When a prospective new customer to JJB Electrical types ‘electrician in Cheshunt’ into Google and we get the call one of the most commonly asked questions is normally to do with electric fuse board upgrades.
There is a common misconception that when it comes to electric fuse board upgrades that it’s a simple swap over. This could not be further from the truth!! We can not advise any customers or enquiries strongly enough to never just swap over a consumer unit, it may seem like a cheaper option to skip the Electrical Installation Condition Report but the consequences can be much more costly.
As with all new technology the fuse boards and circuit protective devices of today are far more sensitive to under lining faults than the older boards. If we were to simply fit a new board with all the new protective devices such as MCBs, RCDs, RCBOs and AFDDs you could find yourself with no power at all.
For example, we recently upgraded an electric fuse board in Ware and before any work took place on the board we carried out an EICR, (please find further information on all things EICRs here: https://www.jjb-electrical.com/mainservice/eicr). Whilst carrying out the electrical installation condition report we found various faults, two of which should of caused the circuit breakers to trip. However the outdated protective devices did not operate, these faults were potentially dangerous caused an electric shock or even a house fire if they hadn’t had been found. All of these faults had to be rectified before the electric fuse board upgrade could take place. If these had been left the new board would have constantly tripped and one circuit wouldn’t have operated at all leaving the customer without any electricity. The two affected circuits one being the boiler, meaning no heating on these cold dark nights and the other being a lighting circuit.
Also the earthing and bonding of the property must be checked firstly to see if the property has bonding to the water and gas, as we see far too often it is not even present and to make sure that if it is present it's up to current regulations. Please check out our help sheet on earthing and bonding here https://www.jjb-electrical.com/helpsheet/earthing-and-bonding. If there’s no earthing and bonding or it’s not up to standard, first of all this is dangerous and secondly your new board can’t be signed off and registered with building compliance.
Once the EICR has been carried out and any issues ironed out, it is time for the new fuse board to be installed. Once the electric fuse board upgrade has taken place you will be shown what RCBO covers what circuit how to test them on 6 monthly bases and what to do if you surge protection needs to be replaced. A full certificate will be issued for the works carried out and you will receive a building compliance notification. And rest assured all our work is backed and guaranteed by our regulating body NAPIT.
If you need an electric fuse board upgrade or have a question about your existing install, give us a call today on 07742485307.
