Consumer Unit Upgrades Prestwich

What is a Consumer Unit?

The consumer unit is the control centre, the brains, the important guts of the electrical system. Every domestic and commercial electrical system has a consumer unit or distribution board for commercial premises. 

What is a Fuse Box?

A fuse box is an old style of consumer unit that contains fuses or fuse wire rather than trip switches. These units are now very outdated and without a doubt should be changed!

How often should I change the consumer unit?

Ideally the consumer unit should be swapped every 20-25 years. The switches and components inside this unit have a limited lifespan and will not work forever unfortunately. Don’t worry though, because compared to swapping a Gas Boiler the consumer unit replacement costs are INCREDIBLY good value. This is because consumer unit replacements cost far less than a boiler to swap and last at least twice as long in most cases. 

What does a consumer unit ACTUALLY do?

The consumer unit is responsible for a whole host of activities that you would never give it credit for:

• Splitting Mains Power into Electrical Circuits
• Protecting Cables from Short Circuits
• Cable Overload Protection
• Electrical Shock Protection
• Earth Fault Detection
• Protection From Surges
• Arc Fault Protection (If requested)

Mains power splitting

Without a consumer unit to divide the power supply up into circuits, each cable that went to plug sockets, lights, light switches, and other equipment would need to be massive to protect against faults. The consumer unit makes it far easier to wire circuits in more sensible sized wiring. It also means if there IS and electrical fault at some point, you don’t lose power to absolutely everything in the property. 

Protecting Cables from Short Circuits

When a short circuit occurs, massive electrical fault currents flow down your cabling. The cabling is not designed to handle this extreme electrical load and would otherwise catch fire. The consumer unit prevents this by limiting the load on each circuit and tripping the power off when it detects such faults. 

Cable Overload Protection

If you attempted to boil 10 kettles at the same time there is a good chance the socket circuit would trip straight off. This is because the consumer unit houses an overload protection device for each circuit to prevent cable overload damage from occurring

Electrical Shock Protection

A combination of safety earthing and other electric shock protection in modern consumer units means that we are very unlikely to receive a fatal electric shock in our property with a modern consumer unit correctly installed. 

Earth Fault Detection

When stray electrical currents disappear from the circuits, such as is the case with faulty appliances or faulty wiring, the modern consumer unit detects this and safely turns the supply off until the fault can be fixed.

Protection From Surges

Modern consumer units now come with the option of Surge Protection. This protects your cabling, consumer unit, and appliances from damage due to voltage spikes in the power supply. This can extend the life of wiring and appliances in your home and business. 

Arc Fault Protection

Electrical arcing is a very dangerous phenomenon and can cause fires, extensive wiring damage, and costly repairs. Arc Fault Protection is fairly new and fairly expensive so it’s best to discuss this with us if you would like the additional protection provided by Arc Fault Detection Devices (AFDD).

Need an Electrician in Prestwich?

If you would like to discuss a new consumer unit then get in touch with us today and we will happily discuss the options with you. We can install consumer units in all properties and certify our works correctly and in accordance with all wiring regulations.