I've been doing minor home electrical jobs + repairs since I was taught home electrics in CSE physics back in the 1970s. but I'm realizing that things have moved on considerably since then, but my knowledge of home wiring has not, so sorry if these questions are dumb or really obvious, but I'm here to learn and I appreciate your answers.
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http://web.archive.org/web/20080118063245/www.kevinboone.com/PF_electricity.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20071013043715/www.kevinboone.com/PF_domesticinstallations.html
Is an old fuse box equivalent to a modern consumer unit?
A fuse box is a colloquial term for a consumer unit, some people still use it to refer to modern consumer units that do not contain fuses at all. It will not be as safe as a modern unit due to lack of earth leakage protection (RCDs/RCBOs) and, to a lesser extent, the lack of safety and convenience that MCBs provide. That said, it still performs the same basic task of bringing the incoming supply down into a number of over-current protected circuits.
In a way, although the new one will have RCDs which are important safety devices, the old fuse box will not.
RCDs/RCBOs are a major safety advance compared to old fuse boxes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residual-current_device
http://www.westernautomation.com/pages/demystify.htm
http://www.memonline.com/guide06.html
We're starting to see them used, or required by the regulations, in place of more fundamental approaches to basic safety - a bit like saying that as you have seat belts, air bags, crumple zones and side impact bars it's not important to drive safely, but I'd not like to be without RCDs any more than I'd like to be without seat belts etc.
Other safety benefits:
there's no chance of accidentally encountering a live part when resetting an MCB
MCBs work much quicker, and at lower currents, than fuses. I don't know what sort you have, but if it's the type where you rewire them with a bit of fuse wire then you may be interested (and probably surprised) to know that the "30A" fuse for your sockets will actually pass over 50A indefinitely, and 60A for 2-3 minutes...
It's not as easy to give in to the temptation to "fix" an MCB tripping by putting in a bigger one as it is to use bigger fusewire in a rewirable
Convenience - obviously it's much easier & quicker to reset an MCB than it is to find the fusewire and a screwdriver and replace, particularly by torchlight. And you don't need to turn off the main switch to make it safe to reset, whereas you should do that if you're inserting a fuse. If the fault is still present an MCB will just trip again, but anybody who has had a fuse blow whilst they still have it in their hand will tell you that it is no fun.
Who is responsible for repair of the fuse box/consumer unit - could I get the electricity supplier to replace it, or would an electrician generally be cheaper?
It's completely your responsibility as it comes after the electricity meter. Some suppliers might be interested in having one of their installation arms carry out the work, just in the same way that nPower fit boilers.
It's your property, so up to you to arrange replacement/repairs as required.
Your electricity supplier may have a department which does that type of electrical work, but there is no particular reason to use them over anyone else.
The consumer unit is your property and unfortunately has to be changed at your cost. You might get your electricity supplier to change it, but i wouldn't think they'll be cheap. You could try this search to find a few sparkies in your town, get a few quotes. The cost could be easily 400+ depending on your house/number of circuits and a few other considerations.
http://www.competentperson.co.uk/search.asp
It probably makes as much financial sense to use the contracting arm of your supplier to replace the CU/rewire the house as it does to have British Gas install a new boiler or central heating...
The flat I used to live in had one of these new circuit breaker fuse boxes, and whenever a light bulb blew, it would cut power to the whole flat - not just the lighting circuit - is this common? (this has put me off getting a circuit breaker fuse box in my current house)
Sounds like poor installation and design. Sometimes a duff lamp will trip smaller MCBs such as those used on most lighting circuits due to the way in which the filament can fail. However, it should not disconnect the entire installation, and if it really bothers you, the problem could be avoided by careful circuit design and use of an MCB with different curve.
Something seriously wrong with it then. In some circumstances a light bulb failing might cause that individual circuit to trip, but this should be rare if it is properly designed and decent lamps are used.
There is no way a single lamp failing should cause the whole installation to go off.
It could be that there was a single RCD incorporated in that consumer unit, if this tripped, it would knock out all circuits connected to it. There are now a few different ways consumer units can split up the circuits using multiple RCDs and MCBs or RCBOs (basically a RCD and a MCB in one unit) tio reduce any inconvience caused. How you want that split will affect the cost of the job.
Agree with all the above - that shouldn't happen, and it's not a concern you should have, and let it stop you from having a modern CU. Lamps failing can, and often do, trip the breaker for that lighting circuit (even when decent lamps are used), but it's a minor inconvenience. Anyway - you'll soon have replaced all your old incandescent lights with low-energy ones, won't you..
FYI - if you want to read about different MCB curves try here:
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I currently have now power or lighting in the garden, if I want to install an outside socket or outside light - do I
really have to inform the local authority building regulators? - and if I don't, how would they find out and what could they do about it?
Yes, you really are supposed to. I can't see how they would find out, and don't honestly believe that they would bother (nor do they have any precedence for) doing anything about it. It could cause problems when you come to sell the house if the solicitor asks for certificates for any electrical work carried out, although again, that's only if you admit to having had work done, or it's pulled up by a surveyor or the new occupants of the property.
The law states that you must notify before work starts, or use a registered competent person who will do the notification for you.
When or if it is 'found out' isn't relevant - it's still breaking the law if you don't notify.
Yes, you really should. I don't know how they would find out, but its possible. If that happens, you could be looking at a 5000 fine and obliged to rip it out and start again at your cost!
In the event of an insurance claim, its concievable that an assessor/loss adjuster may discover the rogue work, this could invalidate your policy.
You could apply the same thought to not wearing your seat belt in the car, what would happen?
1, nothing.
2, PC Plod sees you, stops you, give points and a fine
3, you make a sudden departure from your car via the windscreen.
1. Nothing. You might observe that the same applies to not notifying, but I couldn't possibly comment.
2. If you ever find any examples of people being prosecuted
when all they have done wrong is to fail to notify, please let us know. There have been prosecutions when people have done dangerous work, fraudulently claimed to be registered, falsified certificates etc, and had failing to notify lobbed into the pot, but AFAIK never for just not notifying.
That is not to be construed as advice to ignore the law.
3. Safety is the real issue, and to be done properly and safely some jobs genuinely require more knowledge and more test equipment than you possess right now - installing supplies to, and circuits in, sheds is one of them.
