Consumer Unit Upgrade in Lancing

The Brief

A Lancing homeowner had an older plastic-clad fuse board with rewireable fuses on most of the circuits. With no RCD protection on the lighting and limited protection on the sockets, the existing board failed several items on a recent EICR and was no longer compliant with current 18th Edition wiring regulations. The homeowner wanted a straightforward, in-and-out replacement done in a single visit.

What We Did

The upgrade was straightforward but required care to test the existing circuits before bringing the new board into service:

• Isolation and survey: Switched the supply at the main isolator, opened the existing board, and confirmed the circuit identification before disconnection.
• Old board removal: Disconnected and removed the plastic fuse board, salvaging the existing meter tails and the main switch where they were still in good condition.
• New consumer unit installation: Fitted a metal-clad consumer unit with a dedicated RCBO on every circuit, providing RCD plus over-current protection per circuit (no shared RCDs).
• Insulation testing: Tested the insulation resistance, polarity, and earth continuity on every circuit before re-connection. One spur was identified and corrected during testing.
• Re-energise and verify: Brought the new board into service circuit by circuit, verified RCD trip times, and confirmed all sockets and lights operated as expected.
• Certification: Issued the Electrical Installation Certificate, the Building Regs Part P notification, and a printed circuit chart for the front of the new board.

The Result

A modern metal-clad consumer unit with full RCBO protection that meets the current 18th Edition standard, signed off with the certification the homeowner needed for compliance. The single-day install meant the property was without power for only a few hours during the swap.

Job Duration: Approximately one working day from arrival to handover, including testing and certification.

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