Rules and Guidelines
Want to participate in the discussions? Please read our Community Rules and Guidelines. Need some help? Visit Support and Answers.

  • State Not Answered
  • Replies 5 replies
  • Subscribers 37 subscribers
  • Views 167 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
You may also be interested in

Consumer Unit proximity to combustible material

Apostolos

Good afternoon

We are looking into installing a metal consumer unit within a wooden kitchen cupboard.

I was looking through BS7671 but cant find any reference as to how close can the CU be to a wooden surface since the wooden cupboard that would host the CU could be considered as a combustible.

Am I missing something?

Is there anything in BS7671 I have missed?

We are looking at the minimum dimensions that the kitchen cupboard needs to have in order to host the CU.

Thanks

  • 0

    A properly constructed metal consumer unit is highly unlikely to be considered an ignition source. I think I would be more concerned with access as required by Part M.

  • 0

    What consumer unit is being placed in the wooden cupboard?

    Peter Brooks

  • 0
    Apostolos said:
    Is there anything in BS7671 I have missed?

    'Taking account of manufacturer's instructions#, if the unit is enclosed such that there is insufficient ventilation, or proximity to combustible materials that the manufacturer may not have envisaged?

    lyledunn said:
    I think I would be more concerned with access as required by Part M.

    Agreed ... and the Electricity at Work Regulations, because Designer's Duties for safety in maintenance under CDM apply regardless of whether the project is "notifiable".

  • 0 in reply to Peter Brooks

    Morning Peter  a "consumer unit' in this context means the circuit breaker equivalent of the traditional fuse board. Its a bit of a mis-nomer as it consumers next to nothing, rather serves as the automatic disconnection of things that do, should they become faulty.
    examples..

    https://consumerunitworld.co.uk/wylex-consumer-units-278-c.asp

    Mike

  • 0

    Good morning everyone.

    I think I have to clarify a bit more.

    We have an apart-hotel (meaning a hotel that the residents can rent long term acting as a residential property in essence) where the client wants to install the Consumer Unit (metal CU) above the kitchen in a locked dedicated cupboard.

    This is a discussion we have with them currently trying to steer them away from this and I am looking into potential reasons to justify a denial to install the CU in this way.

    The thing is that this hotel has done this in other cases in the past so we have give them a regulation reason for this.

    So I am looking to see if there is anything for combustible material around the CU that we can use

    Cheers

Community Rules & Guidelines