07469 921171info@mcrelectricalservices.co.uk Mon–Fri 7:30–19:30 · Sat 8:00–17:00 - HomeAboutServices Service Areas EmergencyOur WorkReviewsContactRequest Estimate Home - Electrical Services - Consumer Unit Upgrades Electrical services · Greater Manchester # Consumer Unit UpgradesIn ManchesterTested And Certified Old fuse boxes replaced with modern RCBO boards, so a single fault isolates one circuit instead of the whole house: installed, tested and certified in a day for most properties. Request Your Estimate 07469 921171 NICEIC Domestic Installer · 12 years' experience · Facebook recommendations, 100% would recommend - 12 years' experienceDomestic, commercial and industrial - NICEIC Domestic InstallerNotifiable domestic work certified - £5 million public liabilityCover on every job - Reply within 1–2 hoursWorking hours, Mon–Sat - 12-month guaranteeOn our workmanship, conditions apply The service ## The board is the partprotecting everything else A consumer unit is the control and protection centre of a domestic installation: main switch, protective devices for each circuit, and the earthing and bonding arrangement behind them. When the board is a rewireable fuse box or an early plastic unit with no RCD protection, the circuits behind it are running without the additional protection current standards require. An upgrade replaces the enclosure and devices, renews the connections to every circuit, checks and corrects main protective bonding, and includes full testing of the installation being connected. That last part matters: a new board on old circuits will reveal faults that the old fuses tolerated, which is why testing before and after is part of the job rather than an extra. We carry out board upgrades across Manchester, Salford, Trafford, Bury and the surrounding boroughs for homeowners, landlords and agents. Work is notifiable and is certified under our NICEIC Domestic Installer registration for domestic installations, with £5 million public liability cover in place. ### Why professional work matters here Protective devices are the difference between a fault and a fire, and between a shock and a nuisance trip. RCBO protection per circuit also changes how the house behaves in a fault: one circuit drops out instead of everything, which is worth a lot at eleven at night with a freezer full of food. ### Who it's for - Homeowners with an old fuse box or a board with no RCD protection - Landlords acting on C2 observations from an EICR - Buyers of properties where the board is clearly obsolete - Anyone adding circuits to a board with no spare ways ### When it's needed - The board still uses rewireable fuses or plug-in cartridge fuses - There is no RCD protection on socket or outdoor circuits - One RCD trips and takes half the house off with it - The board is full and a new circuit is needed - An inspection report has coded the board as unsatisfactory What happens if it's left ## What an old boardis quietly costing A rewireable fuse box has no residual current protection at all. A fault to earth through a person, a nail in a cable or a wet outdoor socket relies entirely on a fuse wire that only responds to overcurrent. The result is a level of risk that current standards specifically require to be removed. Combined RCD boards from the 2000s have a different problem: everything on one device. Accumulated leakage from appliances plus one genuine fault means half the house, or all of it, goes off together. Fault finding takes longer, and freezers, alarms, boilers and networking equipment all go down with the offending circuit. Then there is capacity. Once the board is full, every addition, whether a garden office, a shower or a vehicle charge point, is either refused or bodged onto an existing circuit. Doing the board first makes those jobs straightforward; leaving it means paying twice when the upgrade eventually becomes unavoidable. ### Common mistakes we're called to fix - Assuming a new board makes old, degraded circuits satisfactory - Choosing a board with no spare ways to save a small amount now - Ignoring main protective bonding to gas and water during the change - Accepting a board swap with no test results or certificate - Uprating a breaker to stop nuisance tripping instead of investigating Our process ## Five stages, every job,from enquiry to certificate - Step 1 ### Pre-upgrade inspection We inspect the existing board, earthing arrangement and bonding, and test the circuits so we know what condition the installation being connected is in. - Step 2 ### Specification and fixed price Board type, device ratings, spare capacity, surge protection where justified and any bonding upgrade are set out and priced in writing. - Step 3 ### Changeover Supply isolated, new metal-enclosed board installed, every circuit identified, terminated and labelled, and bonding corrected as required. - Step 4 ### Testing and verification Continuity, insulation resistance, polarity, loop impedance and RCD or RCBO trip times measured on every circuit and recorded on the schedules. - Step 5 ### Certification and guarantee Certification issued, notifiable work registered, board schedule left on site, and the work covered by our guarantee. 12-month workmanship guarantee when materials are supplied by us and no other contractor has worked on the installation beforehand. What you get out of it ## The difference between doneand done properly ### Faults isolated per circuit RCBO protection means one circuit trips, not the whole house; no more resetting everything in the dark to find the culprit. ### Additional protection where required Socket, lighting and outdoor circuits get the residual current protection an old fuse box cannot provide. ### Capacity for what comes next Boards are specified with spare ways, so a garden office, shower or charge point is a simple addition later. ### Usually a single day Most domestic upgrades are completed within a day, including testing, so the house is back to normal the same evening. ### Full test results You get certification and a board schedule, not just a new box on the wall: useful for sales, lettings and insurance. ### Problems found, not hidden Testing during the upgrade shows exactly which circuits are sound and which need attention, with clear pricing for anything found. In detail ## Boards, devicesand what changes Modern domestic boards are metal enclosed for fire containment and populated with RCBOs, a combined overcurrent