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A 'Consumer Unit'
is where all of the circuits in your home are fed from. You
may know it as a 'Fuse Board'. Older types of Fuse Board
contain pull out fuses where you had to replace the fuse wire
when they burnt out. The most popular Fuse Boards were made by
a company called 'Wylex'. A typical Wylex Fuse Board is
pictured here > |
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Modern Consumer
Units are fitted with circuit breakers (also known as Trip
Switches). This newer technology means that you can simply
reset the circuit breaker if it trips (as long as there is no
fault on the circuit).
They also
contain RCD's (Residual Current Device's). An RCD disconnects
the power whenever it detects that the electric current is not
balanced, for example, if there is a short circuit. A cause of
this could be if you drill through, or accidentally cut
through cables.
A modern
Consumer Unit will look something like this > |
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Why Should I
Upgrade To A Consumer Unit? |
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The most obvious
reason is safety. As well as providing overload protection,
the built in RCD means that the electricity will be
disconnected within a fraction of a second if a fault is
detected. This means you and your family are safer in your
home and protected against electric shock in the event of a
fault.
You might have heard stories from friends or family who have
an RCD that it trips the house out whenever a light bulb
blows. Since 2008 Consumer Units generally have two RCD's. The
way we install these Consumer Unit's means that if one RCD
trips due to a fault, the other will remain on. In simple
terms, we split the circuits so that if your downstairs lights
go out, most of the house will still have power. |
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How Long Does
It Take To Install A Consumer Unit? |
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It usually takes
between three and five hours to change your fuse board to a
consumer unit. The process involves the following stages:
- Identifying
your existing circuits and testing for any existing faults.
- Replacing
or adding mains earth bonding (Earth cable to gas and water
pipes).
- Removing
your existing fuse board and disposing.
- Improving
the termination points of the cables for improved
conductivity.
- Installing
the frame of the new Consumer Unit.
- Adding each
circuit to the new Consumer Unit.
- Carrying
out a thorough 'Inspection and Test' of the circuits & RCD.
- Checking
figures against those of current regulations (BS7671:2008).
- Performing
functional tests on the circuits.
- Recording
all of the details and completing the necessary paperwork.
- Issue an
'Electrical Installation Certificate'
The testing
can sometimes reveal existing faults that will need to be
rectified before the tests can resume. We will not energise
the new Consumer Unit until the entire installation has passed
the safety checks 100%. |
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Is It Easy? My
Mate's Cousin Says He'll Do It. |
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A consumer unit
should only be installed by a qualified competent person in
accordance with all relevant legislation and regulations
including building regulations and wiring regulations BS7671.
If in doubt, ask to see identification and make sure you are
given certificates that prove compliance with BS7671:2008.
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< Back To
Services at Home |
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