Should I replace this consumer unit?

[Murdochcat]

Possibly never.

FYI this was mandated from March 21 to have a satisfactory EICR in place for rental properties

 

[Murdochcat]

£960 +VAT to put right. Does that seam reasonable?

Well, if that’s a RCBO board with SPD it’s a little high AND lots of sparks aren’t VAT registered so there are savings to be made

 

[Cmcb]

Basically just the absence of any RCD protection, then, the rest of the report being essentially 'clean'.

They are presumably quoting for replacement of the CU, and how reasonable the price is will depend upon what they are proposing to install. Have they given any details?

Kind Regards, John

They haven't mentioned brands or anything. just this....

"Your EICR has failed, the installation or other electrical items do not meet current regulations. Remedial work to ensure your electrical installation is safe is therefore required as follows;

1. Install new consumer unit with surge protection 8 circuits
2. Install new consumer unit with rcd protection 4 circuits
3. Test and certificate on completion
Our quotation to carry out your remedial work is £960 +VAT. Any remedial work is required to be paid on a 50% upfront & 50% on completion basis, this is because we will incur upfront costs in purchasing supplies.
If we carry out your remedial work, we do not charge any additional fees to re-test and produce a new certificate."

 

[JohnW2]

They haven't mentioned brands or anything. just this.... "Your EICR has failed, the installation or other electrical items do not meet current regulations. Remedial work to ensure your electrical installation is safe is therefore required as follows;

1. Install new consumer unit with surge protection 8 circuits
2. Install new consumer unit with rcd protection 4 circuits
3. Test and certificate on completion
Our quotation to carry out your remedial work is £960 +VAT. Any remedial work is required to be paid on a 50% upfront & 50% on completion basis, this is because we will incur upfront costs in purchasing supplies.
If we carry out your remedial work, we do not charge any additional fees to re-test and produce a new certificate."

Thanks. They appear to be proposing to install two CUs, which may or may not be sensible/necessary. They seem to be quoting for RCD-protected CU's, for which that price would probably be a bit step but, as has been said, you probably should consider having RCBOs, rather than RCDs. As you imply, the brand of CU(s) they propose to install will also affect the cost, so you probably should at least ask them about that.

KInd Regards, John

 

[Murdochcat]

They haven't mentioned brands or anything. just this....

"Your EICR has failed, the installation or other electrical items do not meet current regulations. Remedial work to ensure your electrical installation is safe is therefore required as follows;

1. Install new consumer unit with surge protection 8 circuits
2. Install new consumer unit with rcd protection 4 circuits
3. Test and certificate on completion
Our quotation to carry out your remedial work is £960 +VAT. Any remedial work is required to be paid on a 50% upfront & 50% on completion basis, this is because we will incur upfront costs in purchasing supplies.
If we carry out your remedial work, we do not charge any additional fees to re-test and produce a new certificate."

50% up front ? Really.

Most of us have trade accounts which give upto 60 days free credit

 

[Murdochcat]

Thanks. They appear to be proposing to install two CUs, which may or may not be sensible/necessary. They seem to be quoting for RCD-protected CU's, for which that price would probably be a bit step but, as has been said, you probably should consider having RCBOs, rather than RCDs. As you imply, the brand of CU(s) they propose to install will also affect the cost, so you probably should at least ask them about that.

KInd Regards, John

You need written confirmation of what they mean by RCD protection. This could mean a single up front RCD, a dual rcd or RCBOs

 

[skenk]

Do you need two CUs....how does your heating and hot water work at the moment? Posting the test results page(s) of the report will give us a clue, also the 'observations' page of the report which lists the defects. You could use a pen or something to cover up personal details. It sounds a little high to me if there are no other remedial works and having already paid to inspect and test the wiring. You could get another quote now that you have the report

 

[JohnW2]

You need written confirmation of what they mean by RCD protection. This could mean a single up front RCD, a dual rcd or RCBOs

They talk of 'RCD-protection' only in relation to the 4-citcuit CU theye are proposing, so a single RCD for that would very probably be fair enough (particularly of that was just for heaters).

However, 'worse' than that, they do not mention 'RCD protection' at all (only the questionable SPD!) for the 8-circuit (I presume 'main') CU they are proposing - so clarification is certainly needed there!

However, as skenk and myself have questioned, are two CUs really required - again some discussion would be advisable.

 

[Murdochcat]

They talk of 'RCD-protection' only in relation to the 4-citcuit CU theye are proposing, so a single RCD for that would very probably be fair enough (particularly of that was just for heaters).

However, 'worse' than that, they do not mention 'RCD protection' at all (only the questionable SPD!) for the 8-circuit (I presume 'main') CU they are proposing - so clarification is certainly needed there!

However, as skenk and myself have questioned, are two CUs really required - again some discussion would be advisable.

We are only guessing about the 2 CUs - shame there isn’t a photo or 2

 

[Murdochcat]

Do you need two CUs....how does your heating and hot water work at the moment? Posting the test results page(s) of the report will give us a clue, also the 'observations' page of the report which lists the defects. You could use a pen or something to cover up personal details. It sounds a little high to me if there are no other remedial works and having already paid to inspect and test the wiring. You could get another quote now that you have the report

Regarding the pricing as we have no idea where in the UK the op is, we can’t say if it’s high or low …

 

[JohnW2]

We are only guessing about the 2 CUs - shame there isn’t a photo or 2

We're talking about what the electrician is proposing (not the present situation), which seems fairly clearly to be two CUs - so, unless you have some supernatural powers and/or a 'time machine', a photo will not be available

 

[Murdochcat]

We're talking about what the electrician is proposing (not the present situation), which seems fairly clearly to be two CUs - so, unless you have some supernatural powers and/or a 'time machine', a photo will not be available

Of the existing set up …..

 

[JohnW2]

Regarding the pricing as we have no idea where in the UK the op is, we can’t say if it’s high or low …

Interesting, isn't it, as an example of 'charging what one can get away with' for a job which (presumably) takes the same amount of time, and can get materials at the same cost, no matter what part of the UK it is happening in ?

 

[Murdochcat]

Interesting, isn't it, as an example of 'charging what one can get away with' for a job which (presumably) takes the same amount of time, and can get materials at the same cost, no matter what part of the UK it is happening in ?

That’s just nonsense. Not every spark operates like a Wild West bandit AND location matters a lot

 

[JohnW2]

Of the existing set up …..

Sure, that's the only thing that can be photographed - but that photo won't help you with your guessing about whether the electrician is quoting for the installation of one or two CUs.