I've nearly re-wired the power circuits in our house. It's been a slow job.
The old wiring was safe (plastic, not rubber - and professionally tested as being OK), but the number of sockets was totally inadequate (except in the kitchen - a later extension).
I have no intention of re wiring the lighting circuits (or the kitchen), as they seem sound, and the installation was professionally tested last year as being OK. The tests were the resistance from live to neutral at 500V DC (greater than 20M) and the fault impedance (something small and well within limits - not sure between where and where it was tested though). The wiring dates from the late 1970s (commenced 1978).
My question is: is it OK to simply replace the old fuse box with a new consumer unit at this time?
I've read a few threads on here which seem to infer that you should only replace the consumer unit if you have replaced everything else downstream with latest regs compliant circuits. Is this true?
If everything does have to meet current regs, am I correct in assuming that a 20 year old lighting circuit will meet current regs? What about the kitchen power circuit? (Earth bonding is correct - I've checked). I'm thinking that the designs of the circuit should be OK (?) but that I should test (or get someone else to test) the circuits again anyway?
I'm aware of earth bonding issues in the bathroom (difficult to get under the bath until it's replaced) and the need for interconnected mains smoke alarms (we have battery ones at present - half the wiring for mains ones is in).
All the above isn't to suggest an intended lack of compliance with the regs. It's to suggest that it suits me to do this job in stages (all big parts before April!) but the most logical next stage is the consumer unit. This may leave some downstream parts non-compliant for several months - is this OK or a big no-no?
Thanks for the help, David.