The consumer unit — more commonly called the fuse board or fuse box — is the central hub of your home’s electrical installation. It receives the incoming supply, distributes it to individual circuits throughout the property, and provides the protective devices that cut the supply in the event of a fault. An old or inadequate consumer unit is not simply an inconvenience — it is a genuine safety concern that affects the level of protection the installation provides against electric shock and electrical fire.
Gillingham’s predominantly post-war housing stock means a significant proportion of properties across Twydall, Wigmore, Hempstead, Rainham and the surrounding streets have consumer units that are now 40 to 60 years old. Many of these are rewireable fuse boards — the older type where individual fuses are replaced by hand when they blow — that provide no protection against electric shock at all. Others are early MCB boards from the 1980s and early 1990s that have some circuit protection but lack the RCD or RCBO protection that current wiring regulations require for new installations.
At Gillingham Electrical, we replace old and inadequate consumer units across Gillingham and the surrounding Medway area with modern metal consumer units that provide the level of protection required by current standards. All work is carried out by registered electricians and certified under Part P on completion. Get in touch to discuss what your installation needs.
Understanding what a modern consumer unit does differently to an older one helps explain why an upgrade matters — and why it is not simply a cosmetic improvement.
A rewireable fuse board — the type with individual ceramic fuse carriers where the wire element is replaced when a fuse blows — responds only to overload and short circuit conditions. It does not respond to earth faults — the type of fault that causes fatal electric shocks. A person touching a live exposed conductor in a property with a rewireable fuse board will receive the full current of the circuit with no protective device to cut the supply. This is not a theoretical risk — it is the reason why rewireable fuse boards have been replaced in new installations for decades.
A modern consumer unit with RCD or RCBO protection responds to earth faults in milliseconds — cutting the supply before a dangerous level of current can cause serious injury. This is the fundamental safety improvement that a consumer unit upgrade provides. Since 2016, all new domestic consumer units are also required to use metal rather than plastic enclosures — a fire safety requirement that contains any arc fault within the unit rather than allowing it to spread to surrounding materials.
Not all consumer unit upgrades are the same — the specification of the new board has a direct bearing on both the cost and the level of protection it provides.
A split-load consumer unit divides circuits into two groups, each protected by a single RCD. It is the most cost-effective option and provides a significant safety improvement over an old rewireable board. The limitation is that if the RCD on one half trips — whether from a genuine fault or a nuisance trip from a faulty appliance — all circuits on that half of the board lose power simultaneously. A fault on the shower circuit cutting the kitchen sockets, the fridge and the microwave at the same time is a common and frustrating consequence.
A full RCBO board gives every individual circuit its own combined MCB and RCD protection. A fault on one circuit trips only that circuit — the rest of the installation remains live. For a household where a nuisance trip cutting half the power at once is a significant disruption, the full RCBO specification is consistently the better choice. The cost difference between the two board types is modest relative to the improvement in both safety and day-to-day reliability.
For most Gillingham properties, we recommend the full RCBO specification as the preferred option — and we are happy to explain the difference clearly before any decision is made.
A consumer unit upgrade at a standard Gillingham property is typically completed in a single working day. Understanding what happens during that day helps homeowners prepare appropriately.
The process begins with an assessment of the existing installation — confirming the circuit count, checking the condition of the wiring connected to the board, and assessing the earthing and bonding arrangements. A consumer unit upgrade is only appropriate where the existing wiring is in satisfactory condition — if the cables throughout the property are deteriorated or non-compliant, a rewire may be the more appropriate course of action. We advise honestly on this at the assessment stage rather than upgrading the board and leaving the underlying wiring unaddressed.
On the day of the upgrade, the incoming supply is isolated at the meter. The property is without power from this point until the new board is fully connected and tested — typically four to six hours for a standard Gillingham property. The old board is removed, each circuit cable is identified and checked, and the new metal consumer unit is fitted and connected. The earthing and bonding arrangements are checked and updated where necessary. Once all connections are made, a full test sequence is carried out on every circuit. On satisfactory completion, an Electrical Installation Certificate is issued and building control is notified.
Several different triggers lead homeowners in Gillingham to arrange a consumer unit upgrade — and not all of them involve an immediate safety failure.
An EICR — Electrical Installation Condition Report — is the most common route. An EICR inspects and tests the full installation and grades deficiencies by urgency. A rewireable fuse board is typically graded C2 — potentially dangerous, requiring prompt action. An early MCB board without adequate RCD protection is similarly graded. An EICR that identifies the consumer unit as the primary deficiency gives homeowners a clear basis for prioritising the upgrade.
A failed or persistently tripping board is another common trigger — older boards that have become unreliable, that trip without an obvious cause, or that have had multiple fuses rewired over the years to a non-standard specification, all warrant replacement.
Planning an EV charger installation, adding additional circuits for a new kitchen or extension, or simply being aware that the board has never been updated since the property was built are all valid reasons to arrange an assessment. For Gillingham’s post-war housing stock, a board that has been in place since the 1960s has been in service for over 60 years — well beyond any reasonable expected lifespan for the protective devices it contains.
A consumer unit upgrade carried out by a registered electrician who assesses the installation correctly, installs the right specification of board, and carries out the full test sequence on completion is a property that is significantly safer and better protected than before. A consumer unit upgrade carried out without proper assessment, or to an inadequate specification, misses the point of the exercise.
We are registered with a government-approved competent person scheme — which means we self-certify every consumer unit upgrade and notify building control on your behalf. You receive an Electrical Installation Certificate on completion. This is the document you will need when you come to sell the property — keep it with your other property paperwork.
Gillingham town and surrounds — Twydall, Hempstead, Wigmore, Rainham, Parkwood, Lordswood
Chatham and Rochester — Chatham, Rochester, Strood, Walderslade, Luton, Wayfield
Sittingbourne corridor — Sittingbourne, Newington, Rainham, Bredhurst, Hartlip, Lower Halstow
Maidstone fringe — Maidstone, Boxley, Detling, Bredhurst, Stockbury, Hollingbourne
All our electricians hold City & Guilds Level 3 qualifications and are registered with approved competent person schemes (NICEIC or NAPIT). This means we can self-certify work and issue certificates for building control compliance without delay.
emergency Electricians
We understand rewiring is disruptive. Our team works efficiently, protects your property, and coordinates with plasterers and decorators to minimize inconvenience. Most rewires allow you to remain at home throughout.
As Gillingham-based electricians, we understand local property types and common wiring issues. From Victorian terraces to modern homes, we’ve rewired properties throughout ME postcodes.
Not sure if your consumer unit needs replacing? Get in touch for a free, no-obligation assessment from a registered local electrician.