The Dangers of Exposed Consumer Units

Is your electrical unit fire rated?

In central london and other cities around the UK, the demand for housing grows. One method to increase housing occupancy was the creation of HMO’s (houses of multiple occupancy). These are converted townhouses or houses split to form multiple apartments.

These properties also share the original consumer units which often had no fire resisting enclosure over them. This causes issues when you have multiple occupants who need to escape safely.

Learn more below.

Do you own, live in or manage a HMO?

Then you may be familiar with the following statement from an FRA;

“The Electrical Consumer Unit must be enclosed within a 30 minute fire resisting enclosure”

This is because your current enclosure is inadequate to provide any means of fire resistance. Most of the time these electrical units are located in the escape corridor of your property right next to the exit. Therefore its absolutely vital that anyone inside can get out in the event of an electrical fire.

Timber is not suitable to provide this resistance without additional precautions and procedures. Especially MDF which Evolutions have seen an abundance of, the particulate sawdust is incapable of providing any structural fire integrity resistance.

If your propery doesn’t have an enclosure and is completely exposed then you are at risk.

It is required to contain your electrical consumer unit to comply with IET Wiring Regulations BS 7671:2008, in particular regulation 421.1.201 which dictates;

“Within domestic (household) premises, consumer units and similar switchgear assemblies shall have their enclosure manufactured from non-combustible material, or be enclosed in a cabinet or enclosure constructed of non-combustible material and complying with Regulation 132.12.”

Evolutions Fire Protection have worked alongside our suppliers to be able to provide a service to restore compliance to HMO properties across London. Simply by installing & certifying a heavily tested fire resisting enclosure which can be seen in the picture above.

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Ensure Your Safety by using a Certified Contractor to install a new Fire Rated Unit Today

Opt for a certified installer like Evolutions Fire Protection to choose the most appropriate solution which has been tested and capable of up to 60 minutes fire resistance.

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The Fire Resistant Enclosures we install

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Burn Tested to 60 minutes fire resistance

Burn tested in a testing facility in the netherlands for an hour. Evolutions have the certificates of performance and video of the burn test available.

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Durable and Robust Construction

Made of steel and high duty durable components the enclosure is capable of taking a hell of a beating. Perfect for HMO environments and applications.

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Accommodates most services

Designed with an intumescent flap, typical expected services can penetrate via the flap without impacting the fire performance of the enclosure.

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Certified Installation

We certify that the enclosure is installed to manufacturers specifications and instructions upon completion using our years of experience.

Have a metal enclosure but aren't sure if its fire rated?

Evolutions Fire Protection also offer alternative systems which can be retrofit inside the units to act as a suppression system. These simple devices can be installed to suppress or put out a fire if one was to occur in the enclosure.