consumer unit height

dannysmith · Apr 5, 2014

Hi all,
From what I understand the switches of a consumer unit have to be at 1200mm. The old consumer unit is way up high out of reach in the electric / Gas cupboard but the placement of it allows access from the doorway standing on the floor as there is a difference in height of floor levels of 400mm. So... What floor level do I take the 1200mm from. If it is from the lower level it will be knee height at the upper level ready for little fingers or spilled drinks. The upper level will make it too high to comply with regs in the room. Any advice?

SPARTYKUS · Apr 5, 2014

Adam W said:
A breaker can be used as functional switching - it says so in the regs.

Yes you are right. And I have done.

imago · Apr 5, 2014

It's one of those anomalies/omissions in the regs that don't make much sense. If the switches and controls must be within a set height range, surely that should apply to the main switches and controls for the circuits.

Another one that bugs me is the requirement for smoke alarms for three story buildings, but not emergency lights so that people can see to get out without breaking their necks.

NickD · Apr 5, 2014

Adam W said:
A breaker can be used as functional switching - it says so in the regs.

Yes. I was not suggesting otherwise. My point was a) is it that likely to feature actually in the CU in a new build at Chez Sproggins? I suppose maybe a security light on the lighting circuit with no other switching or something, don't much care for it though b) if it does, then to answer your question "So why should a functional switch have to be accessible unless it's in the consumer unit?", Part M just uses the wording "switch for a light or other equipment" which I think we take to mean functional switching, and says nothing about what accessory or equipment it's in. So in new build for strict compliance, if you have a functional switch in the CU, it does have to be at the accessible heights...?

NickD · Apr 5, 2014

...but then there's smoke alarms and burglar alarms which may have no other switch than the CU switch so I guess that's functional switching even though the point kinda is you never really switch them off...

Adam W · Apr 5, 2014

OK put functional switching aside for a second - if an appliance trips an MCB you'd want to unplug it and reset the breaker, but you can't do that if you're confined to a wheelchair and the CU is by the ceiling.
Same if a bulb blows and trips the breaker - you could most likely do without one light but why should you have to be without any lights?

IMO a CU isn't just isolation for skilled persons to perform maintenance.

telectrix · Apr 5, 2014

it's bloody stupid fitting a CU at the height that a small child can reach. elderly and/or infirm people have walking stick. that's why the switches are UP for ON.

[ElectriciansForums.net] consumer unit height

NickD · Apr 5, 2014

Adam W said:
IMO a CU isn't just isolation for skilled persons to perform maintenance.

A CU is for life, not just for when you trip the cooker at Christmas?

Yeah I agree.

telectrix said:
it's bloody stupid fitting a CU at the height that a small child can reach.

Yeah, I agree. To be honest it's bloody stupid putting anything at all at the height a small child can reach

Excuse me while I go patent a CU with a child safety catch.

NickD · Apr 5, 2014

It is also a bit crap putting CUs seven foot up in the air then telling the occupants "Now you've got to test your RCDs regularly". Probably get sued for telling them that when they fall off the stool.

trev · Apr 5, 2014

NickD said:
it's bloody stupid putting anything at all at the height a small child can reach

Sockets? Kitchen cupboards? The bog? Stairs? Come on, practicality sometimes has to rule. Besides, when I was a pup things were put at a level I could reach and I never died once, not even a little bit because my parents were alert and kept me out of trouble until I was old enough to know the dangers.

Adam W · Apr 5, 2014

telectrix said:
it's bloody stupid fitting a CU at the height that a small child can reach.

Many properties don't have small children running around, and those that do often have the CU in a cupboard or at the very least a little door over the breakers.

telectrix said:
that's why the switches are UP for ON.

View attachment 24052

Except 2 way ones and dimmer ones.

Geordie Spark · Apr 6, 2014

Our consumer unit was in the hall way adjacent to the front door about 2 feet up from the floor mounted on a big varnished mahogany board which it shared with the service head and meter.

The consumer unit was a cast iron affair and contained two porcelain fuses covered by a cast iron door hinged at the bottom and secured at the top by a knurled nut.

I used to take a great delight in undoing this nut, hinging the door down and pulling the fuses out.

I was about 3 years old ..............

Mum used to just pop the fuses back in, shut the door and give me a good skelping.

Never stopped me doing it again though and it was probably a close run thing as to what would happen first - me being electrocuted or growing out of the habit!

Some things just don't bear thinking about.

Adam W · Apr 6, 2014

Yeah when I was a kid I used to mess about with the electrics as well; now I do it for a living.
Seriously though if parents are really that worried about it they could rent a wood butcher to put a box around it with a lock on it, or alternatively do it themselves.
As Trev says, ordinary stairs like you get in all houses are dangerous to small children, which is why parents put those gates across them.

NickD · Apr 6, 2014

Here's a nasty thought...suppose a building inspector for a new build decided the test switch for RCD(s) in a CU, the one that is meant to be used routinely at least every three months without any kind of fault occurring or need for isolation arising, is a wall-mounted switch for "other equipment"? And therefore must be at 450-1200mm?

trev · Apr 6, 2014

Adam W said:
As Trev says, ordinary stairs like you get in all houses are dangerous to small children, which is why parents put those gates across them.

Which brings us nicely into the lazy parenting/child safety debate. Years ago no one had safety gates and most children didn't die (some did of course but that sadly still happens) then some clever person sold the world the idea of gates and everyone bought into it. He/she must have laughed his/her head off. Same with the idiot who came up with socket covers.
Ask anyone who works in child care and 9 out of ten will say they're mandatory when Ofsted take no stance on them either way