Everything You Need to Know About Upgrading Your Fuse Box

15 July, 2019 Hi-Lite Electric Inc.

There are many reasons why people decide to upgrade their electric fuse box. For instance, a switchboard may need to be upgraded or replaced if it has been deemed unsafe. In some cases the electric fuse box may not be able to handle the demands that you are placing on it, causing it to either repeatedly cause fuses to trip or overheat.

You may also need to upgrade your fuse box because of a new appliance purchase, such as a pool pump or AC unit, which requires an extension in order to meet the extra power demand. Also, if you own an antiquated porcelain based fuse box-with fuse wire-then an upgrade that includes circuit breakers is an absolute must if you want to protect your home and your loved ones. Regardless of the reason, upgrading your fuse box can be very easy to do, and we will cover everything you need to know about upgrading your electric fuse box in this article.

How long will it take?

A fuse box, as with many things in an old home, will differ from property to property. However, if you want to perform a rudimentary changeover from an archaic fuse box model to a safer and newer version then it will likely take you roughly four hours to complete in most cases. However, if you own a property that has been on the market for over a quarter of a century, then you will likely need to upgrade your mains power too so that your home will be able to handle the additional power demands.

Hence, your fuse box cable will also need to be upgraded, in terms of its size, to adhere to the extra power requirements. In most cases, doing so will take approximately eight hours to complete, so you may need to take a day off of work to work on it if you are planning on doing it yourself; albeit such extensive and complicated work is usually best left to the professionals.

What about location?

In the past, a fuse box could be situated anywhere on a property. As such, meter readers would end up suffering because of the rather tricky situation. However, times have changed, and today’s homeowners will have to deal with a plethora of bureaucratic red tape in terms of where a switch box can be legally situated.

In most cases, your fuse box will need to be installed within two metres of the facade of your home and less than 2 metres from the ground itself so that it can be accessible for your meter readers. Please ensure that your fuse box meets the aforementioned legal requirements when you are upgrading your fuse box, as failure to do so may lead to hefty fines as well as the forced relocation of your fuse box.

In any event, the proper installation of the fuse box on your property will take several hours to complete, and if you hire an electric company to perform the work they will provide you with an estimate in terms of what the expected timeframe will be before any work actually takes place.

How much will it cost?

Unbeknownst to some, replacing a circuit breaker involves far more work than simply extracting the old model and installing the new model. In fact, when you upgrade your fuse box the electrician that performs the work will have to also ensure that your property’s electrical wiring system is also brought up to code so that it complies with the latest legal requirements.

Your final cost for the upgrade will vary depending on the extent of work that needs to be done on your home to ensure that it adheres to current legal protocols. However, any reputable electrical company will provide you with a transparent and accurate quote before any work takes place, so you won’t have to worry about any unexpected charges.

If you are looking for a typical ballpark figure for a fuse box upgrade, we recommend contacting our office directly, as all homes are different and the actual amount will vary according to the number of circuits that you have on your property.

The Best Upgrade For Comprehensive Protection

The fundamentals of circuit breakers and fuses are congruent, in the sense that they stop current flow when they detect an issue by opening the circuit. However, they differ in terms of what they actually protect, as well as what faults will actually activate them and the amount of time that it takes for them to be activated. It should also be noted that great strides have been made in terms of technological advancements in circuit breakers and fuses over the last decade.

For instance, the most advanced type on the market today is known as an RBCO. An RCBO consists of an amalgam of circuit breakers and combination safety switches. They work by protecting singular circuits from electric shocks, as well as any overloads and shorts. As such, if there are any problems with a given circuit then the problem will not spread to any of the other circuits in your home.

This is in stark contrast to previous models whereby one safety switch was responsible for protecting a large number of circuits by itself. RCBOs also have the additional benefit of preventing any nuisance trips, because each individual circuit is equipped with its own earth fault limit.

If you would like to learn more about upgrading your electric fuse box, call Hi-Lite Electric at 416-800-5523 or contact us here.