Swap a tired wired-fuse or MCB-only board for a modern metal consumer unit with individual RCBO protection on every circuit — usually completed in a single day, fully certified, from £350.
A consumer unit — still commonly called a fuse board — is the distribution point for every circuit in your home. A modern replacement is a metal enclosure containing individual RCBOs (residual current + overcurrent devices) on each circuit, plus main switch and surge protection.
Owners of any property still running a wooden-back fuse board, a plastic consumer unit installed before January 2016, or an MCB-only board without RCD protection. Also required when adding an EV charger, electric shower or extension where the existing board can't accept another way.
Any of these means it's time: rewireable fuses with fusewire, brown scorch marks or melted plastic around the enclosure, a plastic board (superseded by Amendment 3 of BS 7671 in 2016), no RCD protection, or an EICR coded C2. If you're plugging in an EV or fitting a heat pump, budget for a new board as part of the works.
The consumer unit is the single most important safety device in your home. A modern board disconnects a faulty circuit in under 40 milliseconds — fast enough to prevent electrocution — while isolating only the affected circuit rather than blacking out the whole house.
The reason to book proper work now — instead of putting it off — comes down to what happens when you don't.
Loose terminations arc, plastic ignites, and the enclosure that should contain the fire spreads it into the wall cavity. Amendment 3 mandated metal enclosures for exactly this reason.
Without an RCD, a live-to-earth fault waits for someone to complete the circuit. Rewireable fuses can take seconds or minutes to blow — long after a lethal shock.
MCB-only or split-load boards trip the entire lighting or socket bank when one accessory fails. Freezers thaw, alarms fail, and the fault becomes a hunt.
Kitchens with induction hobs, EV chargers, heat pumps and home offices need dedicated ways and correctly sized protection — an eight-way 1990s board simply hasn't got room.
We test the existing installation with an Insulation Resistance and Continuity check before agreeing the swap. It's a hard rule — a new board on top of failed circuits just hides the fault.
Written quote within 24 hours: board make and model, number of ways, surge protection, isolator upgrade if required, and Part P notification included.
We arrange a supply isolation with the DNO if required, or work under safe isolation from the meter tails. Most swaps take three to five hours.
Every circuit is retested — Ze, Zs, prospective fault current, RCBO trip times, insulation resistance — and results recorded on the NICEIC Electrical Installation Certificate.
You get the certificate, the manufacturer's warranty on the board, and we notify Building Control on your behalf as Competent Persons Scheme members.
A fault on the kitchen ring won't kill the lights. A tripped bathroom won't shut down the freezer.
Fire-contained board that satisfies current regulations and future EICRs.
SPD Type 2 as standard where the installation permits — protects TVs, boilers and EV chargers from lightning and switching surges.
Spare ways sized for future 32 A or 40 A additions without another board swap in two years.
Most swaps are done between 9 am and lunchtime. You're back up and running the same day, with paperwork by the evening.
Manufacturer warranty on the board plus our own workmanship guarantee in writing.
Free written quote within 24 hours. Fully insured to £10m. Workmanship guaranteed.
The consumer unit is the beating heart of every fixed installation. Get it wrong — cheap board, undersized protection, poor test values — and every circuit downstream is compromised. We fit trade-grade boards from established manufacturers and test every circuit before we sign off.
Trade-grade metal enclosures from Hager, MK, Wylex or Fusebox depending on availability and the existing arrangement. RCBOs on every circuit as standard — not the older split-load RCD arrangement, which lumps circuits together and creates nuisance tripping. Surge protection is included where the installation earthing permits it.
We never fit a new board on top of an existing installation without a pre-swap Insulation Resistance test on every circuit. If a circuit is already failing — cable damage in a loft, a damp shower ceiling, a rodent-chewed outbuilding cable — the new RCBO will trip the moment you turn it on. Better to find and quote for that before we commit to the swap.
If your meter tails are undersized (still 16 mm² on a modern supply) or your main switch is at the end of its life, we'll flag it before the swap. Where a separate DNO-side isolator is needed, we arrange it with the network operator on your behalf — no cost to you and no gap in supply beyond the day of the works.
Consumer unit replacement is the single most common EICR remediation item we see. As NICEIC Rental Sector Scheme installers we can swap the board and re-issue a satisfactory EICR the same week, so the property is compliant and re-lettable without delay.
Any modern install that adds more than 7 kW of continuous load — EV chargers, heat pumps, electric showers — needs to be planned around the consumer unit and the DNO supply. We'll tell you before the swap whether the existing supply is comfortable with the future load or whether a DNO upgrade is worth requesting at the same time.
Anything else? Give us a call — we'll talk it through in plain English.
07886 780653From £350 fully installed and certified for a straightforward swap on an existing installation. Larger boards, tails upgrade or additional remedial work is quoted separately and always agreed up front.
A standard swap takes three to five hours. You're without power for that period only — freezers stay cold, and we plan around any medical equipment.
Yes — a consumer unit swap is notifiable under Part P. We handle the notification for you as Competent Persons Scheme members. No separate fee.
If they're undersized or perished, yes — priced into the quote. We'll show you the existing tails at survey and explain whether they need swapping.
Trade-grade metal boards from Hager, MK, Wylex or Fusebox — chosen based on the existing configuration and stock. All to BS EN 61439-3.
Not always. If your current board has a spare way and RCD Type A protection appropriate for an EV, we can install directly. Where it can't, we quote the consumer unit swap alongside the charger install.
We stop, isolate the failing circuit, and diagnose the underlying fault — usually a cable defect. You'll get a clear written explanation and a quote for the remedial work; no obligation to proceed with us.
Modern metal-clad boards have a service life of 25 years or more, well beyond the manufacturer warranty. Yours will comfortably outlast the next EICR cycle.
Based in Crewe — covering every town within a 20-mile radius. Not sure if we cover you? Call and we'll tell you straight.
Free written quote within 24 hours. NICEIC-approved. Backed by our workmanship guarantee.
