Your consumer unit — often called a fuse board or fuse box — is the most important safety device in your entire electrical installation. Every circuit in your home runs through it, and its job is to detect faults and disconnect power before anyone gets hurt or a fire starts. When it works properly, you barely know it exists. When it fails or lacks the protection modern standards require, the consequences range from constant nuisance tripping to genuine danger.
Across the Medway Towns, thousands of properties still have fuse boards that predate modern safety standards — units with rewirable fuses, boards without RCD protection, and consumer units that have simply reached the age where components are no longer reliable. Replacing an outdated fuse board with a modern consumer unit is the single most effective safety upgrade you can make to your home’s electrics.
We carry out consumer unit upgrades and fuse board replacements across Gillingham, Chatham, Rochester, Strood, Rainham, and the wider Medway area. Every upgrade includes a modern board with current protection standards, full testing of every circuit, earthing and bonding verification, and an electrical installation certificate. Contact us for a free assessment of your existing fuse board.
A split-load consumer unit divides your circuits into two groups, each protected by its own RCD. If a fault trips one RCD, you lose the circuits on that side while the other group stays live — a significant improvement over older fuse boards where a single fault could take out the entire house. Split-load boards are the most commonly installed upgrade across the Medway Towns and represent a substantial step forward from any board still using rewirable fuses or lacking RCD protection entirely. We install split-load consumer units with quality MCBs and dual RCD protection, providing reliable fault detection across every circuit. This is the standard specification that brings most Medway homes up to current safety requirements at the most accessible price point.
An RCBO board is the superior specification where every circuit has its own individual device providing both overcurrent and earth fault protection independently. If a fault develops on your kitchen circuit, only the kitchen trips — the lights, sockets, shower, and everything else continues working completely unaffected. Compare this to a split-load board where a fault takes out half the house, or an old fuse board where you might lose everything. RCBO boards cost more because each device is individually more expensive than a standard MCB, but the practical benefit in daily use is significant. No more losing half the house because one circuit has a problem. For most Medway homeowners the RCBO upgrade is worth the premium, and we explain the difference clearly so you can choose which specification suits your budget and priorities.
Several indicators tell you your consumer unit has reached the end of its useful life. Rewirable fuses — the type with visible wire inside ceramic or plastic carriers rather than flip switches — predate modern safety standards by decades and provide no earth fault protection whatsoever. A board without an RCD — the larger device with a test button — lacks the protection that detects electricity flowing through a person rather than through the cable. Frequent tripping without obvious cause suggests internal components are failing. Scorch marks, discolouration, or a burning smell from the board need urgent attention. A board that’s physically full with no spare ways can’t accommodate additional circuits for EV chargers, new showers, or extensions. Properties across Gillingham, Chatham, Rochester, and Strood commonly have fuse boards from eras that no longer meet current standards.
A comprehensive fuse board replacement covers every element needed to bring your central protection up to current standards. We disconnect and remove the old board, install the new consumer unit with the appropriate MCBs, RCDs, or RCBOs, connect all existing circuits to their new protective devices, verify and upgrade earthing and bonding arrangements where needed, and carry out full testing of every circuit through the new board. Testing covers insulation resistance, earth fault loop impedance, continuity of protective conductors, polarity verification, and RCD trip time measurement. On completion, you receive an electrical installation certificate — the formal document confirming the work meets current BS 7671 standards. The entire upgrade typically completes within half a day to a full day depending on the number of circuits and any additional work required.
A fuse board replacement is more than swapping one box for another. The electrician tests every circuit during the upgrade, and what they find determines whether the installation behind the board is sound or needs attention. Deteriorated insulation, missing earth conductors, undersized meter tails, and inadequate bonding — these are the issues that a thorough upgrade reveals and a professional electrician addresses rather than ignores. The quality of the testing and the honesty of the assessment are what separate a proper upgrade from a superficial board swap.
We provide clear, itemised quotes specifying the board type, the number of circuits, any additional work needed for earthing, bonding, or meter tails, testing, and certification. You know exactly what you’re paying for before we start, and if testing reveals defects that weren’t visible during the initial assessment, we explain what’s found and agree costs before proceeding.
We carry out consumer unit upgrades throughout the Medway Towns and surrounding Kent, covering Gillingham, Chatham, Rochester, Strood, Rainham, Walderslade, Lordswood, Wigmore, Hempstead, Parkwood, Sittingbourne, Maidstone, Gravesend, and surrounding areas.
If your fuse board upgrade reveals that the wiring behind it is as outdated as the board itself — rubber-sheathed cable, circuits without earth conductors, or cabling that’s deteriorated beyond what a board swap addresses — a full or partial rewire tackles the underlying installation. We carry out complete and partial rewires across the Medway Towns, replacing outdated cabling with modern circuits that connect to your new consumer unit with proper protection throughout. Combining a rewire with a board upgrade in one project delivers a fully modernised installation rather than new protection on old wiring.
Adding an EV charger circuit to a consumer unit that’s already full triggers the need for a board upgrade anyway, so combining both makes practical and financial sense. We install all major charger brands across the Medway Towns including Easee, Zappi, Ohme, and Pod Point alongside consumer unit upgrades, fitting the charger circuit into the new board from the outset rather than retrofitting it later. One visit, one electrician, one quote covering both the board upgrade and the charger installation.
New lighting circuits often require spare capacity in the consumer unit that an old fuse board simply doesn’t have. If you’re planning a lighting upgrade alongside a board replacement, we install both as part of the same project — new lighting circuits wired directly into the new consumer unit with their own dedicated protection. We design and install lighting across the Medway Towns from recessed downlights and kitchen schemes to bathroom-rated fittings and outdoor security lighting. Combining both jobs reduces overall cost and disruption.
Worried about your fuse board? Contact us today for a free assessment and no-obligation quote from qualified Medway electricians.