How much does an EICR cost in London?

An EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) costs £140 inc VAT for a 1-bed flat, £170 for a 2-bed, £200 for a 3-bed, and £250+ for 4-bed properties or licensed HMOs in London. F & A Electrical is NICEIC-approved and issues certificates the same day. Commercial EICRs are quoted per visit and typically £280–£600 inc VAT depending on circuit count.

How much does it cost to replace a fuse board in London?

A fuse board (consumer unit) replacement costs £550–£750 inc VAT for a straightforward swap to a modern 10-way dual-RCD board, £700–£900 inc VAT for an RCBO board with one breaker per circuit, and £800–£1,000 inc VAT for above-shop flats with shared supply or where supply tails need replacing. Every install includes the Electrical Installation Certificate, Part P notification and 6 years' NICEIC warranty.

How long does a house rewire take in London?

A 3-bed Victorian terrace rewire typically takes 2–3 weeks and costs £5,800–£7,500 inc VAT fixed quote. Larger 4-bed+ houses or heritage Georgian properties take 3–6 weeks and cost £10,000–£18,000+. F & A Electrical can stage rewires room-by-room so you don't have to move out, includes all new 18th-edition circuits, modern RCBO board, sockets, switches, bonding, hardwired smoke alarms, EIC, Part P notification and 6 years' NICEIC warranty.

How much does an EV charger installation cost in London?

A standard 7.4kW tethered EV charger install (Hypervolt, Ohme, EO, Wallbox, Tesla Gen 3) costs £950–£1,150 inc VAT fully fitted on off-street properties. Underground car park or sub-metered installs in flats run £1,400–£2,200 inc VAT depending on cable run. The OZEV/EVHS landlord grant of £350 is claimed where eligible. F & A Electrical installs all major brands across London.

Do I legally need an EICR for my rental property in London?

Yes. Under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, every private rented home in England requires a satisfactory EICR every 5 years (annually for HMOs), with a copy given to the tenant within 28 days of inspection. Hackney runs borough-wide selective licensing requiring this for every let. Tower Hamlets, Islington and Southwark have additional and mandatory HMO licensing zones.

Are F & A Electrical NICEIC approved?

Yes — F & A Electrical is an NICEIC Approved Contractor, the UK's top electrical accreditation. Every job is certified, registered and notified to Building Control under Part P. We carry £5m public liability insurance, work to BS 7671 18th edition standards, and offer a 6-year NICEIC warranty on installation work. We have a 9.45/10 rating across 241 Checkatrade reviews and are members of Checkatrade since December 2018.

Do you offer a 24-hour emergency electrician service in London?

Yes — F & A Electrical operates a 24-hour emergency electrician service across all our London service areas. Emergency rate is £60+VAT per half-hour outside 8am–8pm Monday to Friday and £45+VAT per half-hour during normal hours. No call-out fee if we resolve your issue on the phone. We aim to be on site within one hour for urgent work. Call 07407 627542 or 07500 721453.

What areas of London does F & A Electrical cover?

F & A Electrical is based in Tottenham N15 and covers all of inner London including Hackney (Stoke Newington, Dalston, Hackney Central, Clapton, Hackney Wick), Islington (Highbury, Holloway, Angel, Canonbury), Camden, Tower Hamlets (Whitechapel, Brick Lane), Southwark (Bermondsey), Haringey and surrounding boroughs.

What does C1, C2 or C3 mean on an EICR?

On an EICR, C1 means 'Danger present' — immediate risk of injury, work must be done before the report is satisfactory. C2 means 'Potentially dangerous' — urgent remedial work required, still fails the EICR. C3 means 'Improvement recommended' — does not cause an unsatisfactory result on its own. FI means 'Further investigation required' — also fails the EICR. F & A Electrical can attend the same day to remedy C1 or C2 items and reissue a satisfactory cert for property sales or letting compliance.

Why does my fuse board keep tripping? 12 causes (and what to do about each)

Q: Why does my fuse board keep tripping?

Common causes of fuse board tripping include: an overloaded ring final circuit (too many appliances on one socket ring), a faulty appliance with damaged insulation causing earth leakage, water ingress into a bathroom or outdoor circuit, a failing RCD or RCBO, or a damaged kitchen circuit cable. F & A Electrical diagnoses and fixes tripping faults on a 24-hour callout basis. If an RCD trips repeatedly across multiple circuits, the consumer unit itself may need upgrading.

