Main Switchboard Upgrades For Residential Properties

Whether your rental property has failed a recent electrical compliance test, your lights are flickering or you have a loss of power at your property then it might be worthwhile considering a main switchboard upgrade.

The main switchboard at your property is responsible for safely distributing the power to all electrical equipment within your home.  An old outdated main switchboard and protective devices could result in damage to electrical equipment, fire or electrocution.  Get Static Blue to upgrade your switchboard today to ensure that you have the highest possible protection against such catastrophes.

We service all of Melbourne.

• Meet current electrical standards
• Improve electrical safety and reliability of supply
• Prevent nuisance tripping, or the loss of power to your entire house when a single circuit trips
• Have safety switches installed to keep your family and home safe
• Ensure protective devices are able to work correctly in the event of a fault to keep your family safe
• Have overload devices installed to keep your home safe from fire
• Relocate your switchboard to inside your house for ease of access and security
• Relocate your switchboard away from a non-compliant location for safety reasons
• Label the circuits so they can be easily identified in emergencies or when being worked on
• Reduce the risk of fires spreading to other parts of your home by having your switchboard fire sealed.
• Get your electrical terminations checked to reduce the risk of arcing
• Ensure your family are not exposed to asbestos fibres from the switchboard
• Contact our friendly office staff today to discuss your switchboard upgrade

How do I make my switchboard safer?

Types of switchboard protection include:

• RCD’s (Safety Switches) are the most vital safety component of your switchboard. They detect ‘earth leakage’ during a fault and completely disconnect power from the circuit. RCDs are the only device that will trip in the event of an electric shock, they are now a required by Australian Standards.  An easy way to identify if you have safety switches installed is to look for a test button on the device. If pressed it should trip the device. Safety switches should be tested at least twice a year to ensure they are operating correctly. If you have any concerns, contact our friendly office staff for advice.
• Circuit Breakers (CBs) provide overcurrent protection, so that if too much power is being drawn through a circuit the circuit breaker will trip to prevent the cable from overheating and starting a fire.
• RCBOs are a combination device that incorporates a RCD and a CB. They are the best solution for safety and reliability.  Static Blue Main Switchboard Upgrades will include RCBO protection of all sub circuits unless otherwise specified.
• Ceramic Fuses where installed on a lot of older homes that were built prior to the 1980’s.  They provide minimal protection against overload and no protection against earth leakage.  If you still have these installed in your home today then it’s definitely time for a Main Switchboard Upgrade.

What are the main problems with Switchboards?

Main problems with switchboards include…

• No RCDs – Otherwise known as safety switches.  For a reason, without them your switchboard provides absolutely no protection against electric shock. Safety switches are the only device that will provide protection to your family and the electrical equipment in your home.
• Single RCD protecting multiple circuits – when there is only a single safety switch in your switchboard, it means that all the connected circuits will trip every time it detects earth leakage, which may affect power to your entire home! It also increased the chances of nuisance tripping during normal operation
• Malfunctioning RCD – safety switches that aren’t operating correctly may cause nuisance tripping, or may not operate at all in the event of a fault which is a safety issue.
• Recalled RCBO’s – in 2020 Energy Safe Victoria recalled a heap of RCBO’s that did not comply with their testing and verification requirements.  They have also provided a list of compliant RCBO’s that can be found on their website.  If your RCBO’ are not on the list then you should be changing them immediately.
• Fuses – Fuses do not provide any protection against electric shock. They are also harder to maintain and create a risk of electric shock due to exposed live parts when replacing fuses. These old style fuse boards are no longer compliant and the switchboard must be upgraded.
• No Fire Sealing – All switchboards must be fire sealed to prevent the spread of fire from the switchboard to other parts of the house.  All Static Blue Main Switchboard Upgrades include the fire sealing your switchboard.
• Asbestos – was used as a fire rated base so mount switchboard to up until the 1980’s.  It poses a health risk to your family and is now a banned substance and should be removed by a licensed asbestos removalist.
   
   
   
   

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  Call Static Blue on

  0472 STATIC or 03 9336 3111

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  contact@staticblue.com.au

  We service the whole of Melbourne.