Bronze
£12/mo
Billed annually at £144Save 20%
Lower rates on every job, plus a free safety certificate each year.
- 5% off labour
- 5% off certificates
- Free safety certificate, once a year
Consumer unit replacement in Colchester
A fuse board without RCD protection in a Colchester house or flat is replaced by Lighting Electrical with a modern consumer unit and a full set of test results.
“Ten years on Colchester housing stock and I have seen most of it: terraces where the lighting circuit has been extended once too often, boards fitted before RCDs were standard, new builds with sockets nowhere near the kitchen. I check the earthing, the bonding and whether the supply will carry another load before I price anything, because the age of a house settles nothing on its own.”
Valandi KotorriElectrician · NAPIT
How much does a fuse board replacement cost in Colchester?
Consumer unit replacement starts at £450, which buys a new board with RCD protection on every circuit, testing of the circuits it feeds and the certificate for the work. The written price comes before the work, not after it.
- What moves the price: the number of circuits, whether the earthing and main bonding need upgrading, moving the board away from the meter, and adding surge protection.
- Maintenance plan customers take 5 per cent off labour and certificates on Bronze, 10 per cent on Silver and 15 per cent on Gold.
Fuse board replacement in Colchester
- Replacing a fuse board means fitting a new consumer unit, the box holding the main switch and the breakers for every circuit, and it starts at £450 in Colchester.
- A board using rewireable fuses instead of breakers has no RCD protection, and a new consumer unit is what puts that right.
- Repeated tripping points either to an ageing board or to a fault on a circuit, and testing separates the two before anything is replaced.
- A new high load circuit needs a spare way and enough capacity on the board, which many older units do not have.
Colchester houses and what they mean for a fuse board
- The age and build of a Colchester house change what a board replacement involves, from the timber framed streets by the High Street to the CO4 estates of the 1980s.
- More than sixty timber framed weavers' houses from the late sixteenth century stand in a conservation area here, so cable runs follow existing openings in the frame rather than new chases.
- Roughly 470 brick houses built from the 1880s behind Magdalen Street and Military Road form their own conservation area, where solid walls mean surface run cable or chased brickwork if the board moves.
- Highwoods went up from 1981 with the first buyers moving in around 1983, so a board of that age predates the RCD protection now required on every circuit.
What happens on the day
The visit runs from testing the existing installation to handing over the certificate for the new board.
- 01
The check before anything comes out
We test the earthing, the main bonding and the existing circuits first, because those set the board that goes in and the final price.
- 02
The power goes off for the change
The supply is switched off, the old unit comes out and each circuit is moved across to the new board and terminated.
- 03
Testing and the certificate
Every circuit is tested on the new board, then you get an Electrical Installation Certificate and building control is notified.
Other electrical work in Colchester
Lighting Electrical also carries out EICR reports from £150, house rewiring from £2,400, fault finding and repair from £75 an hour and EV charger installation from £750.
Why customers choose Lighting Electrical
Lighting Electrical is NAPIT registered, so a board change is self certified and notified to building control without a separate inspection. Domestic and commercial work goes through the same testing and the same written pricing.
NAPIT
Book Online
Electrical maintenance plans in Peterborough
Three yearly plans. Bronze takes 5 percent off labour and certificates and includes one free safety certificate. Silver doubles that to 10 percent and adds next day priority. Gold takes 15 percent off, runs to three free safety certificates a year, and adds same day priority booking with two emergency call outs.
Silver
Popular£20/mo
Billed annually at £240Save 20%
Double the discount, next-day priority, and a free safety certificate each year.
- 10% off labour
- 10% off certificates
- Free safety certificate, once a year
- Next day priority
Gold
£31/mo
Billed annually at £372Save 20%
Best rates, same-day priority booking, three free safety certificates a year.
- 15% off labour
- 15% off certificates
- Free safety certificates, 3 times a year
- Same day priority booking
- 2 emergency call-outs a year
Recent work from Lighting Electrical
These photographs show work completed across the wider service area covered by Lighting Electrical; they are not all presented as consumer unit replacement work in Colchester.
Where we work in Colchester
Fuse board replacement across CO1, CO2, CO3 and CO4, taking in Lexden, Greenstead, Highwoods, Prettygate, Old Heath and New Town.
Colchester (by arrangement), Tiptree (by arrangement), Silver End (by arrangement)
Fuse board replacement questions
What Colchester customers ask before booking a consumer unit change.
How much does it cost to replace a fuse board?+
Replacement starts at £450 in Colchester. The number of circuits and whether the earthing and main bonding need upgrading move the figure from there. You have the price in writing before the board comes out.
— Valandi Kotorri
How long will my power be off?+
The supply is off for the whole changeover, so lights, sockets and anything that runs on electric heating are down while the board is swapped. Circuits go back on as they are terminated and tested. Everything is live again once the new board has passed its tests.
— Valandi Kotorri
Does the council need to be told?+
Yes, a fuse board change is notifiable work under Part P of the building regulations. Lighting Electrical is NAPIT registered, so we self certify the installation and notify building control. Your certificate covers the new board and every circuit on it.
Do I need a rewire at the same time?+
Usually not. A new board still relies on the existing cabling passing its tests, which is why we test before fitting rather than after. If circuits fail, we say which ones, and full house rewiring starts at £2,400.
Will a new board stop my breakers tripping?+
Only if the board itself is the cause. A new unit gives each circuit its own breaker, so a fault takes out one circuit instead of the house, but a fault in the cabling or an appliance still trips it. Fault finding and repair is £75 an hour and finds the cause first.
Can you replace a board in a conservation area house?+
Yes. In the Dutch Quarter and New Town the outside of the building is protected, so the board position and the cable runs are worked out to stay inside the house. Timber framed walls take cable through openings that are already there.
Do I need an EICR before a new board?+
No. An EICR is a separate electrical safety report on the whole installation, from £150, and it grades what it finds rather than fixing it. If a report has already coded your consumer unit, a replacement from £450 answers that code.
Do you change boards in flats and business premises?+
Yes, Lighting Electrical works on domestic and commercial installations. A board change in business premises is planned around the point at which the building can lose power. The same testing and certificate follow either way.
Book Online
Call the line any time of day, or arrange your Colchester fuse board replacement here on the web.