RCBO Consumer Units in Sussex

For most homes, yes. The difference is around £200: a dual RCD board starts at £425 and a full RCBO fuse board at £625. That buys you a board where one fault trips one circuit instead of half the house, fault finding takes minutes rather than an evening of unplugging, and the freezer keeps running whatever the shower does. Spread over the twenty year life of a consumer unit it is a small premium, which is why RCBO boards are what we recommend and fit most often across Sussex.

Sometimes. If your board is a reasonably modern make and the manufacturer still produces compatible RCBOs, we can swap the existing breakers for RCBOs on a like for like basis. Mixing brands inside one enclosure is not acceptable, because devices are only tested and warranted in their own manufacturer's board. In practice, once an older board is opened up and the parts are priced, a full RCBO consumer unit upgrade with new tails, a Type 2 SPD and a fresh certificate is often the better value, and we will price both options honestly so you can decide.

Rain tripping is almost always moisture getting into something outside: a garden socket, outdoor lighting, a shed feed run along the fence, or a worn seal on an EV charger. Water lets a small current leak to earth, and on a dual RCD board that leakage lands on an RCD shared by several circuits, so the trip looks random. With RCBOs the tripped device names the guilty circuit immediately. Either way the leak needs finding and fixing: a fuse board that trips in wet weather is warning you about a real fault, and we trace and repair them across Sussex.

Yes, that is exactly the problem they solve. On a dual RCD board the freezer usually shares an RCD with several other circuits, so a faulty kettle or a tripped shower can silently kill the freezer while you are at work or away for the weekend. With a full RCBO board the freezer circuit has its own device, and nothing that happens elsewhere in the house will disconnect it. For anyone in Sussex who has come home to a defrosted freezer and a puddle, this alone tends to justify the upgrade.

Type A describes what the RCD element inside each breaker can detect. Older Type AC devices can be blinded by the small DC components that modern electronics, induction hobs, EV chargers and solar inverters put back into the wiring, so they may fail to trip when it matters. A Type A RCBO consumer unit detects those pulsating DC currents as well as normal AC faults. Every RCBO board we fit across Sussex uses Type A devices as standard, in line with current wiring regulations.

It means the device is holding against a live fault: the earth leak is still there, so the RCD trips the instant you close it. Unplug everything on the affected circuits and try again. If it holds, one appliance is faulty, so plug things back in one at a time to find it. If the fuse box won't reset with everything unplugged, the fault is in the fixed wiring and needs testing, not repeated resetting. In an emergency we aim to reach you the same day anywhere in Sussex, and within 45 to 90 minutes in Brighton & Hove.

On many boards the main switch is actually a whole house RCD, so heavy earth leakage anywhere in the installation can drop everything at once. It can also point to a loose main connection or a device that is wearing out, and both of those generate heat where you do not want it. Treat it as urgent rather than resetting it over and over. A full RCBO board removes the shared device entirely, so a single fault can no longer switch off the whole house.

Yes, on the day. A dual RCD consumer unit replacement starts at £425 for 6 ways or £495 for 10, against £625 for a full RCBO board at 8 ways. Both meet the 18th Edition, and both include a Type 2 SPD, full testing, an Electrical Installation Certificate and Part P notification. The difference is what happens under fault: a dual RCD board shares protection across banks of circuits, so one fault darkens several. For around £200 more, every circuit stands alone.