Fuse boards
Fuse board and consumer unit upgrades
A consumer unit upgrade in Manchester replaces your old fuse board with an 18th edition unit, usually with an RCBO on every circuit so one fault cannot black out the house. Most swaps are done in a day, tested and certified before we leave. We are NAPIT registered (Part P approved).
If your board still has rewireable fuses or a single RCD covering everything, an upgrade is the cheapest safety improvement you can make.
Send us a photo of the fuse board or the job and we’ll come back with a price the same day.
Signs it needs doing
When a board has had its day
What an upgrade involves
A day, done properly
Test before we touch it
We test the existing circuits first. There is no point putting a sensitive new board on circuits with a fault waiting on them, and you deserve to know before, not after.
Earthing and bonding
Main protective bonding to gas and water checked and upgraded if it is undersized or missing. This is the part cheap quotes leave out.
New board fitted
An 18th edition non-combustible unit, RCBO per circuit, surge protection where required, every way labelled so the next person knows what is what.
Tested, certified, notified
Every circuit tested, an electrical installation certificate issued on the day, and the work notified to building control by us under Part P.
How pricing works
Why cheap board quotes go wrong
A board swap is not just a box on a wall. The cheap price you see quoted elsewhere usually assumes everything behind it is perfect. Ours is priced on what is actually there.
Recent job
Board upgrade after a failed EICR, Sale
Landlord with an unsatisfactory report: no RCD protection on sockets, plastic board in the hallway, main bonding to the gas meter missing entirely.
One day on site. Pre-tested every circuit, corrected the bonding, fitted a metal 18th edition board with RCBOs throughout and an SPD. Certificate and a satisfactory EICR follow-up issued the same week, in time for the new tenancy.
Common questions
Fuse board questions
Why did my fuse board fail the EICR?
The usual reasons are no RCD protection on socket or lighting circuits, a plastic enclosure where the regulations now want a non-combustible one, missing main protective bonding, or a board so old that spare parts and breakers are no longer made. The report will list the codes. We can price the remedial work straight off it.
What is an RCBO and why does it matter?
An RCBO combines overload protection and earth fault protection in one device, on one circuit. With RCBOs, a fault on the kitchen sockets trips the kitchen only. With an older split-load board on shared RCDs, the same fault can take out half the house, including the freezer and the boiler.
Do I need surge protection?
A surge protection device guards against voltage spikes from lightning and switching on the network. It is required in some installations under BS 7671 and sensible in most, particularly if you have solar, an EV charger, a home office or a lot of connected kit. We will tell you whether your installation needs one or whether it is optional.
How long is the power off for?
Typically four to six hours for a straight swap. We agree the window with you first, and if you work from home we can plan it around a meeting. You get the certificate the same day.
Where we work
Board upgrades across the patch
Related: EICRs and landlord electrical certificates and full house rewiring in Manchester.
Get your board priced today
Send a photo of the fuse board on WhatsApp and we will tell you what you are looking at, usually the same day.
Send us a photo of the fuse board or the job and we’ll come back with a price the same day.