Consumer Unit Upgrade Colyton

Consumer Unit or Fuseboard?

Consumer Unit, what’s that?

A consumer unit is the newer, safer cousin of what is most commonly known as a fuseboard! You know that thing that sits in the cupboard or under the stairs that when you’ve overloaded a socket, and everything trips you have to go and flick back those little switches… that’s the one!

The Consumer Unit is ultimately the nerve centre of your electrics distributing electricity from the mains supply to individual circuits around the property and protects you from things like electric shocks!

Why do I need to update my Consumer Unit?

Consumer Units are crucial when it comes to keeping homeowners and tenants safe as well as being the heart of your electrics but why would you need to upgrade or replace? Firstly everything has a life span including your fuse box or Consumer Unit. On average we at Tyne Electrical Services say somewhere between twenty to thirty years at which point it may not then adhere to current safety or building regulations. Further to this it may not be able to manage the load with the number of electrical appliances and gadgets our homes now have.

Other reasons may include do it yourself electrical installations that have been carried out in the home as these can cause damage to the wires, which can be hazardous. Circuits that trip out frequently could mean you are overloading the system and therefore an upgraded system to cope with this would be advised and finally the amount of strain being put on the Consumer Unit with things that twenty odd years ago we wouldn’t have had like electric vehicle chargers.

Consumer Unit Upgrade Process

What’s Involved?

Initially one of Tyne Electrical Services fully qualified and trusted electricians would need to carry out a comprehensive assessment of you current electrics in you Colyton home. They would then recommend based on their findings a new Consumer Unit suitable to your needs and adhering to current standards and regulations. They will then disconnect your old unit replacing it with your newer safer model, connecting it up and testing. They will then issue you with a certificate of installation to confirm you meet those standards and regulations and it is safe to use.

Parts of a Consumer Unit

Consumer Units comprise of three main parts being the main switch, the circuit breakers and residual current devices or RCD’s for short. The main switch does what it says on the tin! It controls the flow of electricity from the mains supply. In the event of an emergency this switch can be flicked, and the power will immediately cut out. Circuit breakers are broken up into various areas or rooms in your home for example kitchen, garage or downstairs lighting. If one of these are overloaded these breakers will trip or cut the power supply to avoid a fire. Similarly the RCD’s typically cover half of your home and will also cut the power supply if the current is too high to avoid fire or electric shock.

Consumer Unit Upgrade Colyton

So if all this is sounding familiar or you’ve just moved home and there’s an antique looking fuse box lurking give Tyne Electrical services a call today on 01297 807125 and let us keep you and your homes electrics safe for the next vicennium!