Electrical Consumer Unit Cover is Loose, Is it Safe?

1) What could cause a consumer unit cover to become loose?

There are a few reasons that you may find a CONSUMER UNIT COVER LOOSE 

• Cover is not original
• Broken lugs
• Missing Screws
• Too many cables
• Damage to cover or unit

2) Cover is not original

The front cover of each consumer unit is usually specific to that particular unit. There are many different manufacturers of electrical consumer unit, fuse board and distribution board (different names for similar things). Each manufacturer will build their equipment slightly differently to another. Within each different brand there will be a number of sizes of consumer unit to allow for more electrical circuits to be installed meaning that each unit will be of differing size. 

Many manufacturers have changed hands or gone out of business over the years so replacement covers can be difficult or impossible to come across. In some cases, where covers have become damaged, covers may not fit correctly if they have been purchased from another manufacturer. 

Tell tale signs of different covers would be differing logos on equipment, long wood screws being used to hold a cover on and several wraps of tape to secure the front back on.

3) Broken lugs

Lugs are typically found in plastic consumer units rather than modern metal ones. These lugs would accept long plastic screws which would secure the cover on with a half-turn type fixing. 

As plastics become brittle with age, it is not uncommon to find that a lug or plastic fixing has become damaged or broken resulting in a cover that is no longer secure. A fuse box cover protects us from electrical shock and any damage to the securing lugs or screws can mean that the fuse box or consumer unit is now presenting danger. 

A plastic CU is now no longer acceptable to install in many situations so manufacturers have generally stopped production of these types of consumer units. Any replacement parts that are available are likely to be second-hand and possibly brittle. 

Many lugs cannot be repaired as they are often fixed plastic constructions in the back of the consumer unit that were manufactured to be non-replaceable in the first place. 

4) Missing screws

Where consumer unit screws have gone missing, they can be difficult source for replacement. Metal and plastic screws alike are often specific to each unit and using the wrong replacement can result in damaged lugs occurring.

Where consumer units have been installed in a cupboard or have had a cupboard built around them, they are often left with a screw missing. Cupboards are often constructed without considering the need to access the fuse box or consumer unit for maintenance and as a result, it is often impossible to get a screwdriver in to remove the screw.

5) Too many cables

When electricians install a new fuse box or consumer unit, they like to leave room for additional circuit breakers to be added at a later date, the electrical components that will be installed and any new circuits that may be required in the future. 

A new consumer unit allows for more room than older fuse box style units and there is often plenty of room for the wiring to be run inside and installed correctly. Where older units are still in use it is common to find that many additions have taken place and there is now no room for the wiring inside. 

Old rewireable fuse boxes in particular were very tight on space inside. The units themselves were very small and there was already limited room. Over the years, cables are often added to these older units and this will, in many cases, leave little room for the wiring to be safely accommodated.

If there are too many wires inside the consumer unit then the cover may not fit on correctly. A loose connection is also likely to occur where there are excessive forces inside an existing fuse box. Loose connections lead to overheating, wire damage and expensive repairs. 

6) Damage to cover or unit

Commercial premises and residential buildings are equally likely to suffer damage to fuse board or consumer unit equipment. Where this happens, commercial buildings are likely to have repairs carried out more promptly due to regular inspections and insurance compliance reasons. 

Domestic premises will often see repairs waiting longer if they are carried out at all.

Where damage has occurred to a consumer unit, particularly where a unit is old, repairs may involve a replacement unit due to scarcity of new old parts. Its important to consider what cause the damage in the first place though. 

Did the unit become damaged due to impact from a random accident or is the consumer unit in a high traffic area that regularly sees a risk of impact damage?

Commercial customers are required to have a regular periodic inspection on their electrical systems in order to satisfy licencing and insurance requirements. Issues with consumer units where the face of the cover or front panel has become loose or damaged are likely to be advised to move the unit to a more acceptable location. 

There is always risk to a consumer unit in a domestic location due to the unpredictable nature of use and stored belongings. 

7) Summary

Electrical systems require a fully functioning consumer unit in order to work correctly. In order to minimise excessive heat, damage to electrical cables, spread of fire and pricey repair works it is vital to ensure that the consumer unit is installed in such a way that the front panel or other parts will not become damaged. 

Where you find a CONSUMER UNIT COVER LOOSE it is imperative that necessary repairs are carried out, the unit replaced or repaired with manufacturer approved parts in order to prevent electric shock. 

8) Common Questions

8.1) Are plastic consumer units illegal?

Plastic consumer units in the UK are not illegal. They are now no longer suitable for installation in order to achieve compliance with the wiring regulations BS7671 as units are required to be constructed from non-combustible materials such as metal. 

Old plastic consumer units do not have to be replaced but will be flagged up on an inspection as a potential ‘recommended improvement’. 

8.2) Is a new consumer unit suitable for DIY electrical work?

No. It is not possible to safely swap a consumer unit on a DIY basis. Such work requires that testing and inspection is carried out before during and after installation. DIY persons are unlikely to have the correct test equipment, knowledge, and expertise to swap a consumer unit safely. 

The work is a notifiable job to building control requiring that an electrician is used who can self- certify the work or that building control are informed prior to the unit being swapped. 

8.3) Is electrical tape safe to secure a consumer unit cover?

As a temporary measure, if a consumer unit has holes or if the cover is loose, electrical tape may be used to prevent immediate access to live parts inside the unit. This is absolutely not a long-term fix however and immediate assistance should be sought to replace or repair the unit. 

Generally speaking, loose covers and holes in consumer units are a danger and should not be ignored. Specifically, there are occasions when holes in a consumer unit do NOT present a danger but only an electrician will be able to decide which are an issue. 

Electrical tape (along with other tapes) will not stick on forever and will inevitably come loose once again.