How common is RCD protection?

When we answer questions we tend to assume all homes are like our own, unless told otherwise, it is a natural assumption. I have all RCBO's, Son and both daughters have two RCD's my mother had two RCD's and 4 RCBO's my father-in-law was odd one out with non.

So how common is RCD protection?

It may be better if you qualified the question, according to earthing arrangements ...

I have voted ("All circuits more than 2 RCD/RCBO's"), but mine is a TT installation, so that all circuits necessarily have to be RCD protected in order to achieve the required level of fault protection - and that was still the case long before the requirement for RCD protection (in TN installations) started becoming progressively greater.

Kind Regards, John[/QUOTE]

I think it mainly depends on when the property last had significant electrical work done, though with some flexibility for the choices of the individual installer.

My parents house has a split load with RCD protection on everything except the lights, my property and my sisters property had attention more recently and have dual RCD splits.

plugwash said:

I think it mainly depends on when the property last had significant electrical work done, though with some flexibility for the choices of the individual installer.

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That's presumably the case with TN installations.

However, as I said (and unless they hadn't had any electrical work done for a very long time), one would expect that most TT installations would have RCD protection of some sort for all circuits (although not necessarily 30mA - which is again something which eric didn't mention in his question).

Kind Regards, John

I voted for 'All circuits more than 2 RCD/RCBO's' although I do have one circuit deliberately not having RCD protection (installed when it was ok to do it). Probably doesn't signify.

I note no one has said non. I did allow multi votes. No one has ticked 100 mA.

ericmark said:

I note no one has said non.

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You have to bear in mind that this is a DIY Electrics forum, which probably means that it's less likely (than in the general population) that voters will be people who have electrical installations with no RCD protection.

ericmark said:

I did allow multi votes. No one has ticked 100 mA.

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One person has, but I don't know how recently.

I must confess that (as will be apparent) when I lasted posted to this thread, I hadn't noticed your 100mA option - has it always been there?

Kind Regards, John

The (rented) flat I lived in before my current place had no RCD protectoin at all when I moved in and only had RCD protection on the shower when I left it a few years ago.

The (owned) place I'm in now only had RCD protection on the shower and the bathroom light when I bought it. Having said that I considered the rest of the wiring to be a significant basket case that I turned it off immediately and rigged up some temporary wiring fed off the shower CU until I could get the place properly rewired.

100ma has always been in poll

Are we meant to answer what our house has. Or what we think is most common in uk?


I’ve got 1 RCD. Some RCBO. Some unprotected. (Alarm. Immersion )

"More than 2 RCBOs"
And
"Not all circuits"
And
"Not a split CU"

I cannot vote. There is no option for one RCD covering all circuits.

Or indeed one for a high integrity board.

OK may be not the best options on a pole. But I have had RCD protection all circuits since 1992 approx, and all children as they have bought houses have fitted RCD's within 6 months of moving in if not fitted already.

My father-in-law was odd one out, he was the electrical project director for Liverpool and when he semi-retired IOM hospital boards, yet his house had an old Wylex fuse box until he died and house sold. I was surprised when I bought this house to find two distribution units, one a split load consumer unit the other an old Wylex fuse box. Why the previous owner had decided to do it that way I don't know, but looking at the central heating which was supplied from to independent distribution units with three FCU's plus to turn on house you had to walk outside down a set of steps and back into the house one floor down and plug in the pump, clearly they did not have much idea. Seems likely they used the open fire.

On return from Falklands in 1989 I found where I worked they had gone RCD mad it seemed, with a 1 amp feeding 500 mA which fed 100 mA which fed 30 mA and the Water proof main distribution unit (WMDU) fed all the sub units and so on.

So the RCD has been around for some 30 years in common use, did see the first ones around 1975 in Theatre Clwyd so clearly out well for 1990 but by 1990 the old ELCB-v had been outlawed and there was a move to replace them with the new RCCD when ever found. Oddly it was only when replacing them I had come across them, never remember fitting any.

But after 40 years I would have expected 80% or more of homes now have them fitted at least for some circuits, but reading these pages it does not seem to be as common as expected. Yet as yet no one has voted non, or ELCB-v.

VO ELCB was deleted from the 15th Ed. in 1985.

I believe the first Wylex RCD incomer boards were introduced in 1974.

securespark said:

I cannot vote. There is no option for one RCD covering all circuits.

Or indeed one for a high integrity board.

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I had not considered a single 30 mA coving all circuits, I did put a 100 mA option which I thought would cover when one RCD covered all.

Thanks for info when deleted and introduced my time working abroad missed that. Although around for 45 years, it seems it was not until the regulations called for them were they fitted in domestic premises, so around 20 years they have been fitted and just 12 years for all circuits.

So looking at results for RCD, how long before all RCD's are type A or better?

Given that there are countless homes that still have lead or rubber wiring, probably a good few decades!