What Is The Difference Between An Electrical Consumer Unit And A Fuse Box?

If you look at a fuse box and a consumer unit, you will soon come to the conclusion that they do serve the same purpose. They both work by distributing electricity within the home to various circuits. They also instantly turn the power off whenever you experience an overload. This is otherwise known as tripping. So, what does a consumer unit do?

When you do experience tripping, your consumer unit will turn off the power via a circuit breaker. It will turn itself to the position “off” and this makes the faulty circuit very easy to identify. When the circuit has been repaired, you can then turn everything back on and have your power restored.

If you have a fuse box, this will use a fuse instead of a circuit breaker. Each fuse will contain a wire and this will melt if there is an overload. This will trip the circuit, turning the power off.  Want to find out more about consumer unit types? Take a look below.

Identifying a Faulty Circuit

It’s not very easy to identify a faulty circuit if you have a fuse box. You’ll have to first identify the melted fuse and then have it replaced. Only then can you restore the power. Consumer units are far safer and in a lot of cases, they are much more compliant when compared to older fuse box models. If you know that you have a fuse box within your home, then now could be the best time for you to look into getting that replaced with an electrical fuse board, or a fuse consumer unit.

Do You Have a Fuse Box?

Not sure if you have a fuse box or not? One way for you to identify an old-fashioned fuse box would be for you to look out for a series of fuses within the fuse carrier. You can usually manually remove each fuse and replace it when you notice they’ve worn out. If you have a consumer unit then this is a horizontal row of MCBs, or miniature circuit breakers. Every MCB will come with a switch, and this will trip if there is a power surge.

Should You Get a Main Switch Consumer Unit?

The main thing that you need to know about this type of consumer unit is that there is a single switch that is linked to every circuit in the home. If you have a power surge, then this will toggle to the off position, turning off every switch. This is especially useful for houses that are single-storey or smaller flats.

Of course, if you have an older property, then one thing you may notice is that the electrics are old and need replacing. If you have a traditional fuse box, then now is a good time for you to be thinking about updating it. By updating it now, you can avoid any issues with the existing fuses, and you can also make your property much safer. An electric consumer box unit is very popular, and they are suited to every type of household. You can control individual circuits with the flick of a button, and this offers the height of convenience should there be a power issue.