Consumer Unit Cost

1) How much does a new consumer unit cost?

The consumer unit cost will vary. To understand the costs involved we must take a look at what is necessary to complete the work when replacing a consumer unit. Older consumer units have older technology inside them and as such they are not as efficient at keeping us safe as newer units are with more advanced features.

When we add a new consumer unit to an existing installation this new technology can detect certain faults that were present in the electrical installation but were not picked up by the older technology. It is for this reason that we recommend a test of the installation beforehand. Typically a thorough electrical inspection costs from £200 at the time of writing.

If our customer decided that they do not want a test beforehand then we are sometimes happy to proceed on that basis on a case by case scenario. There can be some financial advantages to not testing beforehand. Some of the testing is carried out twice when we perform an EICR and then later replace a consumer unit so this money can be saved.

A small garage consumer unit replacement to AMD2 18^th Edition standard of BS7671 would cost approximately £350 assuming there are no faults to be rectified and no testing is carried out prior to installation. This also assumes that access is possible to sockets, lights and consumer unit.

2) What about a consumer unit for a flat or house is there a price difference?

Yes there is. The size of the consumer unit in terms of how many circuits there are makes a difference. A smaller consumer unit with fewer circuits costs less to install and test than a larger unit with more circuits, more testing and more material cost. A typical up to date RCBO (most modern technology) consumer unit with capacity for 6 circuits may costs £550-£650 including testing, certification and notification to building control. A 14 circuit  up to date RCBO, SPD (surge protection) consumer unit may cost £800-£1100.

These prices assume that there are not faults to rectify and that the installation that is being worked on meets the current minimum standard for electrical installations.

3) My current consumer unit is very old and I want a replacement is this possible?

If the current electrical installation is very old and / or the consumer unit is very old then we may refuse to carry out the work without testing the installation beforehand. Whilst this may cost a little more in the first instance, an inspection beforehand may highlight several issues in older installations. There are times when a new consumer unit is not possible to install due to existing faults in old wiring systems and in these cases we actually save you inconvenience, money and time by inspecting prior to the replacement of your consumer unit. There is little more frustrating on a Friday night than discovering several faults within an installation and having to leave a customer without power as circuits are not safe to reconnect or have issues.

4) Do I need a new consumer unit or a rewire?

These two things are very different. A rewire is the replacement of electrical cables within your home and a new consumer unit is swapping “the brains” of your electrical system and testing.

The older your installation, the more likely we are to see degraded cables, faults on circuits and issues that require money and time to rectify. The older the installation the more sensible it is to test the installation fully before deciding on consumer unit or a rewire.  There are not many installations where we can tell visually that a rewire is needed. Testing has to be carried out to ascertain this for sure. There are certain circumstances that we are able to say with a strong degree of certainty that a rewire is absolutely necessary. Where there are rubber or lead cables for instance, these cables have seen the end of their useful life and in some cases can be dangerous for continued use. Consumer unit cost is less than a rewire would be but there are situations where a replacement consumer unit is simply a sticking plaster and will add safety features to an installation but not improve the installation overall and may see nuisance tripping going forward. Think of using £100 a roll wallpaper on a living room that has no roof, pointless!

5) My consumer unit is faulty, can it be repaired and what might the cost be?

Well, there are circumstances where consumer units can be repaired and the costs vary depending on the problem. Typical consumer unit repairs will range from £150 to £200. It really does depend what is broken. There are occasions when the consumer unit is too old and the parts are now obsolete. We do carry a range of spares for lots of makes of consumer units but the older the equipment the less likely we are to be able to repair or replace it. There are also times when enough damage has been done to a consumer unit that it warrants a complete replacement. For instance, we attended a consumer unit fire where the main protective device had caught firs and affected two other circuit breakers next to it. Combined with the smoke damage and general sooting of the rest of the switch gear and equipment we were right to insist on a complete replacement of all parts.

6) How much does a metal consumer unit cost and is it better than plastic?

Metal consumer units are now the way forward. The wiring regulations change regularly to ensure that the most up to date safety methods are being used when equipment is being installed and maintained and as such we must now ensure that new enclosures are made of non combustible material e..g metal.

A metal consumer units starts from around £350 depending on location, size, circuit numbers and accessibility. They are more sturdy than plastic, less prone to catch fire and are likely to last a little longer in environments that present a risk of mechanical damage.

If you would like an idea of consumer unit cost then simply contact us and we can normally give an estimate from a photograph or video call. This saves everyone time in arranging quote visits. Give us a call TODAY and we will be happy to help you.