A long standing customer phoned me this afternoon and said he needs a new consumer in a bungalow he he buying.


Okay, we will have to think about this because if I just fit what is on offer at Screwf#w it will be obsolete on the 1st April next year, which is probably why they are cheap. The offer is for a dual RCD CU without a SPD with Type AC RCDs, potentially as much use as a chocolate teapot in six months time.


So, it looks like an Wyl#x main switch CU with all RCBOs as they are Type A and a SPD, at least the CU will be upgradable. Also I am guessing it’s going to be TT as it’s been part of a farm up until now. At a stroke its gone from being CU costing less than £70 to one probably costing over £500 and that’s without any AFDD.


I will just run by him if he wants go for AFDD at around £1500 rather than spending £350 on RCBOs some of which may soon be outdated, meaning maybe a couple of hundred pounds has been spent on RCBOS now which won’t comply with the regulations next year.

And you get five free double sockets with the CU costing less than £70.

I'm in the 'prove they do something' camp.   I haven't seen amazing stories of how wonderful they are from America (where they've been mandated on bedroom branch circuits for years). And the amazing John Ward has tried and failed to trip one using series and parallel arcs of a type that seem to be reasonably accurate to my eyes.  (although a slow overheating connection with occasional bursts of FZZZZZTTTTT arcing under load may be what they're looking for... and to my knowledge that's hard to simulate)


In short, i think they're overpriced for something with no guarantee that it will do any good.


Edit: plus the fact, I absolutely do NOT trust electronics in a consumer unit. I never rely on RCD protection from RCBOs... or even modern RCDs. I install my circuits as if they weren't there. . I see too many 'electricians' taking a horribly relaxed attitude to earthing and bonding because 'there's an RCD'


The fact that bonding isn't related to YOUR electrical installation alone, but the rest of the network... seems to escape them.Open PEN on the supply side, and your extraneous metalwork is at a different potential to your electric kettle... which you're filling at the sink :\,\N,\N 1037"

So, I was sitting on the settee last night typing up my last comment and my wife enquired what is the hot topic of this forum at the moment, is it something interesting?


So I gave her quick description of the proposal to make AFDD obligatory and showed her the pricing of the consumer unit components using the Screwfix catalogue, making a comparison in costs between the CU on offer on the flyer packed with the catalogue and what  CU part loaded with AFDD will cost.


My wife said it will just stop people upgrading their existing fuse boards and consumer units to current standards as they will not be prepared to pay the cost, assuming they actually have the means of paying anyway.


There are millions of fuse boards and consumer units in UK electrical installations that need replacing, if this proposal goes through it will be to the detriment of electrical safety, If it is the manufacturers pushing it through it could actually backfire on them and completely stall their sales, as there may not be the opportunity to dump the last remaining stock of existing CUs and devices on the market before the change.


So my wife was not convinced it is a good idea and it’s not something she would want to spend our money on, I would have to work hard to try and convince her, but after being together for forty years I know it would not be something I could win her over to without better reasons than I can argue over at this time.


 Andy B.

The fact that my wife doesn’t think it’s a good idea and would not be prepared to pay the current prices for the AFDD is probably the best reason I can give for dropping the proposal for AFDD in the amendment.


Maybe if the manufacturers had been running advertisements in home improvement and lifestyle magazines in print and online for a couple of years there may be some consumer demand, but like all things electrical the advertising is just pitched at electricians to try and get them to sell their products for them.


 Andy B.

There is another way of looking at this. Get your CU changed whilst you can at a reasonable price.


Daughter has a nice shiny new CU waiting to be installed. But for COVID, it would be in by now. I was there today popping in a couple of downlighters.   I had put the first in the ceiling in early March, but the job come to an abrupt halt and it wasn't urgent during the long days of summer.


So then we discussed the next stage. I pointed out that the deadline is 28 March 2022, 'cos after that, the brand new shiny CU is obsolete!

So then we discussed the next stage. I pointed out that the deadline is 28 March 2022, 'cos after that, the brand new shiny CU is obsolete!

Regs change dates are usually for the design rather than installation phase - so "design" the CU replacement now and install it whenever you like!


   - Andy.

The last job of the day today was to check a ceiling rose and pendant set in the lounge of a tenanted flat, because a light bulb had “exploded” in it, with the glass bulb ending up on the floor leaving the base in the lamp holder and tripping the MCB.


The tenant said on the phone she had removed the base of the lamp, so I told her to just fit another lamp and try it, but she wasn’t convinced it would be okay. So a week later I called by to check it out and replaced the lamp holder and flex, though that was just to put her mind at rest.


I told her about the proposed change to the regs and the cost. She does not lack confidence in the consumer unit in her rented flat, when the lamp blew it tripped the MCB and she has no reason not to believe it will protect her in future.


What she did say is that she and her boyfriend have saved the deposit for a house and if it needs a new consumer unit the additional cost of a consumer unit with AFDD over the cost of a consumer unit to current standards being possibly over £1000 would make the difference between them being able to buy a house or not.


By the end of next March we will be a full year into the Covid lockdown and most people will be beyond the point of tightening their belts, spare money for unexpected repairs and maintenance will be hard to find for them.


It would actually be far better if this proposal is put in abeyance for several years during which time the manufacturers can advertise their products to the end users, educating the general public about the risks of arc faults and the protection they claim their products offer to mitigate the risks. If they actually do this it will be interesting to see how much of a demand they can generate with end users asking for AFDD rather than having them foisted on them by electricians complying with a new regulation.


Andy Betteridge.