Swap an obsolete fuse board for a modern consumer unit with per-circuit RCBO protection — installed to the 18th Edition (BS 7671) by qualified electricians, fully tested, certified and notified under Part P.
Why upgrade
Electrical installations age quietly. A fuse board fitted decades ago — rewirable fuses, a wooden backboard, not an RCD in sight — will keep working right up until the moment it matters. RCDs (residual current devices) disconnect a circuit in milliseconds when current leaks to earth: the difference between a tripped switch and a serious shock or fire. Boards without that protection are among the most frequent C2 observations on an EICR, which makes the report unsatisfactory and, for a rented home, starts the 28-day remedial clock.
That's why the consumer unit is so often the pivotal remedial: one upgrade can clear several coded observations at once and turn an unsatisfactory report into a pass — usually more cheaply than chasing the same defects one by one.
Nothing about an old board is illegal in itself; the regulations aren't retrospective. But if you let the property, or you're planning to sell or re-mortgage, the paperwork trail eventually forces the question — and it's cheaper to answer it on your own schedule.
The specification
Each circuit gets its own combined RCD and breaker, so an earth fault on the shower doesn't kill the lights, the fridge and the router with it. In an HMO or a tenanted flat, that isolation is worth having: a nuisance trip on one circuit no longer becomes an out-of-hours callout for the whole property.
The 18th Edition recommends surge protective devices to shield electronics from transient overvoltages — the brief spikes that shorten the life of everything from the boiler's control board to your televisions. With a home full of electronics, an SPD is cheap insurance built into the board.
Arc fault detection devices recognise the signature of dangerous arcing in damaged or loose cables — a fire risk ordinary breakers can't see. The current regulations recommend them for socket circuits generally and require them in certain higher-risk building types, so we'll advise where they genuinely earn their place.
Modern units sit in non-combustible metal enclosures, as the wiring regulations require, with every circuit tested and recorded before the board goes live. The whole job is certified and notified — paperwork you keep, not promises you remember.
The work
A clear photo of the existing board and your postcode is usually enough for a fixed quote — no survey visit needed for most homes.
Every circuit is inspected and tested during the changeover. Occasionally this reveals a wiring fault the old board was masking — you'll be told and quoted before anything extra is done.
The swap is usually completed within a day, with power off for much of it. The electrician labels every circuit and walks you through the new board.
You receive the Electrical Installation Certificate with full test results, and the work is notified under Part P of the Building Regulations.
For landlords, the certificate slots straight into the compliance file next to the EICR — and if the upgrade was a remedial, it's the evidence the council and your tenants need to see. Commercial premises with ageing distribution boards face the same question at larger scale; start with a commercial EICR to map what's actually there. For everything else, see our electrical services or request a quote.
Common questions
It depends on the number of circuits, the specification — RCBOs on every circuit versus a dual-RCD board — and the condition of the existing wiring. Send a photo of the current board and your postcode via WhatsApp or the quote form and we'll reply with a fixed quote, usually the same working day.
Usually within a day, with the power off for much of it — plan around no kettle and no Wi-Fi. Every circuit is inspected and tested as part of the changeover, and the electrician talks you through the new board before leaving.
No — the wiring regulations aren't retrospective, so an old board isn't unlawful in itself. But rented homes in England must hold a satisfactory EICR, and boards with rewirable fuses or no RCD protection are routinely coded C2, which fails the report and starts the 28-day remedial clock. In practice, that's what forces the upgrade.
RCBOs give every circuit its own protection, so a fault on one circuit trips only that circuit; a dual-RCD board is cheaper but a single fault takes out half the property. We usually recommend RCBOs — especially for rentals and HMOs, where a tripped freezer circuit can go unnoticed — but we'll quote both where the budget matters.
An Electrical Installation Certificate recording the work and the test results for every circuit, plus Building Regulations notification under Part P with the compliance certificate that follows. Keep both with your EICR — you'll need them when selling, letting or re-mortgaging.
Tell us the property type and postcode — we'll come back with a fixed quote and the earliest available date.