How long does it take to get a switchboard upgrade?

Strike Electrical
3 min readSep 22, 2023

New Zealand law mandates that your switchboard include a safety switch, so if it doesn’t, now is the time to get an electrician in Auckland to install one. It is a novel form of electrical safety set up to prevent electrical fires, which are becoming more common in Auckland and around the nation. Many of our homes still employ outdated, crude ceramic-style wire fuses, and this has to change immediately. You should be made aware of the switchboard upgrade by any service provider who calls themselves an electrician and has a licence for business.

Switchboard Upgrade

Installing the new safety switch, commonly referred to as the residual current device (RCD), is the main goal of a switchboard renovation. By detecting earth leakage, which is a potentially dangerous circumstance when exposed metal equipment turns live or your system experiences a short circuit, an RCD is there to safeguard you from harm or property damage.

The safety switch reduces the possibility of a deadly electric shock by quickly cutting off electricity. These most current modifications are included in AS/NZS 60335.2.98:2005. It requires that all final sub-electrical circuits in residential buildings or during renovations be protected by the RCD, and that additional equipment including lights, hot-water systems, and electric motors are now subject to monitoring.

What is a switchboard upgrade? What’s included?

The procedure for updating your unit may differ depending on the age of the switchboard at your house and your particular budget. If everything works out perfectly, a skilled electrician will swap out all the outdated ceramic fuses for brand-new, safer circuit breakers. The RCD will then be installed. After the upgrade is finished, all of this will occur in your fuse back and be properly encased. Your wiring and cabling will appear neater and more evenly positioned behind the panel, as you can see. An electrician will work with you to test the whole installation and the operation of the electrical system on your property when the task is finished.

The procedure may also include the inclusion of smart metres if your switchboard is one of the older models and the removal of asbestos panels, which pose major health hazards to people who are exposed to them. All of this is done to bring you up to par with national electrical regulations but, more crucially, to position you in the safest possible situation in the event of an electrical problem.

Time taken for switchboard upgrade

The electricians must highlight once more that the procedure will differ from property to property. Because the update will involve some of your own involvement, the time they provide in this blog is merely a recommendation to assist you in planning your own calendar appropriately. It will take around 4 hours to typical, older fuse boxes. The process might take two hours if you already have several updates and just need to install the safety switch. This indicates that a switchboard update could take 2–4 hours to complete.

Why upgrade switchboard?

There are certain challenging circumstances, and this applies to buildings older than 20 or 25 years, when several upgrades are necessary to bring your electrical system back up to code. You can probably guess that updating after 20 years can take more than a few hours, and it can even take up to 8 hours. Unless you have a backup power source at this period, you won’t have access to electricity.

The Conclusion

Are you looking for switchboard upgrades the easiest way? If yes, seek the help of a reliable electrician in Auckland. Strike Electricals is a leading electrical services company offers a wide range of services including wiring upgrade, smart home setup and others.

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Disclaimer- The information provided in this content is just for educational purposes and is written by a professional writer. Consult us to read more about how to do a switchboard upgrade.

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Strike Electrical
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Strike Electrical provides Electrical Services for Residential Purposes, Commercial Purposes and Construction Field Purposes in Auckland.