Does my fuse board need replacing, or just repairing?

My board keeps tripping. Is the board broken?

Almost never. An RCD or breaker that trips is doing its job: it has seen something it does not like on a circuit and disconnected it. The board is the messenger.

What is usually behind it is a faulty appliance, water where it should not be, a damaged cable, or simply too many small leakages on one RCD adding up until it reaches the trip threshold. That last one is common on older boards where a single RCD covers half the house, and it is genuinely fixed by a board with individual protection per circuit.

The right first step is fault finding, not a new board. If someone quotes you for a consumer unit before they have tested anything, get a second opinion.

When does a board genuinely need replacing?

There are a handful of clear cases where the answer is yes and it is not a judgement call.

• Rewireable fuses, the sort with fuse wire you replace by hand. These cannot give the disconnection times modern regulations require.
• No RCD protection anywhere. RCDs are what protect a person from a shock, and a board without them is a generation behind.
• A plastic enclosure, particularly in a flat or a house of multiple occupation. The concern is that a loose connection inside can start a fire the enclosure then feeds rather than contains.
• Visible heat damage, browning around terminals, or a smell of hot plastic. That is a live problem, not a future one.
• A board so old that replacement parts are no longer made, which turns every small fault into a big job.

None of those are opinions about brand or looks. They are about whether the board can do the two jobs it exists for: disconnect fast enough to protect the cable, and disconnect fast enough to protect a person.

What does a modern board actually give me?

Three things worth having. Individual RCBO protection, so a fault on one circuit takes out that circuit and not half the house, which matters at eleven at night with a freezer full of food. Surge protection, which most new boards include and which quietly protects everything plugged in when lightning hits a line nearby. And a metal enclosure that contains a fault rather than feeding it.

The less obvious benefit is that everything gets tested. A board change is not a swap. Every circuit is disconnected, tested, recorded and reconnected, which is why the job takes a day and why you end up knowing the real condition of your wiring.

What changes the price of a board change?

We do not print prices, because the honest range on a page that covers a two bed flat and a six bed farmhouse is so wide it tells you nothing. What we can tell you is what moves it.

• How many circuits there are. A board is priced by ways, and more circuits means more testing.
• What the testing finds. If a circuit fails, it has to be put right before the board can be certified, and nobody can know that before they test.
• Whether the main earthing and bonding are up to current standards. Older properties often need the bonding to gas and water upgrading at the same time.
• Where the board is. A board in a cupboard behind a fitted kitchen is a longer day than one on a garage wall.
• Whether the supply needs isolating by the network operator, which has to be booked.

Anyone giving you a firm figure without knowing the circuit count is quoting a number they may have to revise. We would rather look first. Send a photo of the board through the quote form and we can usually tell you a great deal from that alone.

What paperwork should I get?

An Electrical Installation Certificate, not a minor works certificate, because a board change is not minor works. It should list every circuit with its test results, and it should be issued by the person who did the work.

The job is notifiable under Part P, so it also has to be registered with building control. An NICEIC Approved Contractor can self certify, which is included and which is why you get a building regulations compliance certificate through afterwards without applying for anything.

Keep both. You will want them when you sell, and a letting agent will ask for them.

Questions we get asked about this