Consumer Unit Upgrade in Edinburgh

The brief

A landlord in Stockbridge was preparing the flat for a fresh five-year EICR ahead of a new tenancy. The existing consumer unit was a plastic-enclosed board from the mid-2000s, with one RCD covering all the socket circuits and a separate set of MCBs on the lighting side. Two of the circuits had been nuisance-tripping at random for several months, and the agent had flagged that any EICR on the property in its current state was likely to come back unsatisfactory. The brief was simple: bring the board up to current 18th Edition standards, give every circuit its own RCBO, add surge protection, and have the property ready for inspection within the week.

What we did

Chris visited the property the same week, looked at the existing installation and the consumer position, talked the landlord through the options and quoted in writing on the day. Work was scheduled for the following Tuesday morning.

• Pre-isolation survey: Confirmed circuit count, identified the ring main, the lighting circuits, the cooker, the shower and the immersion. Labelled every cable at the existing board before anything was disconnected so the new board went back together cleanly.
• Supply isolation: Cut-out fuse pulled at the meter and tagged. New 10-way metal-clad consumer unit fixed in position, exactly where the old plastic board had sat, so there were no new chases or making good.
• RCBOs and SPD fitted: Every live circuit assigned its own RCBO so a fault on one no longer takes the rest of the flat out. Type 2 surge protection device fitted on the incomer to defend against transient overvoltage from the grid.
• Circuit transfer: All existing circuits transferred across into the new board, terminated neatly, ferrules where the cable size needed them, dressed cleanly so the inside of the unit can be inspected without unpacking.
• Full test set: Earth loop impedance, insulation resistance, polarity, RCBO trip times and currents, SPD function, main and supplementary bonding to the gas and water services. Every reading documented for the certificate.
• Re-energise and sign-off: Supply restored, every circuit tested live, all sockets and switches confirmed working. Installation Certificate issued, work lodged with NAPIT, copy sent to the landlord and the agent the same day.

The result

A clean RCBO-protected board with surge protection, ready for the EICR booked in for the following week. The nuisance tripping was traced during testing to a tired socket on the ring main, which we replaced on the same visit so the flat went back into use without any open items. Total time on site: four hours. The certificate was in the landlord's inbox before lunch, and the EICR that followed the next week came back satisfactory first time.

Spec: 10-way metal-clad consumer unit, individual RCBOs on every circuit, Type 2 SPD fitted to the incomer, full test and certification, NAPIT registered, building control notified.

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