Issues like repeatedly tripping circuits or blowing of fuses are typical things that reveal something is wrong with your electrical system. These issues actually point to more serious and underlying problems and that is why the issues should not be taken lightly or ignored under any circumstance. These problems may also crop up because you are running too many appliances on a single electrical circuit at the same time. If repeated tripping or blowing of a circuit results from circuit overloading then one of the best solutions to it is replacing the existing fuse box with a safer and more secure consumer unit or CU.
Consumer units are definitely much better device to ensure electrical safety in a premise. Compared to fuse boxes a CU offers much greater protection. These days you can use consumer units along with a smart electrical metre to keep a track on your energy consumption. Energy consumption is the call of the day and when you are conscious about it you not only save unnecessary wastage of electricity but also money on your monthly utility bills.
In the following sections of the blog post let us discuss few important facts related to your consumer units and fuse boxes. This discuss will help you take informed decision to keep your home or commercial utility electrically safer avoiding electrocution, short circuits and incidents of fire.
Basic differences between a consumer unit and a fuse box
A fuse box and a consumer unit are in a broad way the same and these identical devices serve the same purpose. These devices are meant to control as well as monitor electric current that runs across your premise or property. These safety devices ensure all the components in the electrical system installed in your property function smoothly and if there is any fault that may crop up because some reason or the other, these safety devices trip to disconnect the flow of electricity across the circuit. A skilled and licensed tradesman who provides the service of electrical fuse box installation London over the years explains this is how these devices protects your home from electricity-related damages like electrical shocks, fires and short circuits.
How do the two devices – a consumer unit and a fuse box – differ? A fuse box is an older and rather outdated version of imposing electrical safety in buildings or properties whereas a consumer unit is a modern and contemporary version. As the name itself implies, a fuse box contains fuses and each fuse has a wire inside. This wire melts in case of an electricity overload in case of a fault and the fuse blows which in turn trips the electrical circuit in which the fault occurs. On the other hand a consumer unit or CU comes with built-in circuit breakers. These circuit breakers trip automatically and shut down the flow of electricity to the circuit on detecting a fault or circuit overload. Resetting a consumer unit is easier compared to a fuse. All you have to do is flip the switch back on manually after mitigating the fault and thus power supply resumes to the circuit.
Replacing fuse boxes with consumer units
As it has already been mentioned above, consumer units are better, more modern, safer, reliable and more sensitive version of fuse boxes. When the latest electrical regulations in the UK are concerned, it is important to note that fuse boxes are not compliant any more. If any property, whether residential or commercial, is fitted with a fuse box, it is high time to replace it with a CU or consumer unit.
It is not at all difficult to determine whether you have an outdated fuse box installed in your property or a consumer unit. A fuse box used to come with a fuse carrier which contained a number of fuses inside. You could manually replace or remove a fuse when one used to blow off in the event of an electrical fault or power overloading. Some fuse boxes even used to come with switches made from cast iron and wooden racks explains a licensed electrician who deals with fuse box installation in London over the years. If your fuse resembles any of these features then you should replace it with a consumer unit to make sure your property complies with the current electrical regulations.
On the other hand a consumer unit is comprised with horizontal rows of mini circuit breakers or MCBs. When there is a power surge in a circuit the MCB that feeds that particular circuit will automatically turn off the power supply to that circuit through an inbuilt switch.
If in case you are not sure whether you have a fuse box or a consumer unit installed in your property, you should better consult a qualified and registered electrician or a reliable electrician services company like the Electric Works London.
Fuse boxes do not only have issues like non compliance and safety hazards but may also become worn with years and years of service. Even the wiring may wear out and these conditions are nothing less than real-time safety hazards that may easily trigger an electrical fire in your property any time. Upgrading an existing fuse box naturally becomes unavoidable at some point of time or the other. A fuse box may also become so old as to stop working one fine day. Replacing fuse boxes with modern consumer units not only keeps your property safe from electrical hazards like shocks, fires and short circuits but also enables you on various aspects like energy-saving, compliance, performance and others in the long run opines a licensed fuse box installer near me in London.
How much is the cost of replacing a fuse box with a consumer unit?
The cost of replacing a fuse box with a consumer unit is never uniform and is guided by several factors which include the following –
- The type and the capacity of a consumer unit you choose
- The size of your property
- The condition of the existing wiring in the property
In addition to that there are things like materials and labour, etc. that also have to be taken into account to calculate the total cost of these jobs. On a rough estimate the cost of a fuse box installer will come within the range from £375 to £550 without any additional work.
