Consumer Units - The Latest Ranges Can Look Great
The consumer unit has always had a functional usage as the distribution point of all the electrical circuits and is the master control unit of the electrical supply, as such it has always been available in any colour provided it was white and a plain oblong box. There have been many changes over the years and these changes appear to have been for the best.
The main job of a consumer unit is to provide a safe and secure distribution of the electrical supply to the household equipment required in a modern dwelling but this does not mean that the item cannot look good as well. The present units are designed to complement and to integrate into the surrounds in which they are installed.
The latest ranges of consumer units can be flush fitted and are much safer, faster and easier to fit than the previous models and of a much stronger construction. The designs are very architecturally pleasing in their appearance and will fit seamlessly into their chosen position. The latest units similar to the Hager type of construction require no separate fixings but simply fit into the hole prepared for them.
For a partition wall a flange and frame clamps the consumer unit into the wall, there is no need for a separate fixing. In the case of a brick or solid wall the installer fits the flange to the sides of the back box and uses it as a fixing bracket to secure the unit to the wall. The whole of the operation reduces installation time by a quarter at least.
The flush fitted consumer unit allows the unit to be fitted in places where it would not normally have been fitted. It no longer needs to be hidden in a cupboard out of sight and harms way but can be fitted into a room or hallway. This can be particularly useful when there is an electrical problem and a circuit trips the circuit breaker, which then needs to be switched back on. A simple bulb failure can throw out a circuit breaker and the last thing anybody requires is to fit their way into a cupboard when it is dark. In this case the flush mounted unit can be set high enough in any wall to keep children from getting near it but low enough to be accessible to adults and in a position that can easily be found by people in times of breakdown.