Fuse box (consumer unit)
replacement in London

Only a skilled person with special knowledge can and should replace a fuse box. It might seem like an easy task but any DIYer should always remember that electricity kills. You might think that you know enough, but one mistake could be your last. Which is why it is always a good idea to leave it to a professional.
 
Another reason besides lack of knowledge is lack of proper tools and testing equipment. Even if you are able to install a consumer unit, you won’t be able to check if the installation was successful and everything works as it should. You might think that if the lights are on and sockets are working its all fine, but it might not be. As some circuits or the whole system might not be earthed. Cables might be installed incorrectly and there could be other mistakes that overtime could lead to fire or even death.
 
Troubleshooting is another problem that might arise. If you were to make a mistake with installation,  the new consumer unit power might not come back or circuits might not work. You could then end up in darkness until an electrician can come to fix it, which might take some time and extra spendings for an emergency call out service. 

Yes, a consumer unit can be boxed in.

A Bathroom is not an ideal place to install the consumer unit. However, it shouldn’t be a problem as long as the consumer unit is in a box or located in a special cabinet that will protect it against moisture ingress.
 
But it should be noted that even if the consumer unit is in a box or located in the cabinet, it should still be in Zone 3 of the bathroom.

 
Zone 0 - area within a bath tub or shower itself
 
Zone 1 - area above the bath to a height of 2.25 meters from the floor and within a shower cubicle
 
Zone 2 - area stretching 60 centimetres outside the perimeter of the bath and to a hight of 2.25 metres.
 
Zone 3 - is anywhere outside zone 0,1 or 2.

It is not dangerous but the regulations suggests that they should be installed at least 3 feet away from each other.

Yes, a new consumer unit can be installed to the old wiring but there are cases when it can’t and there is only one way to find out.
 
In order to determine if the new consumer unit can be installed to the old wiring an electrical inspection should be conducted. It will check the condition of the cables and if it is safe or if it requires rewiring first.

It depends on each individual case and the size of the fuse box itself. On average the replacement of the fuse box varies from 1 to 3 hours. It really depends on the number of circuits that must be connected as a small fuse box with 6 circuits will take much less time and effort than a big fuse box with more than 16 circuits in it.
 
Also factors such as how well the cables were managed in the old fuse box, are there any faults, or is the sequence of cable connections wrong might influence the length of the work.

No, old fuse boxes are not illegal and can still be used if working properly, but they are unsafe and if in bad condition must be replaced.
 
Old fuse boxes are unsafe first of all because they lack RCD, a residual current device that automatically disconnects power if a person touches live wires. It protects against damage that can result from electric shock and save lives.

The cost of changing the fuse box to a new consumer unit will depend on the size of the new consumer unit that you would like to install.
 
At SW Electricians we have 3 different packages which includes supply, installation and certification.
 
Small ( 1-5 circuits consumer unit ) - £449.99
Medium (6-10 circuits consumer unit ) - 499.99
Large( 11-16 circuits consumer unit ) - 599.99

The fuse box must be replaced with a consumer unit and not with a circuit breaker. It is easy to get confused but a circuit breaker is actually a fuse, the difference is that a circuit breaker can be restarted and does not have to be changed in case of a trip. The old fuse boxes must be changed to modern consumer units, which look and function nearly the same as the fuse box, but have some additional protective devices, such as RCD’s and RCBO’s.
 
RCD’s are supplied in a package and is a residual current device that automatically switches off the power supply, in case anybody touches live wires. Which helps to prevent death from electric shock.
 
RCBO’s can be bought separately and combine functions of RCD’s and MCB’s in one device. Saving some space in the consumer unit and providing combined protection for each circuit individually.

Yes, they can and should open an electrical panel, in order to do his/her job.
 
Electrical panels and consumer units are part of your house electrical system, which simply divides the main power feed into separate circuits.
 
Consumer unit internal inspection is standard practice of all recognised home inspections. So in order for inspection to be in full, the electrical panel should also be checked, as even though electricity in the house is working fine, there might still be some faults that might be dangerous.

Yes, the fuse with lower amperage might be replaced instead of the higher one.
 
As much as it doesn’t create any danger it might cause some inconvenience as the fuse might trip all the time, because the load current might often get higher then the value of the fuse.
 
That is why it is recommended to replace the fuse with one with the same amperage but again it might work just fine and will only depend on the amount of workload that it should be able to withstand.  

Fuse box and MCB are 2 different things
 
Fuse box is literally a box where the main switch, MCB’s, RCD’s and RCBO’s are located.
 
Mcb on the other hand is a mini circuit breaker or simply a fuse or automatically operated switch that can be restarted if it is tripped. It protects electrical circuits from damage that can be caused by overload or short circuits. 
 
RCD is a residual current device, it is usually double the size of an MCB and besides a switch has a button for manual checks of the devices correct operation. Its main function is to automatically disconnect the power supply in case of direct contact with live wires and prevent harm from an ongoing electric shock.
 
RCBO is a residual current circuit breaker and what could be seem from its name is it combines both MCB and RCD in one device carrying both of their functions.

If we compare a circuit breaker with a fuse.
Its disadvantages would be the price as circuit breakers cost considerably more than a fuse.
Also, as it is an automatic device that can be used many times, there is always a chance that it will break. Which means that it can trip when it shouldn’t or in the worst case scenario it might not trip when it should.
 
If we look at it from this point of view, then the fuse is safer than a circuit breaker as it can’t really fail and it can work only once after it would have to be replaced.