1) So, you have a fuse box in your home and want to know if it’s worth upgrading to a consumer unit? This Fusebox Vs. Consumer unit guide will help!
Well, we can look at the pros and cons of these two electrical boxes that sit in our understairs cupboard, garage, or corner of the room. Fuse Box The humble fuse box. An electrical relic of a bygone era. Last installed somewhere around the 80s and, if you have one in your home, it could be even much older than that!
Back to top2) What is wrong with these boxes?⚡
Well, essentially, nothing.
A fuse box will often be sufficient to provide protection for the electrical cables in your home and will offer protection against overloading and short circuit faults on electrical circuits. Inconvenient at times when fuses blow and require rewiring, such as when old fashioned incandescent light bulbs blow but all the same, these boxes are still often able to safely offer some form of protection.
Back to top3) What’s wrong with a fuse box?⚡
As above, these boxes are essentially okay but there are some things to bear in mind and we will get into that here. The last type of these boxes was installed around the 80s and that means that AT BEST it is probably 40 years old. Ever had a 40-year-old car? Fairly basic and missing some safety features, aren’t they? An 80s car is likely to be missing air bags, crumple zones, anti-lock braking systems and loads of other features in comparison to a 2020 vehicle and I know which I would rather crash in, if I had to of course. 80s fuse boxes are missing several key safety features of today’s modern consumer units, notably, electric shock protection in the form of a modern, A type RCD device. The fuse box itself is likely to never have been checked or maintained as, let’s face it, who does that unless there appears to be an actual problem right? 😊
Finally, these boxes will likely fail at some point and when they do, it is a problem. There are no new spares available for these meaning that any burnt out parts cannot be replaced with new, if at all! If you have one of these boxes it will likely not pass an electrical inspection for the purposes of selling your home and may be a clause for home insurance refusing to pay out in the event of a claim as your electrical system was not modern enough or was not maintained sufficiently!
Back to top4) Why a consumer unit?⚡
A consumer unit offers more safety features than a fuse box does. First of all, circuit breakers are much more convenient in the event of an electrical fault. Once the electrical fault is cleared, there is no rewiring of fuses to be done, no obscure, semi-obsolete fuses to find or order from the internet and no mistakes made replacing those wires. There is more often than not, electric shock protection built into nearly all modern consumer units. This means that in the event of an electric shock to someone in your home the consumer unit, if working correctly, should detect the leaking electrical current and turn the circuit off before anyone is seriously harmed or killed. The older fuse boxes did not do that, you could just have a good old sizzle on the end of a live wire or dodgy appliance, if you wanted…. ☹
Modern consumer units can also offer some degree of fire protection over and above the older fuse boxes especially when AFDDs are installed. These AFDD devices detect electrical arcing and sparking and will act to disconnect the affected circuit when arcing is detected. The modern consumer unit is much easier to work on and obtain parts for should there be a problem with switch failure or should components require upgrading or replacing. We regularly attend calls to properties where old consumer units have simply failed, switches have burnt out, loose wiring has caused melting of internal components and more. In these situations, sourcing replacement parts is somewhat difficult and not only is the best option to replace the consumer unit but there is often a freezer full of food that has defrosted to boot!
Back to top5) Why should we upgrade?⚡
Upgrading sooner rather than later will not only mean that parts are easier to source in the event of a problem but will allow you to get a snapshot of the standard of your electrical system. All fuse box upgrades require a certain amount of testing and inspection whilst undergoing the replacement, we do not simply screw a new box to the wall and leave! Often a fuse box replacement is an all-day job or longer if there are pre-existing faults that need to be fixed before the work can safely be signed off and all circuits turned on. When a consumer unit is installed, your electrician will normally insist on an electrical inspection prior to the work being carried out. In these cases, they will then issue you with an electrical report that will detail any electrical issues that need to be rectified prior to the new unit being installed. The more modern the house the less likely there are to be electrical issues that require attention.
Modern consumer unit technology can detect faults that were missed by an older Fusebox and can give electricians and homeowners problems with circuit that cannot be reconnected. Various electrical faults can lie undetected by older technology such as broken ring circuits, insulation faults, excessive sockets on a spur, neutral to earth faults and more. An electrician will carry out testing to check for these types of issues prior to and during the installation of a new consumer unit.
Back to top6) Electrician in Liverpool⚡
When we carry out electrical works such as this, our customers electrical safety is the most important thing to us. We will ensure that if any electrical problems are uncovered that we leave you in a safe situation and explain any problems fully and in plain English.
📧 Contact us.
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