Switchboards are often a forgotten part of a homes electrical installation.
Most or us would consider upgrading their lights, adding some extra power points or maybe even upgrading your existing Power Points and Switches to fresh new ones or even smart switches and outlets, but lets be honest, we are really only doing it for looks.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with this, in fact, quite often we will recommend it, as with new lighting and upgraded equipment, you can also get the gain of safer and more efficient solutions.
Back to the switchboard though, considering this is where your electricity is distributed from, to all the points of your home and considering this is where the protection is located, we'd suggest this is an area that should be inspected, tested and if needed, upgraded by professionals.
It's not as sexy as new lights, switches and power points, but it is likely to be the best defence against electric shock or fire (from electrical failure/malfunction).
Consider the switchboard in the image:
- The owner thought they had Earth Leakage Protection (a safety switch), but in fact they didn't, so in the event of coming in contact with any electric wire (or a knife in the toaster) the person would likely be electrocuted.
- Porcelain fuse carriers are still in place, but have not been used for many years, as in most cases, they rely on a piece of "Correctly Sized" wire burning out in the event of overload or short circuit - I can't begin to tell you how many times I've been to an installation to find a heavy wire installed by the home owner, because they were sick of it burning out. Meaning they had no protection from overload and potential fire
- Multiple "Main" Switches - may not burn the house down, but certainly does cause some unnecessary confusion, which is probably not what you want if you're wanting to isolate your power and be sure it's off
- Finally, Plug In circuit breakers. Look, they serve a purpose, they are probably better than a rewireable fuse carrier, but they still have pretty crappy contacts and they still don't provide any Earth Leakage protection (Safety Switch)
Circuit Breakers (MCB) protect the cables in your home from being overloaded, heating up and causing a fire, where as ELCB (Safety Switch) is protection against an occupant getting an electric shock. The Australian Standard for any new or upgraded installations is to use a RCBO (MCB/ELCB Combination) for all circuits 32A and below, so as to ensure the cables and the occupants of the home are protected sufficiently.
Should you have your switchboard inspected?
We certainly think you should!
Speak to us if you'd like to arrange and inspection or wish to discuss further
TroopKen Electrical - 1300 876 676