Thoughs on which board please

uksparks · Jan 4, 2015

Hi,

Got a house, 6 bed detached property, currently totally empty.

TNS
100A Cutout fuse supposedly

Ok, so I have two consumer units which need replacing as the covers will not stay on due to damage and broken casings etc.

The bloke would like them all in one unit, which I have to say would be nice.

I have the following across the two boards.

6x Light Circuits (6A)
1x Smoke Alarms (6A)
1x Boiler (16A)
1x Electric Fire (16A)
1x Cooker (32A)
3x Electric Shower (40A)
6x Ring Finals (32A)

To be honest, the house is heavily loaded in terms of the number of showers etc, I don't really know which way to approach this, he will probably not want to go with RCBO's due to cost, but I could stack a couple of boards.

What are your thoughts?

[ElectriciansForums.net] Thoughs on which board please

Octopus · Jan 4, 2015

With 19 circuits you will have all sorts of issues with dual boards! Least of all nuisance tripping!

Guest125 · Jan 4, 2015

If RCBO cost is too high I don't think you have a choice, you will need use separate boards with separate RCD main switches. If you can swing him to use RCBOs I would install a three phase board with a single phase linking kit to give you plenty of available ways to install one board.

telectrix · Jan 4, 2015

2 x BG CUs. a 12way and a 10 way ( meaning 12MCBs and 10MCBs) each board with dual RCDs.

Octopus · Jan 4, 2015

telectrix said:
2 x BG CUs. a 12way and a 10 way ( meaning 12MCBs and 10MCBs) each board with dual RCDs.

I would suggest 2 x hi integrity CU's, use the MCB "ways" and leave the RCBO "ways" for expansion or issues!

telectrix · Jan 4, 2015

Murdoch said:
I would suggest 2 x hi integrity CU's, use the MCB "ways" and leave the RCBO "ways" for expansion or issues!

the BG CUs are hi integrity. might be best to use 2 x 12 way, then there's room for RCBOs at later date if required.

uksparks · Jan 4, 2015

UKESRail said:
If RCBO cost is too high I don't think you have a choice, you will need use separate boards with separate RCD main switches. If you can swing him to use RCBOs I would install a three phase board with a single phase linking kit to give you plenty of available ways to install one board.

I was thinking of a three phase board packed with RCBO's with the three linked out as suggested, I have done this before.

Ill work it out, but for 20 RCBO's it soon adds up.

I think a couple of boards stacked, is the real only option.

Guest125 · Jan 4, 2015

uksparks said:
I was thinking of a three phase board packed with RCBO's with the three linked out as suggested, I have done this before.

Ill work it out, but for 20 RCBO's it soon adds up.

I think a couple of boards stacked, is the real only option.

Give him both options with quotes.

Guest125 · Jan 4, 2015

And the pros & cons of both.

uksparks · Jan 4, 2015

telectrix said:
the BG CUs are hi integrity. might be best to use 2 x 12 way, then there's room for RCBOs at later date if required.

Ill have a look at these, I think this is probably the best route short of going all RCBO's.

Ill put the two prices to him and see what he says.

uksparks · Jan 4, 2015

As for the showers, do you see there to be any issues here? I appreciate they all work at the moment, but just feel slightly uneasy about connecting three showers to one board...

driverman · Jan 4, 2015

Don't forget to leave some spare ways after completion! Is that a reg or just a recommendation? Makes common sense though.
I'm about to install a 24 way all compact RCBO board which cost about £365 ( I could check that later). The way i look at is for that number of circuits, it makes life far easier for fault finding, less chance of tripping etc.

ImpededLoop · Jan 4, 2015

uksparks said:
As for the showers, do you see there to be any issues here? I appreciate they all work at the moment, but just feel slightly uneasy about connecting three showers to one board...

You'll need to consider diversity - are they all likely to be used at once? If it all looks ok now, you'll probably be ok.

Octopus · Jan 4, 2015

Just because there 19 circuits including 3 showers doesn't mean that the total load will be high!

HappyHippyDad · Jan 4, 2015

uksparks said:
I was thinking of a three phase board packed with RCBO's with the three linked out as suggested, I have done this before.

Ill work it out, but for 20 RCBO's it soon adds up.

I think a couple of boards stacked, is the real only option.

I have to admit I have not seen these before :

Wylex NHDRS20SSLHI High Integrity 20 Way Dual RCD + Switch

I haven't had a proper look at the spec, but if you are thinking of 'stacking' 2 seperate ones then this could look neater.

Actually this one may be better, if you want some spare ways:

Wylex NHDRS26SSLHI High Integrity 26 Way Dual RCD + Switch