What electric trip box do I need? The 2024 Guide

1) What is an Electric Trip box?

An ELECTRIC TRIP BOX is more commonly known as a consumer unit. This box also goes by the name ‘fuse box’, ‘fuse board’ and a few others. The electric trip box is the metal or plastic box that contains the electrical circuit division for your home. It is designed to protect the wiring and electrical installation inside your home and save you from electric shock, electrocution and to a certain extent, fire. 

2) How Does it Work?🤔

This box receives the incoming electrical supply from the street and splits it up into smaller supplies that are sent around your home to the various sockets and switches in all the rooms. It does this by the use of “trip switches” or circuit breakers to divide the supply up and offer some convenience in the event that an electrical fault occurs. You don’t want an electrical fault meaning no power in the house at all which is the reason for dividing the supply into circuits. 

3) What’s inside one of these boxes?

Inside these boxes there is a whole bunch of wiring, switches, and various other components. There is a more in-depth article on our blog where you can see the various items labelled with each of their purposes described. 
Each box has a Main Switch which turns off the electrical supply to the circuit breakers inside the box. This switch is useful for electricians planning on performing maintenance and replacements on the box an also for isolating the electrical supply to your home in the event of an emergency. The modern ELECTRIC TRIP BOX contains electric shock protection to help prevent shock and electrocution to those using the electrical system along with surge protection and in some cases, protection from arcing and fires. 

4) Why do I need it updated?⚡

It is important to have this box updated every so often and not leave it decades between changes as the wiring regulations change regularly. The regulations change to reflect the ever-changing world of electrical appliances and equipment that is brought to the market by manufacturers. The modern electrical system has to be able to cope with the modern demands placed upon it by complicated circuit boards in TV’s, Fridges, computers, LED lighting and more. There are also larger and larger demands being placed upon our homes electrical system by Car Charging, Electric Showers, Boilers, and the system needs to be updated to deal with these demands. 

5) Is a plastic trip box illegal?

At the time of writing, the plastic trip box is not illegal. We no longer install plastic consumer units / trip boxes as it is considered better to have a non-combustible construction such as metal in order to contain the electrical ‘brains’ of our home electrical system. Simply because a box is plastic, does not make it necessarily dangerous either unless there are signs of overheating such as discolouration, melting and cracking of the plastic. Consult a trusted electrician if you are concerned over the condition of your electric trip box and ask them if it needs replacing.

6) Is an old fuse box illegal?⚠️

Just as with the old plastic fuse boxes, these rewireable fuse boxes or fuse carrier fuse boxes are not illegal. They are simply just old! Just because the electrical box is old and outdated does not make it illegal. Installing one of these now would be against the regulations as they do not provide the protection that is required in a modern electrical system and would not pass an electrical safety inspection in many cases. That should not be confused with legality. 

7) What are the important features to look for?

These days it’s important to get the most up to date unit you can. Features such as RCBOs, SPD and AFDD are not uncommon. What are these? 

• RCBOs – These devices protect your cables from overload, damage, short circuits and offer electric shock protection also. They are a combined device and the most modern form of electrical circuit protection. They come in various different types and should be carefully selected by your electrician in order that they work effectively in your home. 
• SPD – Surge Protection Device. These have been around for years in extension leads and many homes will already have these devices protecting various electrical equipment such as televisions and computers but what good is it protecting this equipment if a SURGE in the supply causes the wiring in your home to burn out and fail? That’s why we install them at the consumer unit / mains position now, so the WHOLE electrical system is protected from damage. 
• AFDD – These are Arc Fault Detection Devices. They are most effective on higher powered circuits such as the plug sockets, cooker, and electric shower. They prevent arcing by detecting the issue and switching off the affected electrical circuit. They offer all the benefits of the RCBO and also the Arc fault protection.

8) How much should a new electric trip box cost?💷

When an electrician updates a trip box, they carry out in-depth electrical testing and inspection on the existing installation to ensure that the box can be fitted safely and to make sure that there are no hidden electrical dangers in the property. Many electrical faults will not be apparent to the homeowner OR electrician until testing is carried out and circuits are proved to be safe. If there are issues that need to be addressed or faults that require fixing then remedial work is carried out.This testing and inspection process is required under the wiring regulations.

The cost of upgrading an electric trip box will depend upon the following factors:

• Size of property
• Size of new box to be installed
• Whether there are any electrical faults found during testing
• What remedial work is required to bring the installation up to the required standard

The typical costs range from £700-1100 plus any remedial work that may be necessary. (2024)

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