Surge Protection in Sussex

For new consumer units, effectively yes. Amendment 2 of BS 7671 requires overvoltage protection to be considered on every new board, and for homes the practical outcome is that an SPD is fitted unless there is a documented reason not to. There is no law forcing you to retrofit one to an existing board, but if you have an EV charger, a heat pump, solar panels or a modern boiler, the electronics at risk are worth far more than the device. Every board we fit across Sussex includes a Type 2 SPD as standard, so with us it is never an optional extra.

No. A plug-in strip only stands in front of the sockets on that strip. It does nothing for your lighting, boiler, hob, EV charger or anything else hard wired, and most are built to a price with a small energy rating that quietly wears out. A Type 2 SPD in the consumer unit clamps a transient overvoltage at the origin of the installation, so every circuit in the house sits behind it. By all means keep a good strip under the desk as a second layer, but it is not a substitute for protection at the board.

Every SPD we fit has a status indicator on the front, typically a small window that shows green while the device is healthy and changes colour once the protection has been used up. An SPD is sacrificial by design, so after years of soaking up surges the cartridge can reach the end of its life. Glance at the window whenever you test your smoke alarms, and we check it as part of every EICR we carry out across Sussex. If it needs replacing, the cartridge swaps in minutes without changing the board.

Yes, and for many Sussex homes that is exactly why we fit one. A Type 2 SPD at the consumer unit protects everything supplied from it, including the EV charger circuit and the solar inverter, both of which are packed with sensitive electronics, and some manufacturers expect surge protection to be in place before they honour a warranty claim. Where a charger sits at the end of a long outdoor run, an additional SPD at the equipment itself can be worth adding, and we will tell you honestly at survey whether yours needs it.

Yes, and if your board is due for replacement anyway it is usually the best value route. Every new board we fit already has the Type 2 SPD built in, whether that is a dual RCD board from £425 or a full RCBO board from £625, and the price includes full testing, an Electrical Installation Certificate and Part P notification to Building Control. If your existing board is modern and healthy, a retrofit from £165 is the cheaper way to the same protection.

It is simply a consumer unit with a surge protection device fitted inside the enclosure, usually beside the main switch. Some manufacturers sell boards with the SPD installed at the factory, and plenty of customers just ask for a fusebox with surge protection, which describes the same thing. Whatever you call it, the device clamps transient overvoltages at the origin of the installation so every circuit sits behind it, and every board we fit across Sussex comes supplied this way as standard.