Garage Consumer Unit IP65 4 Way Fuse Box Fitted with RCD 63amp 30ma + 1X6amp, 2X20amp & 1X32amp mcbs

Product Information

Circuit breakers: Each circuit breaker is assigned to a certain area of your home electrics, e.g. the upstairs lighting. When the circuit is overloaded (too many electrical items are connected) or if the current reaches excessive heights, the circuit breaker cuts the power to prevent electrical fires

As we are discussing the two terms ‘fuse box’ and ‘consumer unit’, it can be confusing what these actually mean. Any bare earth wires should be sheathed before they are installed using earth sheath, this is a legal requirement! Since its introduction, the consumer unit has now become the product of choice for distributing electricity around your home due to it’s simple layout and relatively straight forward setup (if you’re an electrician and know what you’re doing obviously).The Consumer Unit or fuse board is the most important electrical safety device in the home and workplace. It fulfills two vital functions: Now that you know exactly what a consumer unit is and what role it plays in terms of the electrics in your home, it’s time to look at it in a little more detail so that you know the role of each component inside. Surge Protection: In certain installations, particularly where there is a risk of lightning strikes or power surges, surge protection devices may be required. Although used in most types of consumer unit setup, they are not required for those with RCBO’s as these do exactly the same job but with additional safety features.

More recently RCBO’s have since come onto the scene. These are essentially a combination of an MCB and RCD so provide additional safety levels. Also they resolve the nuisance tripping issue highlighted in subsequent versions of the Wiring Regulations. Fire Resistance: The enclosure of the consumer unit should provide adequate fire resistance to contain any potential fire within the unit and prevent it from spreading. Essentially, if an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) is carried out on such a setup and it is found that everything is working as it should be then all should be well, as long as there are no outside or zoned circuits that require an RCD. It’s also important to understand that RCD’s have a test button which creates a simulated earth leak with a resistor, and it is usually recommended that they are tested once a month to ensure they are operating correctly.They can also feature 1 or even 2 RCD’s. The RCD, or residual current device is similar to an MCB in that if it senses an issue it will trip and isolate all the of the MCB’s/fuses below it. More on these below. Changes to the wiring regulations with the release of the 18th Edition of BS 7671:2018 were published in July 2018 and come into effect on 1st January 2019. These regulations have a significant impact on the design of residential electrical installations. The Amendment 2of the Wiring Regulations came into effect on 28th September 2022. From this point onwards, all installations will need to comply with the 2nd Amendment. If an intumescent strip is used for fire sealing, they must not be used inside of our boards. Taken from instructions. Tests on Hager consumer units have indicated that there is no specific need for external fire rated cable glands or intumescent sealing in addition to the guidance below, with respect to achieving a non-combustible enclosure. However, this does not preclude the designer/installer from using fire rated cable glands or external intumescent sealing should they consider necessary. To conclude, internal intumescent pads shall not be used. The defining difference between this and other types of consumer units is the fact that it does not have a 'Main Switch'. Isolation of the board is handled by the single RCD. In other words, all incoming electricity is managed by the RCD - hence the name. is simply a trade term given to any consumer unit below four way - but usually, just two ways - commonly used in outhouses, sheds, and garages, where a couple of circuits may be required for lighting and tools.

In summary, Hager consumer units offer a range of features that make them a popular choice for electrical installations. They are designed for safety, ease of installation, versatility, and long-lasting performance. Each MCB is installed by clipping it onto a DIN bar and the "teeth" of the bus bar are inserted into the base of each MCB. This carries the live current into the MCB and the cable that supplies the given circuit are connected to the top section.

In addition, where surge protection devices are installed at the origin of the installation, it may also be beneficial to install surge protection device downstream at equipment level. Especially if this equipment is some distance from the origin and vulnerable or essential equipment. Arc Faults are where, if the current is high enough, electrical currents jump the gap between two conductive materials. Arcs can reach temperatures of up to 6000 degrees and can be the source of over half of the domestic house fires in the UK. Reasons for this include damaged cables from rodent damage, degradation, crushed cables, loose connections, and more. AFDDs are likely to become mandatory in the future as further protection against fires caused by faulty domestic wiring. If this is a new consumer unit install for an existing property then your electrician will have either marked each circuit to identify what it powers or will work each one out as he gets to it. Expandable: Hager consumer units are designed to be expandable, allowing you to add more electrical circuits to the installation as needed. RCBO’s used in a consumer unit in place of RCD’s – Image courtesy of the BS7671 18th Edition Wiring Regulations High Integrity Consumer Unit / Three-way Split Consumer Unit

Again, it entirely depends on your existing electrical layout as to how this is done, but your electrician will certainly know. One of the most important jobs your electrician will (or should) do before starting such a job is to first ensure they test all of the existing circuits in the property to make sure they function correctly and have no issues. When it comes to matching an MCB to what is now the equivalent imperial rating, these are as follows: Despite this there remains many still in use in many homes across the UK today, however whether they are still legal very much depends. The modern consumer unit also has a range of other safety features including a main switch that controls the power to the entire unit, that, once switched off, will turn the power off to the entire house.An RCD is a manually operated isolator switch, but it is also an automatic safety device that will trip and cut off as soon as it senses an earth fault, or indeed earth leakage. An information label near the consumer unit explains this. The resistor passes more current than that required for tripping, and the duration of the test is not limited, so testing in this way does not provide proof that the unit is working to specification. Once the incoming live is connected using a bus bar for each MCB, the next job is to connect each circuit to it’s relevant MCB.