Fuse Board and Consumer Unit Replacement in Manchester
Old rewirable fuse boards and early plastic consumer units replaced with metal-clad units and RCBO protection on every circuit, certified and registered with Building Control.
- Fixed price after survey
- Power back the same day
- Registered with Building Control
Rewirable boardThe board in the cupboard that nobody looks at
Open the hall cupboard in a 1930s semi in Sale, Cheadle or Didsbury and there is a fair chance you will find a fuse board with ceramic fuse carriers and a strip of fuse wire hanging beside it. Open the meter cupboard in a Chorlton terrace and you may find a plastic consumer unit from the 1990s, with a single RCD across the entire house. Both were fine in their day. Neither is what an electrician would fit now.
The modern standard is a metal-clad consumer unit with an RCBO on each circuit and surge protection built in. It protects against shock as well as overload, it contains a fire rather than feeding one, and it isolates a single faulty circuit without taking down the rest of the house. If the fault-finding visits or an EICR have flagged the board, this is the fix.
What the job involves
The electrician tests every existing circuit before anything is disconnected, so that any problems with the wiring are known before the new board goes in. The old unit is removed, the new one fitted and each circuit reconnected, labelled and protected by the correct rating of RCBO. Bonding to the water and gas pipes is checked and brought up to standard if needed, which is often the case in older Manchester houses. Everything is retested, energised and certified, and the work is registered with Building Control on your behalf.
Power is off for the working day. You have it back before we leave.
When a new board is not enough
A new consumer unit protects the circuits it is connected to. It does not renew the cables behind the walls. On a Victorian terrace last rewired in the 1970s, the testing sometimes shows insulation that has hardened and cracked, or lighting circuits with no earth, and at that point the honest advice is a rewire rather than a new board on old wiring. We would rather tell you that before the work than after.
If the current board is tripping repeatedly, our guide on why your electrics keep tripping explains what it usually means, and our guide on what an EICR covers explains the codes a surveyor may have given it. Please do not open the board or attempt any work inside it; call 07343 065023 and we will look. The main Manchester electrician page lists everything else we do.
Board warm, buzzing or scorched?
Do not open it. Switch off at the main switch if you can reach it safely and call the emergency line.
Call 07343 065023Emergency electricianOld fuse board against a modern consumer unit
What you have now, and what replaces it.
Rewirable fuse board or early plastic unit
- Shock protection
- None, or a single RCD shared across the house
- One fault on one circuit
- The whole house goes off
- Fire containment
- Plastic enclosure can burn
- Surge protection
- None
- Adding a circuit for a kitchen or shower
- Often no spare way, or not permitted
- On an EICR
- Flagged for improvement
Modern metal-clad consumer unit
- Shock protection
- An RCBO on every circuit
- One fault on one circuit
- Only that circuit trips
- Fire containment
- Non-combustible metal enclosure
- Surge protection
- Built in, protects electronics and appliances
- Adding a circuit for a kitchen or shower
- Spare ways included
- On an EICR
- Satisfactory
Board, supply, bonding. Then a number that does not move.
Every circuit tested before the old board comes out. No surprises.
New unit, one RCBO per circuit, every one labelled.
Retested, energised, certified. Building Control told by us, not you.
How a consumer unit replacement runs
One day, power back before we leave.
Consumer unit replacement prices
Fixed prices after survey. Daytime rates.
- 01Up to 10 circuitsMetal-clad consumer unit, up to 10 circuits, RCBO per circuitFrom£550Includes testing, certification and Building Control notification
- 02Up to 16 circuitsLarger unit, up to 16 circuitsFrom£750Typical for larger semis and detached houses
- 03SurgeSurge protection deviceFrom£90Fitted with the new unit
- 04BondingMain earthing and bonding upgradeFrom£120Where the survey shows it is needed
Indicative placeholder — confirm against /pricing before publishing.
Full pricing and what is includedSigns your fuse board should be replaced
Any two of these and it is worth a survey.
Related electrical services
Often booked before or alongside a new consumer unit.
- Emergency Electrician24-hour emergency electrician across Manchester and Greater Manchester. Power loss, burning smells, sparking sockets and boards that will not reset. On the way within 60 minutes.within 60 minutes
- 02Fault Finding and RepairsElectrical fault finding across Manchester. Tripping circuits, dead sockets, flickering lights and intermittent faults traced to the cause and repaired, with the work certified.
- 03RewiringFull and partial house rewiring across Manchester for Victorian terraces, 1930s semis and period houses, planned around how you live, certified, and finished with the walls made good.
- 04EICR ReportsEICR reports across Manchester for landlords, homebuyers and businesses. Plain-English findings, a fixed price for any remedial work, and the certificate your agent or council needs.
- 05Appliance RepairAppliance repair across Manchester. Washing machines, ovens, hobs, dishwashers and tumble dryers repaired at home by a qualified electrician, with the circuit behind them checked.
Ask me anythingQuestion 01 of 05Question 02 of 05Question 03 of 05Question 04 of 05Question 05 of 0501Do I have to replace an old fuse box?
Not by law, if it is in safe working order. But a rewirable fuse board offers no protection against electric shock, and a single-RCD plastic unit takes the whole house down for one small fault. Both are flagged on an EICR, which matters if you let the property or sell it. Most people replace when the board causes a problem, when they buy the house, or when a kitchen or shower is added and the old board cannot take a new circuit.
02What is an RCBO and why do you fit them?
An RCBO combines the overload protection of a breaker with the shock protection of an RCD, on a single circuit. A board with an RCBO per circuit means a fault on the outside lights trips the outside lights and nothing else; the freezer, the boiler and the lights stay on. Older boards use one or two RCDs shared across many circuits, which is why a small fault can plunge the whole house into darkness.
03How long will the power be off?
For most houses, between four and six hours. The electrician tests every circuit before the old board comes out, fits the new unit, reconnects and labels each circuit, then tests again before energising. You will have power back the same day. We ask you to plan around no electricity for the working day, and we can usually run a temporary supply to a fridge or freezer if needed.
04Will you find other problems when you change the board?
Sometimes. The pre-change testing is thorough, and on older houses it occasionally finds a circuit that cannot be safely connected to a modern board, typically because of damaged insulation or a missing earth on a lighting circuit. If that happens we tell you before proceeding and price the fix separately. We do not connect a circuit we know to be unsafe, and we will not surprise you with the bill afterwards.
05Is a new consumer unit notifiable to Building Control?
Yes. Replacing a consumer unit is notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations in England. Because our electricians work under a competent person scheme, we notify it for you and you receive an Electrical Installation Certificate and a Building Regulations compliance certificate by email. Keep both; solicitors ask for them when you sell, and insurers may ask after a claim.
Get a fixed quote for a new consumer unit
- Fixed price after survey
- Power back same day
- Certified and registered
An old rewireable board has no RCD protection. A modern unit is the single biggest safety upgrade in a house.
