Consumer Unit Upgrade

[bananaman]

Scarypants,
Thanks very much for your reply and advice. I have a couple of further questions: As I am simply dealing here with a CU installation (with isolator from the meter!), what would constitute 1st and 2nd fix? If they do inspect it, are they really going to disconnect circuits within the CU and test?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I have reluctantly concluded that there were a lot of idiots in the right place and/or the right time when the Part P regulations came along a few years ago.

Once upon a time the various trade bodies (NAPIT, NICEIC & ECA) all required their members to have "real" qualifications, i.e. the full set of C&G.

Not long after they sort of got their way with the introduction of Part P, NICEIC completely prostituted themselves by allowing people who can stumble through a 5-day course to register.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

2. Can I have any size unit or is one for each of the above plus a couple of spares sufficient?

Good idea to put all wiring in conduit for ease of future changes. And if you specify metal conduit for switch drops, or BS 8436 cable it removes the need to have RCDs where you'd rather not.

Think hard about where to have sockets - it's difficult to have too many, and also about what circuits to have. The items on the list below won't all apply to you, but they are worth thinking about:

• Upstairs sockets
• Downstairs sockets
• Kitchen sockets
• Circuit for appliances
• Cooker circuit
• Non-RCD circuit for F/F
• Non-RCD circuit for CH boiler
• Dedicated circuit for hifi
• Dedicated circuit for IT equipment
• Upstairs lights
• Downstairs lights
• Immersion heater
• Loft lights
• Shower
• Bathroom circuit
• Alarm
• Supply for outside lights
• Supply for garden electrics
• Supply for shed/garage

Plus any peculiarities brought about by your house layout & construction - e.g. in mine because of solid floors and where the rings run, I have a radial just for a socket in the hall, the doorbell and the porch lights.

Unless you want to go to the expense of RCBOs throughout, the CU should have at least 3 sections, 2 on RCDs and one not into which you can install a mix of RCBOs and MCBs.

If you live somewhere where supplies are dodgy in the winter, have the lights, the boiler supply, and a socket in each room wired to a separate CU, or a separate section in a large one, that can be supplied by an emergency generator - lights, heating, TV and a kettle/microwave make life a lot more bearable.

 

[scousespark]

Things are improving since the slowdown though, electricians are at least now returning phone calls. Prices haven't dropped much though and that needs to happen too.

Why should prices be coming down. I'm a working electrician, with C&G qualifications. I charge what I believe to be an honest price for a job.
If a customer agrees to my price I get the job. If not, it goes to somebody else. That's the way business works. You can search this forum for an explanation of what you are paying for.

We have to make a living and I'm sure not many people are taking pay cuts, except for those unfortunate enough to be facing redundancy.