If your consumer unit is old, faulty or no longer providing the protection your home needs, it could be time for an upgrade.
At Maytrics Limited, a typical Consumer unit installation in Frimley can cost around £600–£1,200, depending on the size of the property, the number of circuits and the type of consumer unit required. We’ll always assess the existing installation first and talk you through your options before any work goes ahead.
When should you consider a Consumer Unit Upgrade?
Your consumer unit is one of the most important parts of your home's electrical system. It's there to protect the circuits around your property, so if something isn't working as it should, it's worth getting it checked rather than simply hoping it will be fine.
Sometimes, an issue will be picked up during an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). Other times, you may have an older consumer unit that doesn't provide the level of protection you'd expect from a modern installation.
That doesn't automatically mean you need to replace it, but it's always worth getting professional advice.
We recently completed a Consumer unit installation in Frimley at a mid-terrace rental property on Grove Gardens. The property is home to a young family, so making sure the electrical installation was safe and reliable was particularly important.
The work came about following an unsatisfactory EICR, which identified that the existing RCD was faulty. The consumer unit was also an older model, and a suitable replacement RCD was no longer readily available. Rather than trying to keep an outdated unit going, the customer decided that a full upgrade was the sensible option.
We installed a new Click Elucian consumer unit with individual RCBO protection for each circuit, as well as surge protection. This gives the property a much more modern level of protection and means a fault on one circuit is less likely to affect the rest of the installation.
Why choose individual RCBO protection?
One of the benefits of a modern Consumer unit installation in Frimley is that you can have individual RCBO protection across the circuits. Put simply, each circuit has its own protection. If there's a fault with one circuit, the relevant RCBO can disconnect it without unnecessarily taking other circuits with it.
For a busy family home, that can be particularly useful. You don't necessarily want a fault affecting the lighting or sockets throughout the property when the problem is isolated to just one circuit. Surge protection can also help protect electrical equipment from voltage surges, which is another useful addition to a modern consumer unit.
What happens after installation?
Once the new unit has been installed, the job isn't finished. The electrical installation needs to be fully tested to make sure everything is working correctly.
For this Consumer unit installation in Frimley, we carried out all the necessary testing before issuing the relevant certification. The work was also registered with Building Control. It's an important part of the process and gives the homeowner the paperwork to show that the work has been properly tested and completed.
Is your consumer unit due an upgrade?
If you're unsure whether your consumer unit needs replacing, don't worry. You don't need to know exactly what's wrong before calling an electrician. An inspection or EICR can identify potential problems and give you a clearer picture of the condition of your existing installation. From there, we can explain what needs doing and why, without recommending unnecessary work.
The recent Grove Gardens project is a good example of how an issue found during an EICR can lead to a straightforward upgrade that leaves a property with improved electrical safety and a modern system that's easier to maintain.
If you're considering a Consumer unit installation in Frimley, contact Maytrics Limited today by phone on 01252 266277 or via our contact form. We'd be happy to have a chat about your existing consumer unit and give you an idea of what's involved.
