar panels ready?
Many homeowners don’t realise that dust, pollen, bird mess and general grime can cut solar panel performance by up to 30%. Even with regular UK rain, panels don’t stay clean, light build‑up forms a film that blocks sunlight and quietly reduces your energy savings.
With brighter, longer days on the way, now’s the perfect time to make sure your system is running at full power.
We’re launching a specialist residential solar PV cleaning service to help households boost efficiency safely and effectively, no streaks, no DIY risks, just better performance.
Want your panels ready for maximum summer generation?
Join our waiting list and be first to book your clean & maintenance- https://forms.office.com/e/q5pX1T9fGH

13/03/2026

The Importance of Solar PV Maintenance ☀️

This is what we discovered after being called out to a school where the Solar PV system had stopped working.

We found a burnt out cable connection, which had left the rooftop cable tray live — a serious safety risk.

This particular system was installed nearly 20 years ago, and the school was unaware that Solar PV systems require regular servicing and maintenance.

In this case, poor system design was largely to blame. From our experience, PV cable connections (MC4 connectors) do not perform well when exposed to the elements for long periods. They are by far the most common cause of faults on the systems we inspect.

Solar PV is not a “fit and forget” system. Regular inspections are essential to keep your system safe, efficient, and working properly.

If it’s been more than 2 years since your system was installed or last inspected, it may be time for a professional check.

Get in touch if you’d like to arrange an inspection or discuss your system performance.

12/03/2026

12/03/2026

Nice to see our work in the news this morning AquaTech Water Services

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8egny4j8y4o?fbclid=IwY2xjawQfRINleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETEzNjRCSGlpT2hNRlBJNkJzc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHmNer6tVqM0WQJwcxzj6Ki9WyM3FOwRCMRgHgIP2Wm5e1HU4OO3pjKNkklky_aem__O_1qIA7EoH242qA8VpEew

The quayside fountains are switched on for the first time since 2009 after a £60,000 repair project.

11/03/2026

Great to hand this over today !

Torridge District Council is pleased to announce that the Bideford Fountains are now firing again!

After 17 years of silence, the water fountains on Bideford Quay have been brought back to life, thanks to Government investment through the Rural England Prosperity Fund.

To mark the milestone, councillors from Torridge District Council, head of the Bideford Regeneration Board, Clare Coghill, along with year 12 students from Bideford College (who sit on the Bideford Regeneration Board), representatives from Northwave and Aquatech and children from Muddy Boots Pre-school, gathered at Bideford Quay earlier today to enjoy the firing of the fountains.

Please click the link in the comments to find out more 👇

11/03/2026

🌊 Project Handover – Bideford Quay Fountains ⛲

We’re proud to officially hand the Bideford Quay fountains back to following their extensive refurbishment.

This has been a fantastic project for our team, bringing these much loved fountains back to life after around 17 years out of action. Over the last couple of weeks of testing, the positive comments and conversations we’ve had with Bideford residents and visitors have been incredibly uplifting – it’s great to see them being enjoyed again.

Our work began with the removal, cleaning and full assessment of the existing system. Much of the original control system had been removed over the years and the pumps had seized due to the design drawing in river silt and mud.

To restore the system properly we:
🔧 Refurbished as many valves as possible, replacing those beyond repair
🔧 Installed new pumps with the help of the excellent Aquatech Water Services
🔧 Redesigned the pump arrangement and added fail safes to prevent the same issues happening again
🔧 Designed and built a completely new control system using the existing cabinet with new internals

The new control system incorporates a robust Loxone management platform, allowing the fountains to automatically respond to tidal and wind conditions, as well as manual control via an app.

Where possible, existing cabling, ancillaries and pipework were inspected, tested and refurbished. If something wasn’t economically repairable, it was replaced with new.

At Northwave Engineering, our unwritten motto is:
“Do it once, do it right.”

That means not just fixing a problem, but understanding why it failed and making sure it doesn’t happen again. We’re proud to say this project delivers exactly that.

Huge thanks to our friends at Water Services and suppliers and LED Controls for your support and expertise.