and residual current device on each circuit, rather than a pair of shared RCDs. Device selection is deliberate: Type B or Type C characteristics depending on the load, correct current rating matched to the circuit's cable size and installation method, Type A residual current devices where electronic loads produce DC components, and an SPD where equipment and supply arrangement justify surge protection. AFDD provision is considered where the installation calls for it. The changeover is more than swapping devices. Every existing circuit is identified and tested before reconnection, so undersized cable, a borrowed neutral or degraded insulation is discovered on the day rather than after the board is closed. Main protective bonding to gas and water services is checked for size and continuity and upgraded where it is missing or undersized, and the main earthing conductor is verified against the supply earthing arrangement. Circuit labelling and a board schedule are completed so isolation is instant during a future fault. Rented and commercial variants follow the same principle at different scale. Flats often need particular attention to the supply arrangement and the intake position; small commercial premises may need a distribution board with SP&N or TP&N configuration, sub-main protection and higher fault-current rating. In all cases the deliverable is the same: a board that protects each circuit individually, tested, labelled and documented. ### Variations of this service Fuse box to RCBO boardRewireable or cartridge fuse boards replaced with modern metal-enclosed RCBO consumer units, tested and certified. Split-load board replacementOlder dual-RCD boards converted to per-circuit protection so a single fault no longer takes out half the property. Board relocationBoards moved from awkward or unsafe positions such as inside cupboards or above stairs, with tails and bonding renewed. Capacity upgradesLarger boards installed to accept new circuits for showers, kitchens, outbuildings or vehicle charging. Bonding and earthing upgradesMissing or undersized main protective bonding corrected as part of the works and recorded on the certificate. ### In homes Most homes are done in a day: supply off in the morning, new board and terminations, testing in the afternoon, certification before we leave. ### In commercial premises Small commercial distribution board replacements are programmed around trading, often out of hours, with circuit schedules and labelling updated at handover. Related services - Domestic Electrical Works - Commercial Electrical Works - Fault Finding & Repairs - EICRs & Electrical Testing - Fire Alarms & Emergency Lighting - Rewires & New Build InstallationsAll services Where we cover - Manchester - Bury - Salford - Trafford All service areasHomeContact Recent work ## Consumer Unit Upgradeswe've carried out See all our work Questions we're asked ## Consumer Unit Upgradesquestions, answered Anything not covered here, phone 07469 921171 and you'll get a straight answer rather than a callback promise. How much does a consumer unit upgrade cost in Manchester?Price depends on circuit count, board type, bonding work and the position of the existing board, so a figure is Not Provided here. Send a photo of the current board and the property details and you will get a fixed written price. How long will the power be off?Typically most of a working day for a domestic changeover, including testing. We agree the timing with you in advance and get essential circuits back on as early as possible. Do I need a new consumer unit if mine still works?'Working' and 'protected' are different things. If there is no RCD protection, or one device covers most of the house, an upgrade materially improves safety. Testing tells you whether it is urgent. What if you find faults on my existing circuits?Testing before reconnection can reveal problems the old fuses tolerated. We explain what we have found, price the remedial work clearly and agree it with you before continuing. Is a board upgrade notifiable?Yes. Replacing a consumer unit is notifiable work, and in homes we certify and register it under our NICEIC Domestic Installer registration. Will I get a certificate?Yes, certification with schedules of inspection and test results for every circuit, plus a board schedule left on site. Should I get extra circuits added at the same time?If you are planning a shower, garden office or vehicle charging, doing it around the board change is cheaper than a separate visit later. We will specify spare ways for it either way. Is the work guaranteed?12-month workmanship guarantee when materials are supplied by us and no other contractor has worked on the installation beforehand. Do you upgrade boards in rented properties and flats?Yes, regularly, often as remedial work following an unsatisfactory EICR, with certification provided for the tenancy or management file. Next step ## Tell Us About The JobAnd We'll Price It Properly Send the details and we'll reply within 1–2 hours during working hours with a clear price and a date. For anything urgent, phone 07469 921171. Call 07469 921171 - NICEIC Domestic Installer, £5 million public liability - Priced in writing before work begins - 12-month workmanship guarantee when materials are supplied by us and no other contractor has worked on the installation beforehand. Typical response time 1–2 hours. Urgent? Call 07469 921171. NICEIC Domestic Installer. £5 million public liability cover. Reliable electrical work across Greater Manchester for 12 years. - ### Services Domestic Electrical Works - Commercial Electrical Works - Fault Finding & Repairs - EICRs & Electrical Testing - Fire Alarms & Emergency Lighting - Rewires & New Build Installations - Consumer Unit Upgrades - LED Lighting Upgrades - Garden & External Lighting - Emergency Call Outs ### Areas Covered - Electrician in Manchester - Electrician in Salford - Electrician in Trafford - Electrician in Stockport - Electrician in Tameside - Electrician in Oldham - Electrician in Rochdale - Electrician in Bury - Electrician in Bolton ### Contact - 07469 921171 - info@mcrelectricalservices.co.uk - Roca Accountants, Centenary Way, M50 1RF ### Opening Hours - Monday – Friday: 7:30 – 19:30 - Saturday: 8:00 – 17:00 - Sunday: Call-outs only, subject to availability © 2026 Manchester Electrical Services Ltd. All rights reserved. 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