Fuse box electrician in Nottingham

When was the last time you checked your fuse box?

Here at Definitive Electrical we are your local domestic Nottingham electricians, and we see lots of old fuse boxes that are well in need of an upgrade. If you think it's time to upgrade your fuse box, get in touch with Definitive Electrical today.

Just like the nucleus is the brain of a cell, your fuse box is seen as the brain of your house. Your fuse box needs to be up to date with all current electrical regulations to ensure your house has working and safe electrics. Fuse boxes use fuses instead of circuit breakers, this means when tripping occurs, each fuse will contain a wire which will melt if there is an electrical overload. This will then trip the circuit and switch the power off. However, an upgraded version of the fuse box, which is known as a consumer unit will switch the power off using a circuit breaker which is linked to the overloaded circuit. It will then be easy to identify as it will be labelled ‘OFF’.

Now while it’s not illegal to have an older fuse box it is important to note that upgrading could save your life. Older fuse boxes can be dangerous and won’t have the latest RCD protection. Old fuse boxes that are installed without circuit breakers or RCD’S have a higher risk of causing injury. Electric shocks are much more common so a fuse box upgrade is a much safe option to protect your home and your family.

Consumer units are the much safer and more modern version of the fuse box. There a few different types of consumer units, Definitive Electrical can advise you to choose the right consumer unit for your home.

Main switch consumer unit

Main switch consumer units simply have one main switch that can turn off all the circuits within the house. If a problem occurs it will trip the main switch and the faults circuit will be identified.

Dual RCD consumer unit

A residual current device consumer unit can split the power into two sets of circuit. These are great as if one circuit trips the other will keep working meaning your home will still have some power in certain parts.

High integrity consumer unit

Similarly, to the dual RCD, high integrity consumer units allow you to separate all circuits. These are becoming very popular as even if something in your kitchen trips, the rest of the house will remain in working order.