www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

Hello there

I've just moved in to a property and had the electrics inspected.
The electrician told me that the consumer unit was not fit for purpose. The RCD did nothing when pressed.

He has quoted me £965.00 to install a new one and this is the quote;

Wylex 18th Edition 9 Way Consumer Unit,
Fitted with 100A DP Main Switch and Type 2 SPD Device (Surge Protection Device),
The above Consumer Unit (fuse box),
Installed with the new RCBO’s & occasionally Standard MCB’s where required.
The above includes making good external door for new installation.

I know the consumer unit only costs around £140.00 and the door around £75.00, but would the rest be for labour and time?

well ya would assume so.

try getting a few quotes. ive got a few sparkies that i use regularly and they all charge slightly different. also you dont state your location. labour costs may be cheaper in different parts of the country

That configuration of fuseboard is much more than £140

Get more quotes AND ask for full RCBO boards

fin wrote: ↑Fri Nov 26, 2021 8:18 pm well ya would assume so.

try getting a few quotes. ive got a few sparkies that i use regularly and they all charge slightly different. also you dont state your location. labour costs may be cheaper in different parts of the country

I think I will get a few more quotes. I'm in northwest England.

Neelix wrote: ↑Fri Nov 26, 2021 8:27 pm That configuration of fuseboard is much more than £140

Get more quotes AND ask for full RCBO boards

Okay.. being clueless I just presumed the consumer unit would come with RCBO boards (oops)

Rover7895 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 26, 2021 8:32 pmI just presumed the consumer unit would come with RCBO boards

Just saying, I did find the CU slightly less than what you thought it was...............and here it is

It is quite normal for a CU to have "nothing" because the installing electrician can then choose what rating of protective devices are required. You do get your "DIY specials" that do come with protective devices, but it is often a case of "make it fit"
The usual protective devices are called MCB's but a better option would be to have all RCBO's for your board you are looking at another £300 for them.

Yes get other quotes, but do point out you want ALL RCBO's (Most will quote this anyway)

Any quote for dual rcd fuse boards are unlikely to meet the regulations.

RCBOs are the best solution , not the cheapest, but the best

It could be the electrician was also factoring in the possibility of some "repair" work that would rectify any faults found during the instalation. If your not too sure or know that was not factored in ask how much the hourly rate is as you could be looking at a larger bill than quoted. (unless they have done all the testing and confirmed its only a "simple" straight forward swap over.

If it is of any use I paid £350 for an electrician to supply and install a new cons unit 2 yrs ago. They installed a 10 way lewden 18th edition complient consumer unit with 8 rcbo's (leaving 2 ways spare) it was a "simple" swap over job with no issues to rectify.

All my quote for replacement fuse boards includes a caveat about finding unknown issues adding to the costs

Never been challenged about this at quote stage, nor when issues have been located

Neelix wrote: ↑Fri Nov 26, 2021 10:35 pm All my quote for replacement fuse boards includes a caveat about finding unknown issues adding to the costs

Never been challenged about this at quote stage, nor when issues have been located

I have refused to do a CU swap when it's obvious that it will not work with RCDs

There are three common types of consumer unit.
1) Twin RCD as others have said not recommended but cheap.
2) The high integrity board which has twin RCD's and some RCBO's
3) All RCBO board
There are twin high boards where you can have more than 2 RCD's but not common.

The RCD and RCBO are electronic devices today, and often need some protection using a surge protection device (SPD) which is claimed to also protect LED bulbs etc. These seem to vary in price from £30 to £130 and some are protected with a MCB, electricians including myself are not really sure if required in domestic, but Wylex SPD are expensive.

I used a cheap make called Fusebox that's the make not what it is, and couple of years ago cost me around £300 for a 14 RCBO board with SPD and external isolator, but could have got a cheap two RCD board for around £70, I made an error and got type AC curve B RCBO's should have really used type A curve B with the amount of inverter drives I have, so that would have pushed the price up to just under £400.

However my house is on a TN-C-S supply, had it been on a TT supply the RCBO's would need to be double pole switching, there are now fusebox double pole RCBO's but at the time these were only available in my local stockist for a Wylex board, this really bumps up the price.

