Your consumer unit (commonly known as the fuse box) is the main distribution centre for all your electrical circuits (lights, switches, sockets etc).

You should make sure you know where it is, in case you ever need to turn the electricity off, in an emergency. It usually contains three things, and these are used to control and distribute electricity around your home. They are: The Main Switch; Fuses and/or circuit breakers; and Residual Current Devices. 
I also fit RCBOs, which are the newest technology, incorporating a fuse and RCD protection into each circuit.
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The Main Switch allows you to turn off the electricity supply to your home. You might have more than one Main Switch. There may be multiple switches, depending on the age of the installation and number of circuits added over the years e.g. one for your garage or shed and another for your shower. You may also have dual supplies, for night store heaters. 

Residual Current Devices (RCDs) or RCBOs, are the switches that trip a circuit under fault condition, and disconnect the electricity in milliseconds, to protect life. If your home has one or more RCDs, or RCBOs, you must test them quarterly. Just follow the instruction label, which you should find near to the RCD. It should read as follows: ‘This installation, or part of it, is protected by a device which automatically switches off the supply if an earth fault develops’. Test every three months by pressing the button marked ‘T’ or ‘Test’. Testing the button every three months is important. The device should switch off the electricity. You should then switch it back on to restore the electricity. Do not hold the test button for a long period if the RCD does not trip. If it doesn’t switch off the electricity when you press the button, contact an electrician.

Circuit breakers break the power to a circuit, should it become overloaded or under large fault. They are designed more to protect from overload (fire risk), than to protect human life. RCDs or RCBOs should, therefore, always be fitted. This is a legal requirement in all new installations and you should be issued with a certificate with ALL electrical works. 

OLD Fuses - rewirable fuses have a piece of specially sized fuse wire running between two screws, housed inside a cartridge that can be removed by the homeowner. When a fault or overload current flows through the fuse wire, it will become hot and melt. The melted fuse breaks the circuit, disconnecting the faulty circuit. In the time this takes though, a human can be harmed. This is why old fuse boards should be upgraded to a minimum of dual RCD protection, although RCBOS are becoming more popular. These types of consumer units are dated and should be upgraded. Some types of old fuse boards have colour coded dots , which over time can crack and fall out , exposing a metal screw which is live. Extreme caution must be used around older fuse boards.

Please contact us for free advice and a free assessment and report.