Fuse Box (Consumer Unit) Electricians near me in Carlisle, Cumbria & South West Scotland: Wykes-Group Ltd

A fuse box and a consumer unit serve the same purpose. They distribute electricity in your house through multiple circuits and instantly turn the power off whenever a power overload occurs on one of the circuits, which is commonly known as “tripping”.

When “tripping” occurs, a consumer unit will switch the power off using the circuit breaker linked to the overloaded circuit. It will turn itself to the position OFF making the faulty circuit easily identifiable. Once the circuit is fixed, the circuit breaker can be switched back on and the power restored.

A fuse box uses fuses instead of circuit breakers. Each fuse contains a wire which will melt if there is an electrical overload and make the circuit trip and switch the power off.

It is not as easy to identify a faulty circuit when using a fuse box and the, now melted fuse, will need to be replaced before the power can be restored. Consumer units are basically the modern and safer version of fuse boxes which in most cases are no longer compliant with current electrical regulations. If your house is fitted with an old fuse box, it might be time to for you to replace it.

Do you think it's time  to replace your old fuse box? Call us now for a FREE no obligation quote 01228 380845

It’s very easy to tell if you have an old-style fuse box or a more modern consumer unit.

An old-style fuse box will have a series of fuses contained inside fuse carrier which you can manually remove and replace when one of them goes off following a power overload.

A consumer unit however, will be made of a horizontal row of what is known as MCB (Mini circuit breakers). Each MCB will have a switch which can go off in case of a power surge.

Main switch Consumer Unit

This type of consumer unit only has one main switch from which all circuits in the house can be swithed off. In case of a power surge the main switch will trigger itself to the position off, along with the toggle of the faulty circuit. This is a very popular choice, especially for single storey houses and small flats.

Dual RCD Consumer unit

A dual RCD (residual current device) consumer Unit offers the ability to split load the power over two sets of circuits, RCD1 and RCD2. The advantage of this consumer unit is that it is possible to alternate the circuits so the power can still be available in some part of the house if one of the RCDs is no longer operational. This is ideal for multiple storey houses.

High integrity Consumer unit

High Integrity consumer unit have become a very popular choice over time as they offer the ability to separate all circuits independently. So while your freezer may stop working, everything else will continue working without interruption.

Do you think it's time  to replace your old fuse box? Call us now for a free no obligation quote 01228 380845

The costs of replacing a fuse box or upgrading a consumer unit to a more recent one can vary greatly as it will depend on many factors such as:

• Which type of consumer unit is needed 
• The number of circuits required
• How old the exiting installation is

It is best to speak to us first to get a free quote.

A typical replacement (Labour and part) will cost between £250 and £450 and will include:

• A Consumer unit
• NICEIC Electrical installation certificate and part P notification to building control

The quote in this example does not include the earth & bonding check which need to be carried out before the replacement takes place. The Earth and bonding inspection will establish if there are any fault in the existing installation which need to be addressed before the fuse box can be replaced.