A Guide To Fuseboxes and Consumer Units

A fusebox, also referred to as a consumer unit, is the control and distribution centre for electricity in your home. The fusebox is composed of the main switch, fuses and/or circuit breakers, and Residual Current Devices (RCDs). It's crucial to know its location so you can quickly turn off your power supply during emergencies. In this blog post, we'll briefly describe the components of your fusebox so you can better understand how it works.

The Main Switch

This component lets you shut off the power supply to your entire home. In some instances, you might have more than one main switch. For example, if your house uses electric storage heaters, you may also have a separate fusebox.

Residual Current Devices (RCDs)

These switches will disrupt a circuit during hazardous situations instantly cutting off the electricity.

Circuit Breakers

These are automatic safeguarding mechanisms in the fusebox that will deactivate a circuit upon detecting a fault. They're roughly the same size as fuses but offer more exact protection. If they "trip," you can just reset the switch, but make sure the fault is resolved first.

Fuses

Instead of circuit breakers, you might have fuses. Rewirable fuses consist of a specific fuse wire extended between two screws. When a fault or overload current passes through the fuse wire, it will heat up and melt. This melted fuse interrupts the circuit, disconnecting the problematic circuit and ensuring your safety.