The consumer unit is the single most important safety device in your home. Older boards were built to standards that predate most of what we now understand about electrical safety.
What to look for
- Rewireable fuses — the old ceramic carriers with fuse wire. These do not protect people, only cables.
- No RCD — if there is no test button anywhere on the board, you have no protection against electric shock.
- A plastic enclosure — since 2016, consumer units in domestic premises have had to be non-combustible, which in practice means metal.
- Cast iron or wooden backing — genuinely old, and long past replacement.
- No spare ways — no room to add a circuit for an extension or garden supply.
- Signs of heat — scorching, discolouration or a smell of hot plastic around the board.
What an upgrade involves
We test the existing circuits first, because a new board will immediately reveal any pre-existing faults the old one was tolerating. Then the board is swapped, every circuit is tested and certified, and the work is notified under Part P. Most straightforward domestic swaps are a single day.
If you are unsure, it is always cheaper to ask than to guess. Give us a call and we will tell you straight.