Oil has been a rollercoaster. Brent crude is well off its April peak, but it bounced almost 3% on Tuesday after Iran struck a Qatari tanker near the Strait of Hormuz, so any diesel relief comes with a health warning. Electric Ireland's 8% price rise still landed last week though, so retrofit demand is still climbing. This week we cover what the oil swings mean for your costs, why Q2 SEAI numbers point to a very busy autumn, a seasonal focus on kitchen LED strip installs, and a tip on writing quotes that beat the two other prices your customer is holding.
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📰 Industry News
Oil Bounces on Fresh Hormuz Attack, Still Off Spring Highs
Oil has been volatile. Brent crude is trading around $74 a barrel, well below the April 2026 peak, but it jumped almost 3% on Tuesday after Iran struck a Qatari LNG tanker near the Strait of Hormuz. Supply expectations have kept prices near their lowest since late February, so pump diesel has eased off the spring highs, but the direction is far from settled.
What it means for you: You may see some easing on van fuel over the summer, and softer oil takes a little upward pressure off wholesale electricity. But Hormuz is live and prices can move 10% in a single session, so do not build any saving into your quotes yet. Hold your rates.
Second Electric Ireland Bills Now Landing, Retrofit Enquiries Up
Electric Ireland's 8% electricity and 7.7% gas increases took effect on 1 July, one week ago. That is €138 extra per year on the average electricity bill and €117 on gas, hitting 1.1 million households. It is the first Electric Ireland increase since October 2022.
Anecdotally, solar installers and heat pump contractors we speak to are reporting a step-up in enquiries in the past ten days, matching the pattern seen when PrepayPower and Yuno raised prices earlier in the summer. The Q1 SEAI figures already showed heat pump applications up 95% and attic insulation up 81% year on year, and the July bill shock will feed the Q3 pipeline.
What it means for you: If you have a database of previous customers who asked about solar or heat pumps in 2024 or 2025 and did not proceed, this is the week to ring them. The payback maths has shifted again. Lead with the bill number, not the technology. Homeowners understand €138 a year better than they understand kWp or COP.
⚖️ Compliance Update
A reminder as kitchen renovation season peaks: under IS 10101, all recessed downlights installed in a ceiling that forms part of a fire compartment (which includes virtually every ground floor kitchen ceiling in a two storey house) must be fire-rated to at least 30 minutes, and typically 60 or 90 minutes to match the ceiling rating.
Two things worth flagging on jobs at the moment:
- Retrofit swap-outs: If you are replacing halogen GU10 downlights with LED, the old cut-out is often 70mm or 75mm. Most modern fire-rated LED downlights are 68mm cut-out. Check before you quote, cutting a bigger hole and patching is chargeable making-good work, not free.
- Dimmer compatibility: Trailing edge dimmers only. Leading edge on modern LED drivers will cause flicker, buzz and premature driver failure. If the existing dimmer is more than five years old, price a replacement into the quote as a line item, do not absorb it.
Full IS 10101 rules on emergency lighting, RCD protection and Zone classification for kitchen and bathroom lighting are worth a re-read before the busy August period.
🌿 July Kitchen Renovation Peak: Under-Cabinet and Cove LED Strip
School holidays are on, families are away, kitchens are being ripped out. The single easiest upsell on a kitchen downlight job this month is under-cabinet LED strip. Homeowners see it in every showroom and every Instagram kitchen reel, but most builders and kitchen fitters do not price it in.
The three variations worth quoting on every kitchen job:
- Under wall units: 3000K warm white strip in aluminium profile with frosted diffuser, hardwired to a rocker switch or the main kitchen circuit. Removes the shadow line on the worktop that downlights always leave.
- Plinth lighting: Same 3000K strip run along the kick-board, on a separate switch or a PIR. Sells itself as a night light for late-night fridge raids.
- Cove or bulkhead uplighting: If the kitchen has a bulkhead or dropped ceiling, strip pointing up gives indirect ambient light. Warmer, less clinical than downlights alone.
Priced as an add-on at the site visit, this is typically a €300 to €600 upsell on a €2,500 kitchen relight, with maybe two extra hours labour. Cable, driver and profile are all in stock at Greenogue.
