--- title: "Consumer unit replacement in Colchester | 4.9 Star · NAPIT · From £450" description: "4.9 Star from 58 reviews · Trading since 2016 · Call 07414 545781 · Fuse board replacement in Colchester from £450 with Lighting Electrical. Modern consumer…" canonical: "https://lightingelectrical.co.uk/electrician-colchester/fuse-board-replacement" --- # Consumer unit replacement in Colchester > 4.9 Star from 58 reviews · Trading since 2016 · Call 07414 545781 · Fuse board replacement in Colchester from £450 with Lighting Electrical. Modern consumer… 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. ## 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. - Consumer unit replacement: from £450 - 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 with fuse wire A board using rewireable fuses instead of breakers has no RCD protection, and a new consumer unit is what puts that right. ### Breakers that trip for no clear reason Repeated tripping points either to an ageing board or to a fault on a circuit, and testing separates the two before anything is replaced. ### Adding a shower, EV charger or kitchen circuit A new high load circuit needs a spare way and enough capacity on the board, which many older units do not have. ### An EICR coded the board An EICR is an electrical safety report that grades faults, and a board change clears a code raised against the consumer unit. ### Selling or letting the house Landlords and sellers want the board to meet the current wiring regulations and to have the certificate to show for it. ## 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. ### The Dutch Quarter 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. ### New Town 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, CO4 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. ### Greenstead, CO4 Greenstead holds a council estate that was among the largest in the country when it was built, and on housing of that kind the meter position sets how far the new board can sit from it. ### Lexden, CO3 Lexden kept the large eighteenth century houses raised a mile west of the centre, Lexden Park among them, and more rooms mean more circuits and a wider board. ## What happens on the day The visit runs from testing the existing installation to handing over the certificate for the new board. ### 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. ### 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. ### Testing and the certificate Every circuit is tested on the new board, then you get an Electrical Installation Certificate and building control is notified. ## 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. ## Recent electrical work Photographs of boards, rewires and installations from jobs across the Essex towns Lighting Electrical covers, both homes and business premises. ## 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. ### 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. ### 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. ## 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. ## 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. - [Electrician in Colchester](https://lightingelectrical.co.uk/electrician-colchester): Electrician in Colchester for EICRs, fuse boards, rewires, fault finding and lighting. Lighting Electrical is NAPIT registered and covers CO1 to CO4. - [Consumer unit replacement (all areas)](https://lightingelectrical.co.uk/services/fuse-board-replacement): Fuse board replacement in Peterborough and Essex by Lighting Electrical. We fit a new consumer unit and leave a certificate. From £450. - [All areas](https://lightingelectrical.co.uk/): Company details, services, coverage, contact options and quote request. ## Book Online Call the line any time of day, or arrange your Colchester fuse board replacement here on the web. ## Business facts - Service area: Peterborough, Colchester (by arrangement), Witham (by arrangement), Maldon (by arrangement), Wivenhoe (by arrangement), Tiptree (by arrangement), Kelvedon (by arrangement), West Mersea (by arrangement), Stanway (by arrangement), Brightlingsea (by arrangement), Coggeshall (by arrangement), Marks Tey (by arrangement), Dedham (by arrangement), Rowhedge (by arrangement), Great Horkesley (by arrangement), Heybridge (by arrangement), Silver End (by arrangement), Stamford (by arrangement), Whittlesey (by arrangement), Oundle (by arrangement), Huntingdon (by arrangement) - Hours: Every day 00:00–23:59 - Phone: +447414545781 - Email: team@lightingelectrical.co.uk ## Book Online - [Book Online](https://lightingelectrical.co.uk/#chat): Send the job details and request a quote from Lighting Electrical. ## Sitemap - [Full sitemap](https://lightingelectrical.co.uk/sitemap.md): Complete machine-readable page directory.