So internet we can buy a little cheaper so £26.50 each for Wylex RCBO, plus £65 for the box and isolator, and £125 for the SPD so total cost without any cables or grommets or glands so over £560 for the parts. OK maybe you don't need a 14 way box, but up to £600 could be for the consumer unit.

The term 9 way is some times referring to 9 RCBO's and some times the number of slots, so with a RCD, Isolator and SPD taking up 6 slots it could be rather small. The EV charger has caused problems with some needing a type B RCD, these can cost £130 each or more, and not available as RCBO's the same applies to solar panels.

For an EICR we are not following 18th edition, we are only looking for danger and potential danger, (Code C1 and C2) so if the house was OK in say 1970, to say not OK now means.
1) Something has degraded
2) Something has changed.
The something changed could be supply type, removal of metal pipes, use of electronic equipment, as well as DIY work, and because we can't get tungsten bulbs any more nearly every home now has electronics for the lights, and so it is down to the inspector as to what he things is code C2, I watched a seminar where over 40% felt lack of SPD was a code C2, as it could cause LED lighting to fail, personally I think that is going OTT and except with a TT installation not even sure a RCD is required. I would fit them in my own house, but would only code as C3 in most homes.

This best practice guide is what most electricians feel is reasonable. Note so unless a rental property it is up to you, as an electrician yes I swapped my fuse box for a consumer unit, but it is up to you, and having had two RCD's for last 25 years and lost the odd freezer full of food when the RCD tripped, I wanted all RCBO board. But that is up to you.

Rover7895 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 26, 2021 8:27 pm

fin wrote: ↑Fri Nov 26, 2021 8:18 pm well ya would assume so.

try getting a few quotes. ive got a few sparkies that i use regularly and they all charge slightly different. also you dont state your location. labour costs may be cheaper in different parts of the country

I think I will get a few more quotes. I'm in northwest England.

As you are in England (or Wales) then Part P of the building regs apply so make sure you ask the installer to provide the EIC and Part P as part of the work too

Neelix wrote: ↑Sat Nov 27, 2021 9:13 am As you are in England (or Wales) then Part P of the building regs apply so make sure you ask the installer to provide the EIC and Part P as part of the work too

Yes in theory the work will need notifying, it would be unusual to find an electrician doing domestic work who is not a scheme member, but yes the paperwork is often requested when selling the house.

However 2 years ago sold mothers house and could not at first find the paperwork, so applied for replacement. Only to be told it would take 4 months and would need an open cheque to pay council workers time finding the records, or in other words go away we are not interested Part P is no more than a tax, and it seems you can just take out insurance when selling the house if you can't produce the paperwork.

We were given paperwork with this house, however it transpired it only related to the flat under the house, not the main house.

So 4 tick boxes, any electrical work since 2004, answers include unknown, yes, no, and then paper work included or to follow. The same applies to glazing if over 50%.

Rover some of those responses were accurate but possible a little complicated. RCBOs are better but more expensive. You don't need them. You haven't been quoted for them. The price will go up if you ask for them. Without knowing any details, I would give a very broad estimate of £500 - £1000 for a new fusebox. It isn't as simple as just googling the price on the internet because the fuse box (Consumer unit) doesn't come with the "bits inside" and you are unlikely to make the correct choices unless you know what you are doing. The quote does seem slightly high for twin RCD (which is what the quote is for), so get another couple of quotes. When you get the quotes, ask the electrician if they recommend RCBOs and to give you two quotes, one with RCBOs and one without, so that you can make a choice once you know the price and the advantage.

Rover7895 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 26, 2021 8:09 pm Wylex 18th Edition 9 Way Consumer Unit,
Fitted with 100A DP Main Switch and Type 2 SPD Device (Surge Protection Device),
The above Consumer Unit (fuse box),
Installed with the new RCBO’s & occasionally Standard MCB’s where required.
The above includes making good external door for new installation.

LadySpark wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:06 am The quote does seem slightly high for twin RCD (which is what the quote is for), so get another couple of quotes.

Not sure what the quote is for, what does "& occasionally Standard MCB’s where required" mean?

With mothers house a high integrity board was fitted, it had two RCD's but also fed the kitchen consumer unit not through the RCD as that consumer unit was fitted with RCBO's.

So could fit a consumer unit with all but one RCBO's the odd one MCB feeding say the garage which has it's own consumer unit. We simply don't know.