What Is a Consumer Unit and When Does It Need Replacing?

A consumer unit — often called a fuse box or fuse board — is the central hub that distributes electricity around your home and provides the safety devices that protect each circuit. Every time a circuit breaker trips or a fuse blows, it is the consumer unit doing its job.

Older consumer units — particularly plastic-encased split-load or dual-RCD boards — are increasingly out of step with current electrical safety standards. The 18th Edition of BS 7671, updated with Amendment 2 in 2022, sets out that new installations should use non-combustible metal enclosures, individual RCBO protection per circuit, and surge protection devices as standard.

Common reasons for replacement across North Somerset include: plastic enclosures that no longer meet current standards; older fuse wire boards from the 1970s and 1980s; dual RCD boards that repeatedly trip more than one circuit at a time; boards that are full and cannot accommodate new circuits for EV chargers or solar panels; and installations flagged during an EICR ahead of a property sale.

Consumer Unit Replacement in Older North Somerset Properties

North Somerset has a wide stock of period and older properties — particularly across Clevedon, Nailsea, Yatton, Backwell and parts of Weston-super-Mare — where original electrical installations may not have been updated for decades. Pre-install circuit testing is carried out as standard on every job. Where a full EICR is advisable, this can be arranged at the same visit and is priced at £100 plus £25 per circuit.

RCBO Boards vs Dual RCD Boards — What's the Difference?

Dual RCD boards split circuits across two RCD banks. If a fault develops on any circuit on a bank, the entire bank trips — potentially knocking out several rooms at once. An all-RCBO board gives every single circuit its own individual device. One circuit trips, one circuit goes off — the rest of your property stays powered. This is the recommended installation standard under the current wiring regulations and the only type installed by Clevedon Electric across North Somerset.

Pricing and What's Included

Consumer unit replacement prices in North Somerset generally range from around £535 for a budget FuseBox board in a smaller property up to £1,035 for a premium Hager board in a larger home with 20 circuits. These prices include everything: supply of the consumer unit and RCBOs, installation, SPD, pre-install circuit testing, Electrical Installation Certificate and Part P Building Regulations notification.

There is no VAT to add — Clevedon Electric is not VAT registered, which makes a genuine difference to the final cost compared with larger electrical contractors. Use the estimate tool on this page to get a figure based on your specific board size and brand preference.