UK cost guide · September 2026
How much does a new consumer unit cost in 2026?
Replacing a fuse board with a new consumer unit costs about £550 to £800 for a dual RCD board and £650 to £1,000 for an RCBO board, including VAT, in an average UK area outside London. Both prices include surge protection, testing, the Electrical Installation Certificate and, in England and Wales, building regulations notification. London is about 28% higher.
Work out your new consumer unit (fuse board) cost
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Already have an electrician’s price? Check where your quote sits against this range. Still deciding what to do first? Read where to start a home renovation.
New consumer unit (fuse board) prices in 2026
Ranges are for a typical home outside London, including VAT, before fees and contingency. Use the calculator for your region.
| Type | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Dual RCD board (Basic) | £550 to £800 |
| RCBO board (Standard) | £650 to £1,000 |
New consumer unit (fuse board) costs by region
Labour costs vary across the UK far more than materials. New consumer unit (fuse board) prices in London run about 28% above the UK average outside London, and in Northern Ireland about 14% below it.
| Region | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| UK average (outside London) | £550 to £800 |
| London | £700 to £1,000 |
| South East | £620 to £900 |
| East of England | £580 to £850 |
| South West | £570 to £830 |
| West Midlands | £540 to £780 |
| East Midlands | £530 to £770 |
| Scotland | £530 to £770 |
| North West | £520 to £760 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £510 to £750 |
| Wales | £510 to £740 |
| North East | £500 to £720 |
| Northern Ireland | £470 to £690 |
Which region is my town in? Brighton, Oxford and Southampton are in the South East; Cambridge and Norwich in the East of England; Bristol, Bath and Exeter in the South West; Birmingham and Coventry in the West Midlands; Nottingham and Leicester in the East Midlands; Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland; Manchester and Liverpool in the North West; Leeds, Sheffield and Hull in Yorkshire and the Humber; Cardiff and Swansea in Wales; Newcastle and Sunderland in the North East; and Belfast in Northern Ireland. Somewhere else? Type your postcode into the calculator above and it says which region’s prices it uses.
Want it for your area? See local prices and council building control fees for 92 council areas in England and Wales (not every council yet).
Dual RCD board or RCBO board?
Both kinds of board protect you from electric shock and both include surge protection in our prices. The difference is what switches off when something goes wrong. On a dual RCD board, two RCDs each protect a group of circuits, so a fault on one circuit can cut the power to the other circuits in its group too. On an RCBO board, each circuit has its own RCBO, so a fault switches off only that circuit. RCBO boards cost a little more.
| Board | UK average outside London | London |
|---|---|---|
| Dual RCD board (Basic) | £550 to £800 | £700 to £1,000 |
| RCBO board (Standard) | £650 to £1,000 | £830 to £1,300 |
Testing, the certificate and notification are included. Not included: upgrading the earthing and bonding if it isn't up to standard (often about £150 to £300 more); putting right faults found when the circuits are tested; moving the fuse board to a new place.
Notification, surge protection and arc fault protection
In England and Wales fitting a new consumer unit is notifiable work under Part P of the building regulations (Planning Portal). An electrician registered with a competent person scheme can sign it off themselves; if yours isn’t registered, the work must be notified to building control before it starts. The electrician should give you an Electrical Installation Certificate (Planning Portal), and a registered electrician’s scheme sends you a certificate that the work meets the building regulations, which shows up in a buyer’s searches when you sell (GOV.UK). You can check an electrician on the electrical competent person register. In Scotland and Northern Ireland the building rules are different, so ask your electrician which certificate you will get.
Surge protection (SPD). Under the wiring regulations (BS 7671) the default is to fit surge protection unless the owner of the installation declares that it isn’t needed and accepts the risk of damage to equipment; the electrician then records that on the certificate (IET). So a quote that includes it is not an upgrade, and every price here includes it.
Arc fault protection (AFDD). An AFDD switches a circuit off when it detects arcing: small sparks from a damaged cable or a loose connection, which can start a fire. The wiring regulations require AFDDs on socket circuits only in some buildings, such as houses in multiple occupation, purpose-built student accommodation and care homes; in other homes they recommend them (BEAMA’s summary of regulation 421.1.7; the current edition is BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, BSI). No price here includes them. They add about £80 to £120 for each circuit protected, including VAT, and you can add them in the calculator. That figure is our estimate from device prices, not a published installed price.
Rewiring anyway? A rewire includes a new consumer unit, so don’t add the two together. If you price both in the calculator, the combined budget counts the board once.
What's included in these prices
Included
- Taking out the old fuse board and fitting the new consumer unit in the same place
- Connecting your existing circuits to it
- Surge protection (SPD)
- Testing every circuit
- The Electrical Installation Certificate and, in England and Wales, building regulations notification
Not included
- Upgrading the earthing and bonding, if it isn’t up to standard
- Putting right faults found when the circuits are tested
- Arc fault protection (AFDD), about £80 to £120 for each circuit (add it in the calculator)
- Moving the fuse board to a new place
- Your contingency
What drives the cost
- Kind of board. An RCBO board, with one RCBO for each circuit, costs more than a dual RCD board.
- Number of circuits. A bigger home with more circuits needs a bigger board and more testing.
- Earthing and bonding. If the earthing or the bonding to the water and gas pipes isn’t up to standard, it has to be put right too.
- Faults found on test. Testing can find faults on existing circuits, which are extra to put right.
- Where you live. London prices run about 28% above the UK average outside London.
Planning, regulations and VAT
See notification, surge protection and arc fault protection above. In England and Wales, use an electrician registered with a competent person scheme, who can sign the work off.
Checklist: what to ask electricians to confirm
Print this or save it as a PDF, one copy for each quote. Mark each line included, separate or not confirmed as quotes come in. An empty amount means unknown, not free.
| Item | What to confirm | Included? Amount? |
|---|---|---|
| Board | Dual RCD or RCBO, the make, and how many spare ways (room for new circuits) it has. | |
| Surge protection | Included, as it is the default under the wiring regulations, or declined by you in writing. | |
| Arc fault protection | Whether AFDDs are offered, on which circuits, and the price for each. | |
| Earthing and bonding | Whether they have been checked, and the price to upgrade them if needed. | |
| Testing and faults | What happens, and what it costs, if testing finds faults on existing circuits. | |
| Certificates | Electrical Installation Certificate and building regulations notification: who notifies, and whether any fee is in the price. |
Questions people ask
Is a new consumer unit the same as a rewire?
No. A new consumer unit replaces the fuse board and keeps your existing wiring. A rewire replaces the cables, sockets and switches too, and includes a new consumer unit: about £5,400 to £7,200 for a 3-bed house, including VAT.
Do I need to replace my fuse box?
Not just because it is old. An electrician’s inspection, an electrical safety report (EICR), tells you whether the fuse board and wiring need work. A fuse box with rewirable fuses or frequent trips are common reasons to ask for one.
Sources and method
Our ranges combine published 2026 UK cost guides, industry data and our own survey of council fees. We check them every quarter. They are budget ranges, not quotes: always get at least three detailed written quotes. Read how Estiquote estimates work, or download the full cost data.