Consumer Unit Upgrades: What North East Homeowners Need to Know
Your consumer unit, often still called the fuse box, is the control centre for every circuit in your home. If yours is more than 15 years old, made of plastic, or still uses rewirable fuses, it may not give you the protection modern wiring regulations expect. Here is what an upgrade involves and how to tell if you need one.
What does a consumer unit actually do?
It splits your incoming supply into separate circuits for lights, sockets, the cooker and the shower, and protects each one. Modern units do this with three types of device:
Circuit breakers (MCBs) switch off a circuit if it overloads or shorts.
RCDs detect current leaking to earth, the kind that happens when someone touches a live fault, and cut the power in a fraction of a second.
Surge protection guards your electronics against voltage spikes.
Older fuse boxes only offer the first kind of protection, and often not reliably.
Signs your consumer unit needs replacing
It has rewirable fuses, the old ceramic carriers with fuse wire inside.
The casing is plastic. Since 2016, new consumer units in homes must be made of non-combustible material, usually metal, after fires linked to plastic units.
There is no RCD protection, or only one RCD covering the whole house, so a single fault can leave you in the dark.
It trips often, or you cannot tell which breaker controls what.
Your EICR flagged it. Missing RCD protection is one of the most common reasons we find for an unsatisfactory report.
You are adding a big new load, such as an EV charger, heat pump or electric shower, that your current unit cannot support.
What happens during an upgrade
A consumer unit change is usually a one-day job for a typical house:
We test first. Every circuit is tested before the swap, so we know about any existing faults rather than discovering them afterwards.
Power off. The supply is isolated for most of the day, so plan around the freezer and working from home.
New unit fitted. Circuits are connected, labelled clearly and given the right protection.
Earthing and bonding checked. Bonding to gas and water pipes is brought up to current standards if needed.
Full test and certification. You get an Electrical Installation Certificate, and the work is notified to building control through our NAPIT registration.
That last step matters. Replacing a consumer unit is notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations. If it is not certified properly, it can cause problems when you sell the house or make an insurance claim.
How do I know if mine is safe?
If you are unsure, an EICR inspection will tell you exactly what condition your consumer unit and wiring are in, with every issue coded by urgency. It is also the sensible first step before buying an older property or starting a renovation.
Consumer unit upgrades across the North East
A-Lek Technical upgrades consumer units for homeowners and landlords across Morpeth, Newcastle, Northumberland, Gateshead, Sunderland and Durham. Every job is carried out by qualified, NAPIT-registered electricians and certified to BS 7671.
Thinking about an upgrade? Request a quote or call 07525 792 529.
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