I recently had an electrician suggest I needed to replace the unit, is this true?
I had a building survey done which stated:
The mains electricity supply is located within the front entrance hall. The consumer unit will have been upgraded from what will have been an original fixed fuse distribution box and the mains supply is now distributed through a modern style distribution board. The supply has been split into individual circuits with each having protection provided by MCB’s and overall RCD protection.
No tests have been undertaken on the installation.
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I was quoted £650... after reading up some more, the only thing that a new unit would change to my current one, would be the fact its made/encased in metal. Thank you all for the advice, it's very much appreciated, you've saved me a lot of hassle!
Are you a tradesperson and able to answer this question?
Your 'electrician' was trying it on. No need to change it at all.
Your update.. yes I thought that's why he said it needed changing. This is an old dodge-at least you took our advice on board and didn't fall for it, and £650 you saved, which by the way seems mighty pricey for a job that didn't need doing in the first place.
Hi, If you have a modern fuse board which has MCBs and all backed up by RCDs I cant see a reason why you would have to upgrade. Fuse boards normally need upgrading if you are altering circuits which don't have RCD or RCBO protection, or they are old wooden backed boards
Hope this helps
Kind regards
Paul
It was a shame to read that somebody was suggesting carrying out unnecessary works. If you have RCD protection, the distribution board is entirely appropriate, the only thing I would say is if you wanted complete piece of mind an electrical test can be carried out, which can then tell you whether the circuitry coming away from this distribution board was wired correctly and safe for use.
kind regards
James Barnes
NICEIC quality supervisor for my company
Indeed. The 'need' for metal casing to the consumer unit (aka fuse box) is purposely intended for new builds and new installations in domestic applications. The change was introduced "to contain any fire within the enclosure or cabinet and to minimise the escape of flames" which is a risk that cannot be underestimated. See http://electrical.theiet.org/wiring-matters/55/consumer-units/index.cfm
The box in this instance has RCD protection so is evidently an improvement on older boxes. It is worth having the actual cabling tested though as it is surprising how swiftly wiring performance will start to decline (most especially the insulation surrounding copper conductors, if less than premium cable was installed either originally or during the life of the buildings upgrades).
If your complete piece of mind is important though, maybe get some prices from other local contractors who are prepared to deliver more appealing prices?