🔦 Product Spotlight: LED Strip and Kitchen Lighting
What we are shifting for July kitchen jobs:
- LED strip and drivers in 3000K and 4000K, IP20 for indoor and IP65 for splash zones. Full range on the LED lights collection.
- Fire-rated LED downlights, dimmable, 3000K warm white now outselling 4000K roughly 3 to 1 for domestic kitchens. Browse ceiling lights.
- Aluminium profile, end caps, diffusers and connectors for a clean install, in stock in 1m and 2m lengths.
- Trailing edge dimmers and rocker switches for the switching side of the job. Available in-store at Greenogue, call 01 401 9907 or email sales@shamrockelectrical.ie.
Website prices are retail. Contractors get better trade pricing by phone or email, and the website carries only about 10 to 20% of what is actually on the shelves. If you are pricing a kitchen job this week, ring us with the fitting count and we will build you a full trade price on the whole basket.
Call 01 401 9907 or email sales@shamrockelectrical.ie to open a trade account or get pricing on this week's kitchen jobs.
💡 Contractor Tip of the Week: Writing a Quote That Beats the Other Two Prices
In July, every domestic customer is getting three quotes. If yours is the middle number, you will usually win. If it is the cheapest, they get suspicious. If it is the dearest, you need to justify it on paper. Five habits that consistently win kitchen and renovation jobs:
- Write the quote the same day as the site visit. Not that evening, not the next morning. The same day, while you are still fresh and while you are still front of mind for the customer. Customers who wait five days for a quote assume you do not want the work.
- Itemise fittings and labour on separate lines. Never one lump sum. If the customer can see €280 of fittings and €340 of labour, they stop comparing your total to the other quote and start comparing line by line. That is where you win.
- Name the products. Not "LED downlights", write "8 x fire-rated 90-minute LED downlights, 3000K, dimmable, trailing edge compatible." The other two quotes will say "LED downlights." Yours will look professional.
- Price making-good as a line, not an assumption. Cutting new holes, filling old ones, chasing a wall for a new switch drop. Two hours labour, name it. If you absorb it and the other lad does not, you look expensive for no reason.
- Add one clear upsell as an option, not a push. "Under-cabinet LED strip, supplied and fitted, €X additional if required." One line. No pressure. About one in three customers ticks it. That is your margin for the month.
📅 Dates to Know
- Now: Schools are off for the summer, secondary since early June and primary since late June, so the roads and morning runs are noticeably quieter. Peak domestic renovation activity through to end of August.
- Mon 4 August: August bank holiday Monday. Order Friday 1 August for anything needed the following week.
- Mid-August: Traditional slowdown as families take holidays, use the quieter fortnight to chase outstanding invoices before the September rush.
- 1 September: Schools return, commercial and educational fit-out work ramps up.
That is it for Issue #019. Oil is swinging, bills are up, kitchens are open. Get the quotes out the same day and use the extra July daylight to squeeze in one more site visit an evening. If you need anything priced, call the trade counter on 01 401 9907 or email sales@shamrockelectrical.ie. We are open Monday to Friday from 7:30am.
See you next Wednesday.
The Shamrock Electrical Team
Greenogue Business Park, Rathcoole, Co. Dublin
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📖 Previous Issues
- Issue 007: Irish fuel protests ended (ran 7-14 April), government survived no-confidence vo
- Issue 006: Iran ceasefire agreed (day 38), oil down 16% biggest single-day fall since 1991,
- Issue 005: Easter bank holiday opening hours, Iran war day 32 escalation, LED emergency bul
- Issue 004: Iran war week four alleged ceasefire signals, dynamic electricity tariffs launch
About Shamrock Electrical Supplies
Shamrock Electrical Supplies is an electrical wholesaler and retailer based in Greenogue Business Park, Rathcoole, Co. Dublin. We supply professional electrical contractors and homeowners across Ireland.
Contractors who open a trade account get competitive trade pricing, reliable stock availability, and a team that knows what they are talking about.
Find Us
Shamrock Electrical Supplies
Unit 22, Block 613, Jordanstown Road
Greenogue Business Park
Rathcoole, Co. Dublin, D24 TX98
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday: 7am to 5pm
Saturday: 9am to 1:30pm
Sunday: Closed
Get in Touch
📞 01 401 9907
✉️ sales@shamrockelectrical.ie
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