Fuse Box Replacement

Fuse Board Replacement

Fuse Boards, also referred to as Consumer Units or Fuse Boxes, are a vital piece of your electrical installation.

Unsure about the condition of your fuse board, or are having concerns that it might not be adequate to your property?

Our team of expertly trained and qualified professional electricians provide seamless fuse box replacement and installation service to upgrade you with a modern electrical system.

Installing a brand new consumer unit not only brings your install up to the latest Safety Standards, but will protect your property for years to come.

Do I Need A Fuseboard Replacement?

You shouldn’t need to upgrade your unit if a qualified electrician has deemed it safe.

Here’s a few indicators your unit may be unsafe, that you can check yourself:

• Your unit doesn’t contain an RCD (Residual Current Device).
  This is a feature of modern consumer units, and quickly trips the power when it detects a fault.
  Check your existing unit for a button with the word ‘TEST’ or ‘T’ somewhere in the frame.
  If you can’t find one, then its likely that there is no RCD present.

• Has your power been intermittent, cutting out occasionally, lights flickering, switches or sockets not working any longer?

• The fuse board is grey, or cast iron with manually removable fuses, likely with a wooden back to the box. These units can severely compromise electrical safety, especially when additional work has been done over the years to items in the property.

• You can see exposed cables, circuit breakers or fuses and visible copper parts of the fuse box. Older model boards do not have the acceptable levels of safety standards we see nowadays, and as such can be extremely dangerous if not operated by a qualified professional.

• Is your consumer unit made out of plastic? New regulations mandate metal fuse boards to prevent fires spreading if electrical faults occur

Why Are RCD’s So Important?

The most widely adopted and common form of RCD to have in your home is usually fitted inside the consumer unit, (some larger properties may require more than 1 or an RCBO system), and it’s sole purpose is reducing the risk of electric shocks and from fires starting.

RCD’s (Residual Current Devices) are designed in a specialised way to ensure a high level of protection to protect against electrocution and electrical fires by automatically breaking the electricity to the circuits when it detects a path to earth.

Other applications of additional RCDs in properties could be fitted directly into sockets, or a portable plug in RCD for using power outside.

New Fuse Box Install - What Can I Expect?

We advise our clients to undertake an EICR before changing the fuse board, which allows us to inspect and test the existing electrical installation and the wiring for potential existing faults that your outdated fuse box model wouldn’t have been able to pick up on.

After completion of the EICR, we provide a detailed list of any issues found, and if applicable, schedule any repairs before the fuseboard is being replaced.

In addition to installing a new fuse board, we undertake full inspection and testing of your existing electrical points, circuits and earthing and bonding to ensure they are working safely.

Once everything is complete, we issue an Electrical Installation Certificate Report.

The installation time depends on many factors, but typically takes around 4 hours to complete.