Are RCD fuse boards compulsory?

Are RCD fuse boards compulsory?

14:40 PM, 17th September 2018, About 6 years ago 22

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I’ve just had an electrician to my house and he said that from a July 31st 2018 it is compulsory for all rental properties to have a RCD fuse box, which has to be metal.

Is this just good practice or a legal requirement?

Many thanks

Sarah

Residual Current Devices (RCD) these are switches that trip a circuit under dangerous conditions, and instantly disconnect the electricity.
These are precautions that are necessary for safety as with the storage of medicines.


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Comments

Malcolm Ratcliffe

14:34 PM, 22nd September 2018, About 6 years ago

An RCD is like a master safety switch. Usually there is one RCD for the power circuits and more recently one for the lighting circuits. The RCD is to stop electrocution. Several minature circuit breakers,MCBs can be connected to each RCD. MCBs are there to stop excessive currents damaging cables and starting fires in fault conditions.

RCDs do vary in their sensitivity. I have had instances where the RCD frequently tripped on an installation of a new consumer unit. When the RCD was replaced the spurious tripping stopped. There was nothing wrong with the old cabling.

I have also had my electric cooker cause the RCD to trip. The grill was fine most of the time, but when hot and turned to a lower setting the RCD would sometimes trip. I have read of problems with high power equipment, such as cookers, tripping RCDs.

I have found RCDs can sometimes trip when there has been a power cut. If this happens whilst away then all the circuits connected to that RCD get turned off. Having a freezer off for a few weeks is a disaster. I have my refrigeration circuit connected so it does not use the RCD.

Daveknowstheregs

7:20 AM, 6th February 2019, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Ian Morgan at 19/09/2018 - 07:47
I'd say that having sockets without RCD protection is potentially dangerous and so is a code C2 on the EICR.

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