Short answer: The most common reason a fuse board (consumer unit) keeps tripping is a faulty appliance with insulation damage causing earth leakage that the RCD detects. Unplug appliances one at a time until the trip stops, and you’ve found the culprit. If the trip happens immediately on resetting with nothing plugged in, you have a fixed wiring fault (damaged cable, wet circuit, failing component) that needs an electrician.

This guide walks through every common cause of trips on a domestic UK consumer unit, what each one looks like, what it costs to fix, and when you should stop trying to reset and call an electrician.

First — which part of the board is tripping?

Before diagnosing, identify which device on your consumer unit is tripping:

RCD (Residual Current Device) — protects against earth leakage. Usually labelled “RCD” or “30mA”. When this trips, multiple circuits go off at once.
MCB (Miniature Circuit Breaker) — protects against overload and short circuit. Usually labelled “B6”, “B16”, “B32” etc. When this trips, only one circuit goes off.
RCBO (combination) — does both jobs for one circuit. Each circuit has its own RCBO. When this trips, only one circuit goes off.
Main switch — controls the whole installation. If this trips, you’ve got a major fault upstream.

12 common causes — in order of likelihood

1. Faulty appliance (most common — 60% of trips)

Symptom: Board trips at random times, never the same time of day.
Cause: A washing machine, dishwasher, fridge or other Class I appliance has insulation breakdown — usually a heating element going to earth, or a damaged flex.
How to diagnose: Unplug all appliances. Reset the board. Plug appliances back in one at a time, waiting 15 minutes after each. The one that trips the board when plugged in is the culprit.
Fix cost: Replace the appliance, or take it for repair if it’s worth saving. Electrician not needed unless the trip continues with everything unplugged.

2. Overloaded ring final circuit

Symptom: MCB trips when you turn on a high-load appliance (kettle, iron, electric heater) on a circuit that already has appliances running.
Cause: Total load exceeds the 32A rating of the ring circuit.
Fix cost: £150–£400 to add a dedicated radial circuit for the high-load appliance, or rebalance which sockets are on which circuit.

3. Water ingress into bathroom or outdoor circuit

Symptom: RCD trips during or after a shower, rain, or washing machine cycle.
Cause: Water has reached a junction, terminal block, or damaged cable. Common in older properties where bathroom extractor fans have leaked into the ceiling void.
Fix cost: £150–£500 depending on whether the damaged cable needs replacing or just re-terminating.

4. Lighting circuit fault

Symptom: MCB or RCBO on lighting circuit trips when a particular switch is operated.
Cause: Damaged cable in a ceiling rose, failed dimmer switch, faulty LED driver, or rodent damage to a cable run.
Fix cost: £85–£250 to diagnose and replace the failed component.

5. Failing RCD itself

Symptom: RCD trips repeatedly even with nothing plugged in. Test button doesn’t reset cleanly. Or it trips and won’t reset at all.
Cause: The RCD has lifetime-aged out. Wylex, Crabtree, MK and MEM RCDs from the 1990s/early 2000s commonly fail this way.
Fix cost: £180–£280 to replace the RCD module if the board is a swap-friendly type. If the whole board is past its useful life, full replacement at £550–£950 is the better long-term value.

6. Damaged kitchen circuit cable

Symptom: RCD trips when oven, hob or other fixed kitchen appliance is operated.
Cause: Cable behind kitchen unit has been damaged during refit. Common when someone has drilled through a cable installing wall units or worktop.
Fix cost: £200–£500 — usually involves removing a kitchen unit, replacing or rerouting the damaged section, and testing.

7. Old electric shower failing

Symptom: RCD trips when you turn the shower on.
Cause: Shower element failing or shower’s internal connections damaged. Showers are the most common single appliance to cause repeated trips because they draw 7–10kW and are wet-environment.
Fix cost: Plumber replaces shower unit (£200–£600). Electrician verifies circuit is safe after — usually £85–£150.

