Consumer Unit Upgrades in Bournemouth
Your old fusebox swapped for a modern, safer board. From £625, supplied and fitted. A new RCBO board trips one circuit at a time instead of cutting all your power. No VAT to add. No markup on materials. A 10-year guarantee in writing.
What you get for £625
- A modern RCBO board - sized to your home, every circuit individually protected
- Type 2 surge protection built in, to guard your appliances
- Main earth bonding to gas and water checked, and upgraded if needed
- A full test on every circuit
- An Electrical Installation Certificate on completion
- Building Control notification included
- A 10-year workmanship guarantee in writing
The price is fixed. We charge materials at cost with no markup, and there is no VAT to add.
Want your exact price?Build it on the quote tool in under a minute. It uses Pete's real rate card, so it is your price, not a callback. Get my price →Do you need a new fusebox?
Two quick tells you can check yourself:
- No test buttons on the board means no RCD protection - the part that protects you from a shock
- A wooden box, or old rewireable fuses (the ones with fuse wire in them) means it is well past its time
An old plastic board is not an automatic fail, but most pre-2008 boards are due an upgrade. If you are not sure, send us a photo or book a safety check (EICR) and we will tell you straight.
Why a modern board is safer
Old fuseboxes cut all the power when something goes wrong, and the older ones offer no shock protection at all. A modern RCBO board protects every circuit on its own. If one circuit faults, the rest of the house stays on, and the board cuts the power fast enough to protect you. Surge protection guards your appliances against spikes from the grid and from lightning.
Why a new board is better
It comes down to what happens when one thing goes wrong.
- Old fusebox: a fault kills the power to the whole house. Lights, heating, fridge, all off.
- Split-load board (two test buttons): a fault takes out half the house at once.
- RCBO board (a test button on every switch): a fault only cuts the one circuit with the problem. That can be under 10% of your home. Everything else stays on.
Finding a fault is faster too. Every circuit is labelled, so we see straight away which one tripped - the upstairs lights, the kitchen sockets, whatever it is. On an older split-load board that takes time to test and narrow down.
There is one more win. On a split-load board, tiny amounts of harmless leakage from lots of appliances add up on one shared switch. That can trip it with no real fault - a "nuisance trip". An RCBO gives each circuit its own protection, so that leakage cannot stack up. Fewer random trips.
What the day looks like
It takes most of the day, and you can stay in the home while we work. The power is off through the morning while we swap the board over. In the afternoon it goes on and off in short bursts while we test every circuit and label it up. Most Bournemouth swaps are booked within the same week. You get the certificate and the guarantee on the day.
Why choose Dorset Rewires
- A fixed price from £625 - no surprises
- No VAT to add (we are not VAT registered, not yet)
- No markup on materials - we charge them at cost, our margin is in the labour
- Part P registered, so we certify our own work
- A 10-year workmanship guarantee in writing
- Pete quotes every job himself, and the work is done by Pete and our own employed electricians - all on PAYE, no dodgy subcontractors
Quick answers
How much is a new consumer unit in Bournemouth?
From £625, supplied and fitted. That includes a modern RCBO board sized to your home, surge protection, a full test and the certificate. There is no VAT to add.
How do I know if I need a new fusebox?
If your board has no test buttons, it has no RCD protection, which modern wiring needs. A wooden or old plastic board, or rewireable fuses with wire in them, also means it is due an upgrade.
Do I need to move out?
No. You can stay in the home while we work. It takes most of the day. The power is off through the morning, then on and off in the afternoon while we test.
Is a new board enough, or do I need a full rewire?
If your cables are sound, a new board is all you need. If the wiring is old too, an EICR will tell you. We will be honest about which one you need.
What is an RCBO?
An RCBO is a single switch that protects one circuit two ways. It trips on an overload, like an old fuse, and on an earth fault, which is the shock risk. A modern board has one RCBO per circuit, so a fault only ever cuts that one circuit.
What is a split-load board?
A split-load board is an older style with two big switches, called RCDs. Each one protects half the circuits. It is a step up from an old fusebox, but a fault still knocks out half the house at once. An RCBO board protects every circuit on its own.
How do I know if I have RCBOs?
Look at your board. A split-load board has just two test buttons, one on each RCD. A full RCBO board has a test button on nearly every switch, one per circuit. More test buttons means better protection. Not sure? Send us a photo and we will tell you.
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Book a consumer unit upgrade
Most Bournemouth swaps booked within the same week. Fixed price from £625, no surprises, no VAT.