Is Your Home's Electrical System Ill-Prepared?

Do you have a home that was built in the post-war boom and may be in need of some renovation? If so, you should pay particular attention to its electricity supply to make sure that you conform to modern standards. If you want to add the latest technology and an up-to-date air conditioning system, then you may need to replace your switchboard as well, so what do you need to think about?

Keeping Up with the Times

Originally, older homes were equipped with a porcelain fuse box, and at the time, these were state-of-the-art. However, they simply won't be able to cope with modern requirements, as you will have a lot more appliances today than they would have had back then. If you were to install some of these appliances or try to upgrade your air conditioning, then the system would probably overload, and you'd be changing fuses all day.

Upgrade Needed

Fuses are very "old school" now, and you should replace them with circuit breaker technology. Ceramic fuses will achieve the same objective in terms of isolating any apparent issue, but they do not provide any protection to the individual when it comes to electric shock, and there are many devices available today that can.

Up-To-Date Protection

Modern-day safety switches and circuit breakers are known as RCBOs. They are designed to protect individual circuits from overload, short-circuit or the risk of electric shock. Any issue will be isolated to a particular circuit and will not plunge the home into darkness if anything were to go wrong.

As RCBOs are far more specific, they are far less likely to interrupt your daily life, unlike the old-fashioned system, which could trip at any time out of an abundance of caution.

When you replace your switchboard with a more up-to-date solution, make sure that you install RCBOs and safety switches at strategic points around your home. They should definitely be installed on any circuit that includes the kitchen, bathroom or outside facility, as these areas are particularly prone to surge or issues associated with water infiltration.

Extra Work

Also, bear in mind that you may need to replace your main's power cable in an older home when you swap that fuse box. You may also need to relocate the main junction box, as modern-day regulations stipulate that this be placed in an exact location.

Expert Guidance

Bring in a domestic electrician to handle all of this work for you. They will know where everything needs to be located and be familiar with all the latest regulations so you can bring your home up to specification as soon as possible.

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