Consumer Unit Upgrade
Modern, fully protected consumer units, fitted, tested and certified in a single day.
Consumer Unit Upgrade
If your home still has an older fuse wire or rewireable fuse board, it needs upgrading. Modern consumer units provide RCD and RCBO protection which can save lives by cutting power in milliseconds if a fault is detected.
A consumer unit upgrade is also often required by insurers, or before adding an EV charger or home extension. We'll complete the work in a single day in most cases.
What's Included
Everything You Need To Know About Consumer Unit Upgrades
How the upgrade process works
We isolate the supply with your DNO cut-out, remove the old board, fit the new metal-clad consumer unit, then individually reconnect, test and label every circuit. The whole installation is then tested end-to-end before power is restored.
Typical timescales
A standard upgrade is a one-day job, usually 6 to 8 hours including testing and paperwork. Power is off for most of that time, so plan ahead with anything that needs to stay running.
RCBO vs split-load
We default to a fully RCBO-protected board which gives every circuit its own individual RCD and MCB. This means a fault on one circuit doesn't take out half the house, much more practical than older split-load designs.
What affects the cost
Number of circuits, brand of board, access to the cut-out, and whether circuit cables need extending all factor in. Older installations sometimes need additional remedial work (replacing damaged cable tails or fitting an earth rod) which we'll flag before starting.
When you'll be required to upgrade
Insurers, mortgage providers, EICR inspectors and EV installers will all flag a wooden-backed or fuse-wire board as inadequate. Any major works, extension, loft conversion, rewire, EV charger, will normally require an up-to-date consumer unit.