Does this fuse box need upgrading?

Hi there, After having look at the picture you have provided, you dont need a new rcd unit if you have already one. I dont know how big the house is and how many circuits are there in the house. earth bonding to the gas mains and water mains are required. water bonding mean 10mm earth cable to gas meter and to main water tap from the electric mains. The best way to find out what exactly need is to do a periodic inspection report. Because at this point we dont know how old the wiring is so it is bit difficuilt to say more without looking at it. And in the periodic report the inspector will write down all the work needed to bring this installation uptodate. I hope this will help. regards, kashif

Picture link did not work? - Whilst the current owner may not have had any problems, that in itself is no guarantee that the installation is safe and free from defects. BS7671:2008 requires that all circuits in domestic premises are now RCD protected. My guess is that you have a 16th edition split load type unit with a single RCD and the lighting circuits are not RCD protected? Whilst there is no legal requirement to upgrade the unit, to do so would be very wise as it could end up saving your life, or prevent a fire if a fault were to develop in the future. Personally I would not want to put my family and personal belongings at risk for the sake of a couple of hundred pounds to install a new 17th Edition dual RCD unit. If your budget allowed then an upgrade to individual RCBO's would be even better still.

assuming it passes all tests for automatic dissconection of supply , rcd operating times etc then no urgent requirement to upgrade. only thing i would advise going from the picture is that the main switch is an RCD which is not 17th edition standard , because a fault on any circuit would turn off the full system. 17th edition requires dual rcd/high integrity

It all depends on the reasons why it doesn't meet current standards. A picture of the consumer unit will not give a full picture. If it's for a house you are purchasing, I would find out the reasons why and use this to negotiate the price or get the vendor to employ an electrician to rectify any recommended deviations.

I agree with All posts really, G W Electrics nailed it. It is not up to current regs, it needs to be a split load board. But that doesn't mean you have to change it. Depending on the results of an EICR you can determine the need for an upgrade. It is an existing installation, some people have much older installations that function perfectly well. However, personally, i would change it to a 17th Edition split load board just for peace of mind. How much do you value your lives at the end of the day. £200 for an upgrade is far from expensive for your safety. John