Up-Close Electrical LTD | Re-wires Leeds | Fuse boards Leeds | EV Chargers Leeds

• Rewireable fuses, the old type with a wire in a holder rather than switches. These are decades out of date.
• A plastic enclosure, particularly under a staircase or in a hallway. Current regulations require metal clad boards in escape routes because of fire risk.
• No RCD protection, which you can check by looking for a test button anywhere on the board. If there is no test button there is no RCD, and no protection against electric shock.
• Frequent tripping when you run normal appliances together.
• A cast iron casing or a wooden backing board, which means it is very old indeed.
• A failed EICR where the board was flagged as a C2 or C1 item.
• No spare ways left and you need another circuit adding, for an EV charger, a shower or a kitchen.

• A modern metal clad consumer unit to current regulations
• Individual RCBO protection on every circuit
• Surge protection where required
• Full testing of the existing installation before the new board is connected
• Every circuit identified and labelled clearly
• An Electrical Installation Certificate
• Building Control notification through NAPIT
• The old board removed and disposed of

Older boards use one or two RCDs, each covering half the house. When a fault occurs, everything on that side goes off. You lose the freezer, the boiler and the upstairs lights all because of a faulty kettle.

RCBOs protect each circuit individually. A fault takes out one circuit and leaves everything else running.

It costs a little more and it is worth it, particularly if you have a freezer, work from home, or have anyone in the house who cannot be left without heating.

Testing comes first. Before anything is disconnected, we test the existing installation. A new board cannot legally be connected to circuits that are not safe.

The power goes off. For most of the job, typically four to eight hours. Sort out flasks, phone charging and anything in the freezer beforehand.

The new board goes in. Each circuit is connected, tested and labelled as it comes back on.

Everything is tested and certified. Every circuit tested to BS 7671, results recorded, and an Electrical Installation Certificate issued.

We notify Building Control. Done through NAPIT as part of the job. You receive the confirmation in the post.

It happens, particularly in older properties.

If testing shows a circuit with damaged insulation, a wiring fault or an unsafe connection, we cannot legally connect it to the new board without putting it right first.

If that happens we stop, show you exactly what we have found, and price the repair before doing anything further. Sometimes it is a single junction box. Occasionally it means a partial rewire.

We would rather have that conversation with you on the day than pretend we did not see it. That is the difference between a board that is compliant and one that just looks new.