Consumer units (fuse boards) control the electrical function of your home and detect when there is a dangerous problem. All new consumer units are fitted with RCD’s, the capabilities of an RCD far exceed any other safety function of a fuse board such as a trip switch activating or a fuse blowing as a RCD activates in less than a split second.
It is very important that you have RCD protection in your home, it could save a life. Unfortunately there are still far too many homes that require a consumer unit upgrade because they have no RCD protection, but this doesn’t always mean a whole new consumer unit so it is essential you speak to a registered, qualified electrician who can advise what needs to be done.
As of 1st January 2019 BS7671 IEE Wiring Regulations recommend surge protection devices are installed at the mains of a property to protect against transient overvoltage’s where the consequence caused by overvoltage could cause:
18th Edition also recommends Arc fault detection devices as a means of providing additional protection against fire caused by arc faults in AC circuits. Examples of where such devices can be used include:
