What type of Consumer Unit should I choose?

[Stefanplant]

I have 5 radial circuits (20amp MCB's) plus the lights (6amp MCB).

Am I OK with a Volex 8 way insulated consumer unit with 100A DP isolator or must the electrical system's total amps be under 100?.

Thanks.

 

[Steve]

let your electrician advise you.

 

[RF Lighting]

What do the radial circuits feed? Are they radial socket circuits, heater supplies, oven supply etc etc. I presume this is for a domestic installation. Also do any circuits need RCD protection? What is the actual load on the circuits? Do you know about diversity?

 

[JohnD]

No doubt you will have it professionally fitted, tested and certificated in accordance with the law, so consult the person who is doing the job.

Volex is a cheap brand, is that why it caught your eye? I used to think MK was the best for domestic use but it seems to have shifted down to keep the price low. Crabtree is a good brand and very popular, will cost a bit more.

Personally I think MEM is the best (the AD range pref) but it's just an opinion (MEM is extremely widely used in commercial and industrial installations, and many of the devices (MCBs, RCBOs etc) are the same part in industrial Memshield2 as in domestic Memera. If you're running an industrial process you can't afford equipment failures that can cost many thousands of pounds for every hour of lost production, so they have a hard-won reputation for dependability.

 

[RF Lighting]

The MK boards still seem o.k. but the breakers seem really 'cheap and nasty' these days

 

[Stefanplant]

The radial circuits are just sockets (no heater/shower/cooker).

I am getting this professionally installed but need to keep the price down so I am getting the parts myself.

I presume the 100amp CU rating is the max total load for the all circuits added together?

 

[Har_vey]

Stefan, do you know what type of main earth you have?

You need to know this and preferably be able to confirm it before you buy anything. If you buy the wrong piece of kit then it's going to cost you more in the long run.

Do you know if any of the circuits supplying the socket outlets require an RCD?

What sort of property do you have?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I am getting this professionally installed but need to keep the price down so I am getting the parts myself.

How is that going to work?

Do you really think that you'll be able to buy them for less than your electrician can?

And if your answer to that is that you'll save his markup, think about the fact that if that is how he makes part of his income, and you deny him it, he'll simply make it up by increasing his labour charges.

And if you buy cheap parts, he'll probably refuse to give you a guarantee.

I presume the 100amp CU rating is the max total load for the all circuits added together?

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Book/6.2.1.htm


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