1, I can see his point. I presume it doesnt have SPD protection, and if fitting a kitchen, I would insist on that. The cost of supply and fitting the new consumer unit will be less than £750, and I'd presume it would all be RCBOs rather than 2 RCDs, and it will have integral SPD protection, and have a metal case, so totally compliant, and better for you if there is ever a fault with an appliance. The cost is what, less than 10% of the kitchen cost, so I'd definitely have it done, if only for the SPD protection and convenience of having RCDs for each circuit.

2, No problem, though it is usual to label the socket as something like " up to 10 amp appliances only on this socket outlet"

For the cost of a new kitchen I would agree on the change of CU/consumer Unit to a 18th edition AM2 (Amendment 2) compliant board.  The EICR may have been a satisfactory but the EICR was to the install edition in your case probably 16th or 17th edition and not 18th.  Several reasons


Compliant with current regulation

Metal is non combustiable where as the plastic May/May NOT be

SPD type 2 for the whole install

Independent RCBO for each circuit thus have 30mA per circit rather than the current split RCD covering multiple circuits.  This starts to become an issue with earth leakage as we change from electrical items to electronic.  Eg Filament light to an LED light

Have a look at leaving some spare ways in the CU for future expansion like EV or PV.  Also consider the kitchen wired separately on 2 Radial circuits for power, depends on how many appliances you will have.  Eg Electric oven and dishwasher and kettle all on at the same time.  Alternatively use 4mm2 CSA rather than 2.5mm2.

 
Once all the work is complete the electrician should issue you with an EIC for the work and do the needed paperwork via their CPS (Competent Person Scheme).  Get this agreed in writing prior to work starting.

For a good price and good quality CU have a lot at Verso/Navitas

As a side note interlinked smoke alarms on all floors including the roof space with a Carbon Monoxide alarm in every room that has a fuel burning appliance.  Eg Gas Cooker, Gas boiler, log burner/wood burner

With regards to all the lighting in the property and outside.  Change to LED.  A 7 to 10W LED will give about the same light output at a 60W filament lamp.  The main difference is the power consumption.  There are calculations which will allow you quickly see how many KwH a lamp uses then you can compare that with you energy provider tarrif.  eg 40 pence per KwH but in general a 10W LED uses about 1/5 of a 60W filament lamp.

Thanks for taking the time to reply guys. Yes, you are right it doesn't have SPD protection. My last EICR was carried out in 2021 with a Satisfactory finding. Sounds like strong recommendation for a new CU, although not essential to comply with regulations maybe, but I was trying to keep the cost down as for various reasons it's turning out a lot more expensive on the whole than I anticipated. I'll probably end up having it anyway, but also wanted to be sure I wasn't paying for additional work not essential.

Thanks, James.

how much other work is being done? to fit a nerw CU on the ends of old wiring may or may not make sense, and it also depends if walls are being rebuilt and ceilings replastered,. If the new kitchen is more of a few new cupbards and new lino then more the likely it is not proportionate.

The EICR, as others have said, tells you it was safe to remain in service - well I hope it did!  It does not say it is suitable for a new kitchen with a load of new appliances, nor does it say it isn't

Mike

One more thing I forgot to mention. The house used to have a TT earth and was moved to TN-C-S in more recent times. When it was TT, the earth wire was connected to the MET and presumably they had that as a common point. The current arrangement is that the MET is not used and additional earths are connected to the CU earthing points within the CU box. Is there anything inherently wrong with this with regard to regulations?

James. 

Mike, it does concern me that there is a lot of old wiring, not particularly neat either, and the electrician will want to rewire the whole house in order to sign off! This would be a big issue as the wiring does not seen to be breaking down in the insulation resistance testing and is embedded in plaster in many cases. As the walls are cob, you can't really chase them out so are embedded in lime plaster or surface mount. I might start to renew some of the wiring myself to preempt a lot of extra work.

James. 

You should find out the state of the existing wiring before you even consider ripping it all out.  PVC insulation first appeared in the 1960's, and seems to last forever if it's not mistreated.

In a thatched building, you may have other types of wiring.  But most of them will also be good pretty much forever if they pass the insulation resistance test.

Jamesb said:

Sounds like strong recommendation for a new CU, although not essential to comply with regulations maybe, but I was trying to keep the cost down as for various reasons it's turning out a lot more expensive on the whole than I anticipated.

Mission creep!

Only the new work need comply.

Colours are irrelevant. My house is 98% red and black and in good condition and that is how it will stay.

Jamesb said:

The house used to have a TT earth and was moved to TN-C-S in more recent times. When it was TT, the earth wire was connected to the MET and presumably they had that as a common point. The current arrangement is that the MET is not used and additional earths are connected to the CU earthing points within the CU box. Is there anything inherently wrong with this with regard to regulations?

Since 2022, BS 7671 recommends that a consumer earth electrode is connected to the MET of a TN-C-S or TN-S installation, so it should be connected back up if it's still there and in a serviceable state with a suitably low electrode resistance (usually comfortably under 200 Ω).  Would be of benefit if you want battery storage in the future, that has island mode (backup power) capability.

It can be easier to carry out earth electrode testing if there's a separate MET block (with everything connected), especially if the earth electrode tests are being done with a clamp-tester and the wiring is otherwise hidden.

Hopefully the DNO moved it to TN-C-S, and bonding was upgraded? There are a lot of DIY "TN-S" or "TN-C-S" conversions that we see posted on the Forum all the time ?

Jamesb said:

Is there any good reason for requiring a change?

New/replacement socket-outlet circuits require arc fault detection devices (AFDDs) and surge protection (SPD) ... they may not be available for the existing consumer unit. Yes, you could have a second CU fitted if there is room ... we don't know, of course, whether there is room to fit a new one, and/or other circuits needing updating that may need AFDD ... but it could also be that, given the difference in cost, the space saving makes it a 'no-brainer'.

Difficult to tell without more information - as you'll have seen above, there will be a lot of speculation and "if's" in the answers. Of course, there's the other factor of old wiring as you said ... very difficult without seeing it all.

gkenyon said:

New/replacement socket-outlet circuits require arc fault detection devices (AFDDs)

I hope there is a 'may' missing between 'circuits' and 'require'.

That is one of the few Regs that I cannot yet support. What are we, 4 years in now?, and we still dont know when, or if, they will trip when there is a faulty appliance. Anecdotal evidence has shown them to be trip happy, and also not trip when there is a genuine fault.

The IET needs to show that they do work, rather than saying they recommend fitting them, without any evidence of their efficacy. If it was shown that they give a good, extra, level of protection within a dwelling, then no one would argue against them, but I have not seen ANY Manufacturers promoting how they work, and when they will work.