Fitting a consumer unit takes a couple of hours. Proving it is safe takes the rest of the day — and that second half is what produces your certificate. We carry out full initial verification on every board we install, plus surge protection device installs in Romford, across Gidea Park, Collier Row, Harold Wood and Rush Green.
Call 07502 396654 any time.
What consumer unit testing and commissioning involves
Testing follows a fixed order set out in BS 7671, and the order matters — dead tests first, because energising an installation you have not yet proved is how people get hurt.
- Continuity of protective conductors — every earth path proved end to end. A circuit with a broken earth looks entirely normal until the day it is needed.
- Continuity of ring final circuits — proves a ring is a genuine ring and not two spurs pretending. Interrupted rings are very common in houses that have had a kitchen refit.
- Insulation resistance — applied at 500 V. This is where damp, damaged cable and perished insulation show up as a number rather than a guess.
- Polarity — confirms live and neutral have not been swapped anywhere in the installation.
- Earth fault loop impedance — measures whether the protective device will disconnect fast enough during a fault, rather than merely being the right rating on paper.
- RCD and RCBO operation — each device tripped at rated and multiplied current, with disconnection times recorded. A device that trips slowly has failed.
- Functional testing and documentation — switching, labelling, and the certificate itself with every measured value written down.
You receive a schedule of test results with actual figures on it. If a previous board change produced no such schedule, the tests either were not done or were not recorded.
Why Romford installations throw up more findings
Romford’s building stock spans a very wide period — Victorian and Edwardian terraces near the market, the enormous interwar spread through Gidea Park, Collier Row and Harold Wood, post-war infill, and forty years of extensions and conversions on top. Most of it has been partially rewired at least once, usually by more than one person, usually with no record kept.
That makes insulation resistance testing genuinely diagnostic here rather than a formality. Frequent findings include lighting circuits with degraded rubber insulation in the loft, outbuilding supplies run in unsuitable cable, and borrowed neutrals that make individual RCBO protection impossible until they are separated. Where the result points to cable at the end of its life, we will tell you honestly and quote rewiring rather than papering over it.
Surge protection device installs
A surge protective device diverts transient overvoltages to earth before they reach your equipment. Those transients come from two directions: lightning activity on or near the distribution network, and switching events inside the building — which are far more common and much less dramatic.
Amendment 2 to the 18th Edition moved SPDs from a specialist extra towards a default consideration in dwellings, and the reason is simply what is now plugged in. A 1985 house held a television and a fridge. A 2026 house holds a heat pump controller, an EV charger, a solar inverter, a network of smart devices and someone’s entire working life on a desk.
- Type 1 — fitted at the origin of the installation, in buildings with a lightning protection system. Deals with direct and partial lightning currents.
- Type 2 — fitted at the consumer unit, the usual domestic choice. Deals with residual lightning energy and switching transients from the network.
- Type 3 — fitted close to sensitive equipment, downstream of a Type 2. A supplement, never a substitute.
Two things worth knowing before you buy one. An SPD needs a good, low-impedance earth to work, so fitting one to an installation with undersized or missing main bonding is money spent on a device that cannot do its job. And SPDs have a service life — they absorb energy and degrade, and every device has a status indicator that should be checked periodically.
What we provide
- Full initial verification on every consumer unit installation
- Electrical Installation Certificate with schedule of measured test results
- Type 2 surge protection device supply and installation
- Main protective bonding checked, proved or installed
- Meter tails renewed to 25 mm² where required
- Building control notification through our NICEIC registration
- Circuit identification and labelling at the board
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between an EIC and an EICR?
An Electrical Installation Certificate covers new work — a replacement board, a new circuit. An Electrical Installation Condition Report is an inspection of existing work. If your remedial work involved installing anything, you should receive both.
Do I need a surge protection device?
It is a decision to be made and recorded rather than ignored. If you have an EV charger, solar, a heat pump or significant electronic equipment, the case is straightforward. We will tell you if your earthing arrangement needs attention first.
Can you commission a board someone else installed?
Yes. We can carry out inspection and testing on an existing installation and issue a condition report. We cannot issue an Electrical Installation Certificate for work we did not design and install — that is what the certificate signatures mean.
How long does testing take?
On a domestic board change, testing and documentation typically occupy the second half of the working day. A larger or heavily altered property takes longer, particularly where circuits cannot be identified.
Book consumer unit work in Romford
Romford is about four miles from our base in Dagenham. We cover the RM postcodes with a 24-hour call-out alongside planned work, and handle Romford EICRs for homeowners and landlords.
Call 07502 396654 or email idealelectricians@gmail.com for a free, no-obligation estimate.
Ideal Electricians Ltd · 9 Woodward Road, Dagenham, Essex RM9 4SJ · NICEIC approved · Part P compliant · 15+ years