Switchboard upgrades
Switchboard upgrades in Westmere
The switchboard is what protects every circuit in your house. If yours still has fuse carriers, has no RCD protection or has run out of room for new circuits, a switchboard upgrade is often the single most useful piece of electrical work a Westmere home can have.
What an older switchboard is telling you
A switchboard holds the main switch and one fuse or circuit breaker for each part of the house's wiring. In a Westmere house built in the 1920s or 1930s, the board may have been replaced once already, but if it still has fuse carriers threaded with fuse wire, it is working the way boards did when those houses were new.
Fuses do protect a circuit, but they rely on the right wire being put back after one blows. WorkSafe's guidance gives typical ratings, around 5 amp wire for lighting circuits and 10 amp for socket outlets, and warns that replacing fuse wire with a heavier wire or anything else can start a fire. A circuit breaker removes that guesswork: it trips, you find the cause, and you reset it. WorkSafe recommends replacing the fuses in a switchboard with plug-in circuit breakers of the same rating where possible, because they are safer to use and never need rewiring.
What an upgrade usually includes
Inspection, the meter and the line to the street
Not every switchboard job is treated the same way by the regulations. The Electrical Workers Registration Board classes installing a higher-capacity board for increased use as an alteration and high-risk work, which must be inspected, and the same applies when moving a board means extending, jointing or rerouting the mains. Like-for-like repairs to damaged or faulty mains fittings are low-risk and do not need an inspection. We tell you which category your job falls into before it starts, and where an inspection is required we arrange a licensed electrical inspector.
The meter beside your board is not ours or yours to change: Vector notes that meters and hot water relays are the responsibility of your electricity retailer. If a new board means moving the meter, we coordinate with the retailer so the work happens in the right order.
A new board is also the natural partner to rewiring. If the circuits behind it are old, read about rewiring a Westmere house before deciding on the board alone.
Switchboard questions
Will the power be off while the board is replaced?
Yes, for part of the day, because the whole board is isolated while it is changed. We agree the timing with you beforehand so the fridge, freezer and anything else that matters is thought about.
A fuse keeps blowing. Should I just put in heavier wire?
No. A fuse that keeps blowing is telling you something is wrong on that circuit, and heavier wire takes away the protection. WorkSafe's advice is to call a licensed worker, and if a breaker keeps tripping, to call a licensed electrician.
Do I get a certificate for a new switchboard?
Yes. The work is tested and you receive the certificate that applies to it, together with the inspection record where the work had to be inspected.
Can the switchboard be moved during a renovation?
Yes, but moving a board can mean extending, jointing or rerouting the mains, which the Electrical Workers Registration Board classes as high-risk work that must be inspected. We plan the move with that in mind and arrange the licensed electrical inspector.
Can you upgrade the board in a shop or office?
Yes. We do commercial electrical work as well as residential, so a business premises can be upgraded too, with the timing planned around trading hours.
Talk to an electrician about your Westmere home
Call 021 156 4005 any time of the day or night, or send the details below and we will get back to you.
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Contact us
Call 021 156 4005, or tell us what is happening and where, and we will get back to you.
021 156 4005- Auckland
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