SPLIT LOAD CONSUMER UNIT now with photos of present consumer

[CHINASHANE]

hi

I wonder if you can give me some advice. I will be renting my property and have had to have an electrical check carried out on wiring and appliances. A "reputable" company sent one of their guys round and everything checked out satisfactory except..... because the supply to the property is coming in above ground ie. over the back door and into the house, then the property has to be protected by a split load consumer unit......according to the electrician. He could supply/ fit one for around 450 pounds or we could go through his company and pay more plus VAT.

Therefore I have 2 questions:
1. Is it mandatory that I have this kind of consummer unit fitted just because its an overhead power supply into the house

2. I know you can buy one of these units for around 70 quid.

What should I do and what are your thoughts on this matter

cheers

Shane

 

[oohthatslive!!]

no you dont have to have a split load board just becauase its an overhead supply. it depends on what kind of earthing system you
have and what you already have in place. for example , do you have a copper rod in the ground with an earth wire coming from it to your fuse board or have you got an earth coming out beside your main fuse which goes into you fuse board.

 

[Steve]

1. NO. there are NO circumstances where a split load consumer unit MUST be fitted. However, there is a requirement for ALL SOCKETS THAT COULD REASONABLY BE EXPECTED TO PROVIDE POWER OUTDOORS to be RCD protected. This normally encompasses all ground floor sockets.

In the past with overhead supplies you had to have an earth rod. Earth rods are not very reliable, so supplementary protection was provided with an all-house RCD. Modern overhead supplies incorporate an earth from the supplier, so an all house RCD isn't normally nessecary.

2. The £70 units, while they are normally good brands, dont normally include everything needed for the average house. But your point?

Whatever you do, dont employ that electrician. He sounds like a crook, making up excuses.

If you post a picture of the current consumer unit and meter and incoming supply area, we might be able to advise you better on the technical side of things.

 

[JohnD]

If you are having a consumer unit changed, there is a lot of testing and upgrading required since you need the work certificated. this is by law (since 2005)

£450 might or might not be a fair price. but I agree with Crafty, get a quote from someone more reputable.

When you are phoning, ask if the firm is a member of a self-certification scheme; ask which one; ask how long they have been a member; ask for the correct name that they are registered as. You can check all of this.

Aso ask if you can have the supply converted to PME (they will know what that means; the electricity supplier will have to make a simple change which usually costs £50 to £100)

If someone does it as a cash job using parts stolen from work (sorry, I mean supplied privately) then it is unlikely to be certificated or tested or warranted properly. If you are renting the house out you need to comply with the law, too.

 

[megawatt]

Crafty wrote:

Modern overhead supplies incorporate an earth from the supplier

They may up your way Crafty but generally don't down here and 100mA TD RCD's are the norm.

Then again we've only just got telephones and I've heard the local rail network is moving from steam to these new-fangled diesel-electric locomotives ... It'll never catch on

I've just posted a common configuration down here on another post ...

www.effectivesoftware.co.uk/DIYNot/Images/Kitchen/mkcu.jpg

MW

 

[RF Lighting]

So you often can't get a TT to PME conversion?

Seems a bit poor

 

[ricicle]

1. NO. there are NO circumstances where a split load consumer unit MUST be fitted. However, there is a requirement for ALL SOCKETS THAT COULD REASONABLY BE EXPECTED TO PROVIDE POWER OUTDOORS to be RCD protected. This normally encompasses all ground floor sockets. .

If it is a TT then all socket-outlets must be protected by an RCD.

 

[megawatt]

Agreed. That's why split load units are common down here 100mA TD for the TT and 30mA for the rings.

 

[CHINASHANE]

Thanks guys. The house is 100 years old terraced property, 4 houses in the rank. I'll post a photo of the current consumer unit fitted. This was fitted approx. 10 years ago. Regarding earthing rod, I'm not sure but will have a look later.

The electrician just happened to have one of consumer units that I must have fitted in his van!! He quoted IEE regs ***** to me and said that since 2005 this kind of split load consumer unit must be installed.

We paid 72 pounds for a electrical check on appliances and wiring which I think was a good price considering some of the other quotes I had received so thats why we went for this "reputable" company.

 

[Adam_151]

.

The electrician just happened to have one of consumer units that I must have fitted in his van!! He quoted IEE regs ***** to me and said that since 2005 this kind of split load consumer unit must be installed.

The ironic thing is, that there were no changes to BS7671 (the IEE regs) in 2005! (and the 2004 amendments were very minor; colour change mainly) What did happen in 2005 was that domestic electrical work came under the remit of the building regulations and while BS7671 is the recommended way of complying with them, it always was what people worked to on the whole (some people liked to pretend the testing section didn't exist ).

If your electrician is under the impression that something happened regulation wise which changes how RCD protection should be applied to an install then he is sadly ill-informed, and I'd personaly not trust him on account that he might **** something up due to ignorance

 

[Steve]

agreed, Adam.

Chinashane, if this company has a good rep in your area, it might be worth telling them what this guy has said to you, if they appreciate their good reputation, they'll want to get shut of him.

He sounds like he gives everyone the same story, its not up to <insert random made up regulation number and description> and needs changing to <insert expensive item he has on the van ready>, and expects everyone to bow to his advice because they know no better. Well done for not doing this, BTW

Tell them you've sought several expert opinions on his advice, and your not happy. They may send another spark out to verify his testing.

 

[TopTrumper]

So John, if it was to go through all the right channels and the customer payed twice as much that has been quoted, this would make the job a lot safer than the contractor who would probably do the job either way, would it??

 

[JohnD]

your imagination is running away with you. Look again. I did not use the word "safer". I used the words "certificated...tested...warranted "

I have no evidence to show that the company would charge £900 (neither do you).

 

[jamie.aston]

Just took a look at MegaWatt's post and pic - Out of curiosity can you get time delayed RCDs for Contactum CU's? My setup would be much neater if i could get rid of the HUGE RCD that is inline before the CU.

THanks
Jamie

 

[nozspark]

It sounds like the guy that came to your house is a bit of a chancer. He is also a thief, as he is taking work from his employer (work that could be deemed to have come from a job that his employer has sent him to do)< If I employed someone (which I don't) and found out that they were doing this I would sack them immediately and seek recompence through legal channels for missed work opportunities that he has taken.

So the main question is--would you employ a thief??