I need to replace my existing 4 way wylex consumer unit with one having at least 8 ways. The existing unit is in the hallway near the front door and the meter is boxed on the outside wall. There is not enough room to put in a 10 way split load unit as this will be a tight fit between the wall and door frame. Is there anything to prevent me from running cable to a second consumer unit in the garage for the extra ways. The extra ways will power 1). 32A a new ring to feed two washing machines, Ch boiler pump,1kw greenhouse heater,fridge, freezer. 2). 6A garage/porch lighting 3). 6A burglar alarm The new unit would feed from a 45A mcb on the main CU The cable run would be 3-4m to the second box through about 1.5 m floor space and then through a cavity wall into the second unit in the garage. I would like opinions on this before I contact an electrician to do the CU Swap. I would lay the new cable runs before the swap as this means pulling down the hall ceiling (easier than emptying a bedroom and pulling up laminate floor). The main reason for doing this is because the existing wiring to the garage/utility is not to regs and cant run two washers at the same time. Cheers DW
There are a variety of fuseboards available all offering different combinations of ways and splits. Wylex is a well respected brand and, for example, they do a five way in a main switch style (NH504) and a five way with RCD incomer(NHRS504 30mA or NHRM504 100mA). It might be possible to get both boards in the space you have available in the hall, one above the other and this could be a simpler job for a sparkie. It would also achieve a split load arrangement albeit using two boards. The boards would be linked with tails and it would save the hassle of running cables to your garage. RSS
Good Idea, but the cable run will have to go through to the garage, along and into the Utility Room just the same. This way only one cable goes through the cavity using conduit. DJW