Your consumer unit is the heart of your home's electrical system. Older fuse boards may not provide adequate protection against electrical faults. We upgrade to modern units with RCDs and MCBs, ensuring your property meets current safety standards and regulations.
Your consumer unit, often still called the fuse board, is the control centre of your home's electrical system, distributing power to every circuit and protecting against faults. Many homes around Haverhill and the wider Suffolk area still rely on older boards with rewirable fuses and little or no RCD protection. These older units cannot guard against the earth faults that cause electric shock, and a blown fuse simply means rewiring a fuse holder rather than offering proper, automatic protection. In our older local housing stock this is one of the most common safety issues we come across.
A modern consumer unit transforms that protection. RCDs and RCBOs detect dangerous earth leakage and disconnect the supply in a fraction of a second, MCBs guard against overload and short circuits, and surge protection devices (SPDs) help shield sensitive electronics and appliances from voltage spikes. Today's boards are also housed in robust metal enclosures to current standards.
As a NAPIT-registered electrician, Harry Crane carries out every upgrade in full compliance with Part P of the Building Regulations and the wiring regulations, BS 7671 (18th Edition). The process starts with checking the condition of your existing wiring and earthing, fitting the new unit and clearly labelling each circuit, then thorough testing of every circuit. You receive an Electrical Installation Certificate and the work is notified to Building Control through NAPIT, giving you documented proof your installation is safe and compliant.
The cost depends on your specific installation rather than a fixed figure. The main factors are the number of circuits being protected, the type of board specified (for example RCBOs on every circuit), and the condition of your existing wiring and earthing. If testing reveals faults or your earthing and bonding need bringing up to standard, some remedial work may be needed before a new unit can be safely certified. We always set this out clearly before any work begins. Get in touch with Harry on 07814 523401 for a free, no-obligation quote tailored to your property, with no surprises later.
Because a modern consumer unit offers far better protection against electric shock and electrical fire than an older board. If you have rewirable fuses, no RCD protection, or a plastic enclosure, your installation falls well short of current safety standards. Older boards cannot detect the earth faults that cause shocks, and replacing a blown fuse with the wrong wire can be dangerous. A modern unit with RCDs, RCBOs and surge protection disconnects automatically when a fault occurs. It is one of the most worthwhile safety improvements you can make, particularly in the older properties common around Haverhill and Suffolk.
Most straightforward replacements are completed within a day. Your power will be off for much of that time while the old board is removed, the new unit installed and every circuit tested, so it is worth planning around the outage. The exact time depends on the number of circuits and whether any remedial work is needed once the existing wiring is inspected. If we uncover problems that need attention before the new unit can be safely certified, we will explain what is involved and how long it will add. Before we leave, everything is tested, labelled and certified.
They protect against different things, which is why a modern board uses both. An MCB (Miniature Circuit Breaker) protects against overload and short circuits, tripping when too much current flows through a circuit. An RCD (Residual Current Device) protects people, detecting earth faults, such as current leaking to earth through a person, and cutting the supply in a fraction of a second to prevent serious electric shock. Many modern installations use RCBOs, which combine both functions in a single device per circuit, so a fault on one circuit does not knock out the rest of the house. We will advise on the best arrangement for your home.
Not always. If your existing consumer unit is modern, in good condition and has spare capacity, we may be able to add the new circuits directly to it. If the board is older, full, or no longer meets current safety standards, the better and safer option is usually to upgrade the unit or install a secondary board to serve the new area. We will inspect your existing installation, check it can support the additional load, and recommend the most sensible approach for your project. Any work is carried out to BS 7671 and certified, with notification through NAPIT.
We provide consumer units & fuse boards for homes and businesses throughout Haverhill and the surrounding towns:
