We were recently called to an emergency job in Walton-on-Thames where the homeowner was dealing with intermittent tripping RCDs. The customer had already replaced several appliances and was unsure whether the fault lay with the consumer unit or internal wiring.
Upon arrival, we carried out tests across the circuits and quickly found earth leakage building up across multiple circuits – a common issue with older boards that use shared RCD protection. These setups offer poor discrimination, meaning one minor issue can take out half the house.
The existing board was an old plastic model, lacking surge protection and relying on shared RCDs to cover all circuits. Labelling was poor. Given the condition and the customer’s plans to install a new kitchen, we advised a full consumer unit upgrade and new circuits to feed the kitchen refurb. We also took the time to tidy up the wiring, properly label every circuit, and carry out functional testing across all appliances. Bonding to water and gas was also upgraded to bring everything in line with current regs.
The job took just 2 days, start to finish. By the end, the property had a far safer installation, no nuisance tripping, and a clean certificate ready for the kitchen refit. Is your consumer unit due an upgrade? Contact our expert electricians in Walton-on-Thames today.
