Fuse Box and Consumer Unit Replacement and Costs

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Are you worried the fuse box in your house is too old and no longer complies with electrical UK regulations? Is it time to replace it with a more modern consumer unit? How long is it going to take and more specifically, how much is it going to cost?
Read on and you’ll find out all the answers to these questions including what is involved in the replacement process so you can make the right choice for your household.

Let’s start with:

What is the difference between a fuse box and an electrical consumer unit?

A fuse box and a consumer unit serve the same purpose. They distribute electricity in your house through multiple circuits and instantly turn the power off whenever a power overload occurs on one of the circuits, which is commonly known as “tripping”.

When “tripping” occurs, a consumer unit will switch the power off using the circuit breaker linked to the overloaded circuit. It will turn itself to the position OFF making the faulty circuit easily identifiable. Once the circuit is fixed, the circuit breaker can be switched back on and the power restored.

A fuse box uses fuses instead of circuit breakers. Each fuse contains a wire which will melt if there is an electrical overload and make the circuit trip and switch the power off.

It is not as easy to identify a faulty circuit when using a fuse box and the, now melted fuse, will need to be replaced before the power can be restored.
Consumer units are basically the modern and safer version of fuse boxes which in most cases are no longer compliant with current electrical regulations.
If your house is fitted with an old fuse box, it might be time to for you to replace it.

Do you think it's time to replace your old fuse box?
Call one of our registered London electricians for your FREE quote

07947 194 448

How do I know if I have an old-fashioned fuse box?

It’s very easy to tell if you have an old-style fuse box or a more modern consumer unit.

An old-style fuse box will have a series of fuses contained inside fuse carrier which you can manually remove and replace when one of them goes off following a power overload.

The picture on the right show a typical fuse box.

A consumer unit however, will be made of a horizontal row of what is known as MCB (Mini circuit breakers).

Each MCB will have a switch which can go off in case of a power surge.

The picture on the right show a typical consumer unit

Which consumer unit is right for my house?

Main switch Consumer Unit

This type of consumer unit only has one main switch from which all circuits in the house can be swithed off.
In case of a power surge the main switch will trigger itself to the position off, along with the toggle of the faulty circuit.
This is a very popular choice, especially for single storey houses and small flats.

Dual RCD Consumer unit

A dual RCD (residual current device) consumer Unit offers the ability to split load the power over two sets of circuits, RCD1 and RCD2.
The advantage of this consumer unit is that it is possible to alternate the circuits so the power can still be available in some part of the house if one of the RCDs is no longer operational. This is ideal for multiple storey houses.

High integrity Consumer unit

High Integrity consumer unit have become a very popular choice over time as they offer the ability to separate all circuits independently. So while your freezer may stop working, everything else will continue working without interruption.

Do you think it's time to replace your old fuse box?
Call one of our registered London electricians for your FREE quote

07947 194 448

How much does it cost to replace a fuse box or electrical consumer unit?

The costs of replacing a fuse box or upgrading a consumer unit to a more recent once can vary greatly as it will depend on many factors such as:

Which type of consumer unit is needed
The number of circuits required
How old the exiting installation is

It is best to speak to one of our qualified electricians first to get a free quote.

A typical replacement (Labour and part) will cost between £375 and £550 and will include:

A Consumer unit
NICEIC Electrical installation certificate and part P notification to building control

The quote in this example does not include the earth & bonding check which need to be carried out before the replacement takes place. The Earth and bonding inspection will establish if there are any fault in the existing installation which need to be addressed before the fuse box can be replaced..

Does your RCD consumer unit keep tripping?

If your residual current device (RCD) continues to trip, it is highly probable that there is an electrical issue within your house, causing one of the circuit breakers to switch off the RCD.

Find out in this short video how to identify the specific circuit breaker that is tripping, isolate the malfunctioning electrical equipment, and reset the RCD to restore power.

How to Check a Fuse using Your Phone!

If you’re using an old fuse box, sometimes the problem is just a blown fuse. But figuring out which one can be tough without a multimeter.

Good news—there’s a quicker, easier way to check just by using your phone! Watch this short video to learn how and save yourself the cost of an electrician.

You’ll just need to grab a new fuse and you’re good to go!