Consumer units
Consumer units on the Wirral
The board, which people still call the fuse board. Usually the oldest part of an installation and frequently the thing stopping anything else being added.
- We look before we price
- In writing, itemised
- We say what is not ours
Consumer units
Why the board comes up in almost every other conversation
The consumer unit is where every circuit in the house starts, and it does two jobs: it divides the installation into circuits and it holds the protective devices for each of them. Because everything connects to it, it is also the thing that limits what else can be done. Adding a car charger, a shower or a garden supply frequently turns into a conversation about the board because there is no spare way for the new circuit.
Older boards are limited in ways that are worth understanding rather than being alarmed about. Rewirable fuses rather than modern protective devices. No residual current protection, or only partial. Not enough ways for the circuits a house now has. A wooden or plastic enclosure of a type no longer used. None of those means an installation is dangerous today; all of them are reasons it is behind what a new one would be.
Replacing a board is rarely just the board. It is an opportunity to see the condition of every circuit that lands in it, and it is common for the work to uncover something in the installation that needs attention before the new unit goes on. That is worth knowing in advance, because a board swap that becomes a larger job partway through is unsettling if nobody warned you it could. Often asked about alongside sockets and lighting, car charger installation and outdoor and garden electrics.
Talk about the board
No spare ways means no new circuit, which is why the board comes up when you ask about a charger or a shower.
Replacing the board exposes every circuit's condition. Finding something is common rather than unusual.
The cutout and the meter belong to the network operator and the supplier, and sometimes they have to be involved.
Done across Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebington, and everywhere else on the peninsula.
Consumer units on the Wirral
What this job looks like
The slots below are placeholders. The pictures elsewhere on this site are example images of the kind of work described and they are not photographs of our own jobs. Nothing here is borrowed from anybody else's. Our own photographs go in as jobs are finished and customers are happy for us to use them.
Why people use us
What a board change actually gives you
Modern protective devices, capacity for what you want to add, and a labelled board somebody can understand in ten years.
- The existing circuits looked at before the price
- Capacity planned for what you intend to add later
- Every way labelled clearly rather than from memory
- An honest warning that the work can uncover more
Frequently asked questions
Consumer units: the questions people ask
The ones that come up most. If yours is not here, ring and ask.
How long does a consumer unit take to change?
Usually most of a day for the work itself, with the power off for a large part of it. It can take longer if what is found when the circuits are examined needs attention first.
Will the power be off all day?
For a significant part of it, yes. It is worth planning round, particularly if anybody works from home or there is a freezer that matters.
Why does adding a charger mean changing the board?
Not always, but frequently. A new circuit needs a spare way in the board and enough capacity behind it. Where the existing unit has neither, the board becomes part of the job.
What if you find a problem with a circuit?
We stop and tell you what has been found and what the options are, rather than carrying on or deciding on your behalf. It is common enough that it is worth saying up front rather than treating it as a surprise.
Done across Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebington, and everywhere else on the peninsula.
Send a photo of the board, cover on
A picture of the front of the board tells us roughly what generation it is and whether there are spare ways.
About Wirral Electrics
Wirral Electrics is not taking bookings yet. The pages here are finished and the information on them is accurate, and the brand will start taking work when the labour behind it is in place. What that means, and what this site deliberately does not claim.
Get in touch
Tell us what the job is and roughly how old the house is. A photograph of the consumer unit and of the inside of a socket front answers more than any description.
- Phone0151 453 8836
- Emailcontact@wirralelectrics.com
- WhatsAppSend us a photo of the job
- Based inWirral, Merseyside
- HoursMon to Fri 8 to 6, Sat 8 to 2, closed Sunday