New consumer unit

treecol

We've been quoted £400 inc vat to replace our consumer unit to conform with current regs. This will include the necessary certificates.
Is this a fair quote?

Alias_Omega

I have a quote for -

To Replace Consumer Unit - £300
To Upgrade Earthing - £100

Total Cost is £400 for a 17th Edition Dual RCD board.

monty-doggy

I'm paying £350 all in next week to have mine replaced.

Quiet_Spark

Depends where you are and what needs doing, but it sounds reasonable enough to me.

getmore4less

Round our way £350 seems to be the price most say on their bumph. I guess adjustable for things they find wrong with the installation.

The CU are in the £50-£100 range so a good days labour on top.

brightontraveller

Depends why are you changing the existing? if your doing it to sell etc then you may just need a certificate ? Not necessarily replacing the entire unit or any works at all ? Regulations are not retrospective The price though you don’t mention the number of circuits etc but average two three bedroom its about right?

fluffpot

No way would I fit a CU that only cost £50....

Beside Regs are to change soon meaning that plastic ones can't be fitted due to poor fire resistance - and metal ones of course are much more expensive

brightontraveller

fluffpot wrote: »

No way would I fit a CU that only cost £50....

Beside Regs are to change soon meaning that plastic ones can't be fitted due to poor fire resistance - and metal ones of course are much more expensive

That’s not quite right though ?

The new regs are that they be “non-combustible or not readily combustible material”
Although metal meets this there are many other materials also additives that can be put into plastics etc that allow them to conform to the regulations. Who know you may see bakelite making a comeback personally I think plastic with additives as the cheaper manufacturing option will be the more popular than metal

Regulation 421.1.200
Requires switchgear assemblies including consumer units to have their enclosure manufactured from non-combustible or not readily combustible material or be enclosed in a cabinet or enclosure constructed of noncombustible or not readily combustible material.

fluffpot

yes but in the short term I'd imaging it will jsut be easier to fit metal until the others have been trialled and approved to whatever BS no...
And in a domestic situation fitting it in another cabinet is likey to be impractical

treecol

Thanks for your replies. We are in Hampshire. The only reason we are having a new consumer unit is that we will be having a new kitchen fitted & adding more sockets in there, also adding wall lights in the lounge. The existing one must be a good 20 years old. I'm presuming that to have those extra electrics is why we'd need a new one. The electrician will be doing those alterations.

brightontraveller

treecol wrote: »

Thanks for your replies. We are in Hampshire. The only reason we are having a new consumer unit is that we will be having a new kitchen fitted & adding more sockets in there, also adding wall lights in the lounge. The existing one must be a good 20 years old. I'm presuming that to have those extra electrics is why we'd need a new one. The electrician will be doing those alterations.

The number of sockets is immaterial it’s the loading etc that counts ( there are other consideration but not relevant as you have described it )

If you existing kitchen has sockets on a ring/radial then you can add/remove as many as you like (The fuse and cable size etc is what counts not consumer unit) Wall lights loading may be a consideration but they can feed from existing lighting 6a / 10a fuse 1/1.5amp cable or fused down from the ring main (or if bodged not ) as a very general rule 10 lights old style100w each per circuit was fine obviously newer lower voltage more is achievable

If the installation does not have RCD you might consider adding RCBO’s etc to the existing consumer unit to cover the circuits required to be covered or that you wish to add different types of protection nothing you have stated requires a new consumer unit though.
It’s the protective device ( fuse )that counts not the case of the consumer unit people are under a misconception a nice shiny consumer unit equates to a safer installation... RCD’s may increase protection but often offer less i.e.safety factor RCBO’s offer same electrical protection more from a safety perspective.