Once everything has been tested and confirmed safe, the consumer unit is then commissioned and the power turned back on. The 18th Edition prescribes that overload protection of the switch or RCCB shall not solely be based on the use of diversity factors of the downstream circuits, as they may have been prior to the 18th Edition. Compliance with Regulations: Ensure that the consumer unit and its components comply with all relevant aspects of BS 7671 and any additional local regulations or standards. In essence what it does is if it detects an imbalance in electrical flow or too much residual earth current, it will then cut the power to all of the MCB’s/circuits running under it, protecting them and any human presence from potential injury. Connection Integrity: All connections within the consumer unit should be secure, properly terminated, and free from any signs of overheating or damage.

The first of these is to protect any socket which may be reasonably expected to supply equipment outside the house such as strimmers, lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, pond pumps, sheds, lights etc.The 2 tails (or cables) coming from the meter are wired into the incoming section of the switch, normally the top. The RCD, or residual current device is similar to an MCB in that if it senses an issue it will trip and isolate all the of the MCB’s/fuses below it.

The 18th Edition of BS 7671, recommends the use of these to provide additional protection against fire. When purchasing a consumer unit, it will either come with a main switch and RCD and possibly a number of MCB’s or it will come empty. Qualified Installation: The installation of a consumer unit should be performed by a qualified electrician who is familiar with the regulations and safety requirements. If this isn’t done then it can lead to all manner of issues when reconnecting and testing the circuits, so it’s best for both your electrician and also you to know if there are issues before any work is started.Despite this there remains many still in use in many homes across the UK today, however whether they are still legal very much depends. Hager’s all-encompassing building automation KNX system accompanied by its Berker and Sollysta wiring accessories was chosen as an electrical solution for the project. Although this system is fairly straight forward, it does rely on the correct size fuse wire being put back in as if it isn’t then this could be highly dangerous as it may not burn out and cut the power correctly!

Fuse boxes and consumer units are essential when it comes to you and your family’s safety, whilst also being integral to your electrical circuit. When a fuse gets overloaded and blows the piece of wire running between the 2 poles burns out to cut the power. Any bare earth wires should be sheathed before they are installed using earth sheath, this is a legal requirement! As such companies such as FuseBox have released standalone EV distribution units that can be added to new and existing properties.Condition of old unit: When replacing a fuse box or consumer unit you may be charged a fee to remove the old unit. The majority duplex of sold are 'Main Switch'consumer units which are populated with RCBOs over two rows and connected using a 100A DIN rail connector. In days past when MCB’s became the protection device of choice for the consumer unit, the current rating for which a given MCB is designed to deal with have now been transferred into an international equivalent of our old imperial ratings. Our Design range of consumer units includes surface, dual row and flush options, with multiple solutions based on application requirements.

For further information on staying safe when working around electricity, see our electrical safety project here.The final stage left is then for your electrician to test every single circuit on the board and ensure it’s safe, wired correctly and has no issues what so ever. For information on the new wiring colours and how they translate, see our new wire colours project here. Arc Faults are where, if the current is high enough, electrical currents jump the gap between two conductive materials.