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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

  • +1 in reply to Apostolos

    Who has the keys to the cupboard, and is access required for isolation or resetting by the flat hirer ? - When i have stayed in such places on secondments while abroad, the fuse-boards were normally accessible somewhere like an entrance lobby to the flat. Locked away does not feel wise. Equally If it is away from fire and flood risks, the fact it is a kitchen cupboard is neither here nor there. 
    I dont think you will get a sensible regs figure, but all the common steel CUs can be attached to normal non fire resistant partition walls and so on without further ado, so its more about ventilation and for that  probably an inch all round is enough.
    Mike

  • 0 in reply to mapj1

    The keys for the cupboard belong to the hotel staff that is managing the hotel. Obviously the tenant will have no access to this and will have to call for help from the hotel staff in case there is a problem.

    We do not want to install it there however the hotel having done this before are pushing towards this solution. 

    This is why I opened this discussion to see whether there is any regulation contradicting this solution.

    At the end of the day we will use the fire risk as the reason why we cannot install it there.

    I just wanted to see if there is anything around the metal CU being within a combustible material (wood in this case).

    Thank a lot!

  • 0 in reply to mapj1

    Thank you Mike:

    Again here in the US, we use the same words as you do in the UK, but it means something completely different !

    Peter

  • 0 in reply to Apostolos
    Apostolos said:
    We do not want to install it there

    That will be the part you need to self investigate and elaborate on to get to the heart of the matter. There is a need to separate which aspects are subjective, and which aspects can be stated objectively, and those that are in the 'awkward' middle. 

    It maybe that a historic cost issue has morphed into a putative 'safety issue' as a method of avoiding discussions on cost. (Is a CU necessary at all? If so, it has to go 'somewhere', why not 'over there'; but it's cheaper directly over the cook stove... Shrug)

  • 0

    install the Consumer Unit (metal CU) above the kitchen in a locked dedicated cupboard.

    If it's high up - what's it like for access? Not just for staff resetting MCBs/RCDs but general maintenance - repairs and periodic inspections? BS 7671 has requirements for accessibility (e.g. 132.12) as do more general H&S stuff. Would staff need a ladder to reach? (working at height) or would it involve leaning over from the top of a ladder (because you can't get the ladder closer than the width of the worksurface underneath)?

       - Andy.

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