8. Loose connection at consumer unit

Symptom: Random trips, burning smell at consumer unit, browning of plastic near a screw terminal.
Cause: Tail or circuit termination has worked loose, causing arcing and heat.
Fix cost: £85–£200 to re-tighten, re-terminate or replace damaged components. This is a fire risk — get an electrician same-day.

9. Nuisance tripping on accumulated earth leakage

Symptom: RCD trips with no obvious cause, especially when several devices are on at once.
Cause: Each modern electronic device leaks a tiny amount to earth (LED drivers, EV chargers, induction hobs, modern fridges). Adding them up exceeds the 30mA threshold even though no single device is faulty.
Fix cost: £700–£900 to upgrade to an RCBO board (one breaker per circuit) — eliminates nuisance tripping permanently.

10. Lightning strike or surge damage

Symptom: Board tripped during or after a storm, and now multiple circuits won’t reset.
Cause: Voltage surge has damaged the RCD, MCBs, or appliances throughout the property.
Fix cost: £200–£1,500 depending on what’s been damaged. Surge protection at the consumer unit prevents future damage (£250–£400 to fit).

11. EV charger installation incompatible with existing supply

Symptom: Trips started after EV charger was installed.
Cause: EV chargers can confuse Type AC RCDs because they pass DC leakage. Type A or Type B RCD required for compatible operation.
Fix cost: £180–£280 to swap to a Type A RCBO on the EV charger circuit.

12. Damaged outdoor extension lead or socket

Symptom: RCD trips when you use the garden socket, hedge trimmer, or outdoor lighting.
Cause: Outdoor extension lead, socket or appliance has water damage or insulation failure.
Fix cost: £85–£200 to identify and replace, or £15 for a new extension lead.

When to stop resetting and call an electrician

Trip happens within seconds of resetting, with everything unplugged — fixed wiring fault, call electrician same day
Burning smell at consumer unit — call electrician immediately, do not reset
Trip is on main switch (not RCD or MCB) — serious upstream fault, call electrician same day
Same RCD trips repeatedly over several days even after diagnosing appliances — RCD itself failing, schedule electrician within a week
Consumer unit is plastic and pre-2016 — non-compliant under amendment 3, budget for replacement at next opportunity

How F & A Electrical diagnoses trip faults

Standard diagnostic call-out takes 30-60 minutes and costs £85–£150 for the diagnosis. We use an insulation resistance tester to measure leakage to earth on each circuit individually, then identify whether the fault is in fixed wiring, an appliance, or the protective device itself.

Most trip problems are resolved in the diagnostic visit. If the fault is in fixed wiring, we’ll quote the remedial work on the spot — fixed-price, no day-rate creep.

For repeat trippers on older consumer units, we usually recommend upgrading to a modern RCBO board (one breaker per circuit), which eliminates nuisance tripping permanently. £700–£900 inc VAT for the typical London terrace, fully certified.

Frequently asked

Is it safe to keep resetting the trip?
For occasional trips, yes — reset and observe whether it’s load-related. For repeated trips on the same circuit, no — the protective device is doing its job for a reason. Stop resetting and diagnose.

Why does my RCD trip in the middle of the night?
Almost always a fridge, freezer, washing machine on delayed start, or boiler heating element kicking in. Unplug each appliance and re-test.

Can old Wylex fuse boards just be replaced one MCB at a time?
Sometimes, but rarely worth it. Modern dual-RCD or RCBO board for £600-£800 is usually more cost-effective than piecemeal repairs on a board that’s already a generation behind safety standards.

How urgent is a tripping fault?
Burning smell or any sign of heat at the consumer unit: same day. Repeated trips with no obvious cause: within a week. Occasional trip when running multiple high-load appliances: not urgent, but worth investigating.

Call us for diagnosis

F & A Electrical covers Hackney, Islington, Camden, Tower Hamlets, Southwark and surrounding inner London boroughs for trip diagnosis and consumer unit upgrades. NICEIC-approved, £5m public liability, fixed quotes.

Call: 07407 627542 or 07500 721453
Emergency 24/7 callout: £60+VAT per half-hour outside 8am-8pm Mon-Fri
Standard diagnosis: £85–£150 fixed
Email: info@faelectrical.co.uk

Why does my fuse board keep tripping? 12 causes and what to do about each