Multiple Fuse Boxes

[AndySussex]

I have moved into an old house (1750s) which has an extension on it as well, comprising a bedroom and a dining room.
By the front door there are two big fuse boxes, each with their own 'test' breaker buttons and upstairs there is another one.
One of the ones downstairs appears to do nothing, as pressing the non-working circuit test button doesn't do anything, thus I'm guessing it isn't used as everything has power.
So...
Why would they have put a second fuse box in upstairs rather than just working off the existing one(s) by the front door?
Can I get the non-working one removed as it presumably is just sat there doing nothing?

 

[starspark]

The unused one may have been for old economy 7 heating perhaps that is now not used.
Or it is still used and your testing it during the day when it is not energised?do u have storage heating?
Is it possible that this house may have once been two seperate flats at one time hence fuse board for upstairs and one for down??

 

[RMS]

If you could post some pictures it would be helpful.

Is the "assumed" redundant box labelled up eg. outgoing circuits.

You should consider getting an electrician in.

 

[pjcomp]

Simply pressing the test button and it not working doesn't prove it's not energised. It might be broken so not respond to the test-press.

Also, re the upstairs distribution box, I know several large houses where, rather than run circuits all the way from the basement to the upper floors, a sub-main has gone in to a small upstairs CU and upper floor sockets and lights run from that.

PJ

 

[AndySussex]

Ah genius. It does work when I try it at night time!
The house used to have storage heaters but a few years ago the owners removed them and put in a Rayburn with a back boiler which powers the radiators in the upstairs bedrooms.
We have therefore moved from an economy 7 tariff to a normal tariff as we don't take advantage of cheaper night time rates.

So....since we haven't got storage heaters anymore, what purpose does this other fuse box serve? Is it just feeding through to the sealed off plug sockets beside where the heaters used to be?

Also, our meter is set up for economy 7 so records night and day usage still.
Does this matter at all??

 

[ban-all-sheds]

So....since we haven't got storage heaters anymore, what purpose does this other fuse box serve?

Is it just feeding through to the sealed off plug sockets beside where the heaters used to be?

Anyway - seriously - likely candidates would be immersion heaters, and sockets used for washing machines, tumble driers etc, so that they could have taken advantage of cheap-rate power.

Got any sockets that only work at night?

Also, our meter is set up for economy 7 so records night and day usage still.
Does this matter at all??

No - you'll just pay the same rate.