Switchboard Upgrades in Melbourne

Why upgrade your switchboard

Older Melbourne homes often still have ceramic rewireable fuses, no RCDs, and boards that were never designed for modern loads. That creates real problems:

• No RCD protection on general power and lighting circuits.
• Repeatedly tripping fuses or breakers under normal load.
• Not enough space for new circuits (EV charger, air conditioning, solar).
• Signs of overheating — discoloured plastic, brown marks or a burning smell.
• Water damage, rust or asbestos backing boards.

An upgrade brings the board up to current standards and gives you a safer, more reliable base to add loads to.

Signs your switchboard needs upgrading

• Ceramic fuses instead of circuit breakers.
• No RCD safety switches on power and lighting circuits.
• Breakers trip when you run several appliances at once.
• Warm switchboard cover, buzzing sound, or discoloured components.
• Not enough circuits for the equipment you want to add.

What a switchboard upgrade includes

1. Site assessment of your existing board, main earth and consumer mains.
2. Confirmation of scope — full replacement vs partial upgrade.
3. Installation of a new enclosure with individual circuit breakers and RCD safety switches to AS/NZS 3000.
4. Reconnection and labelling of each circuit.
5. Testing, energising and issue of the required Electrical Safety Certificate.

Where required, we'll coordinate with your distributor for meter isolation and reconnection.

Planning for future loads

A switchboard upgrade is a good moment to plan for the loads you're likely to add in the next few years, so you don't pay to reopen the board twice:

• Reverse-cycle air conditioning — single-head or multi-head split systems typically want their own circuit.
• EV charging — a dedicated 32 A Mode 3 circuit is standard for an EV charger.
• Induction cooktops and ovens — modern induction cooktops usually need a heavier dedicated circuit than the old electric cooktop they replace.
• Solar and battery — space and configuration on the board for a future PV inverter or battery hybrid.

Building in a few spare ways now is cheaper than a second visit later.

Standards and compliance

Switchboards are installed and modified to the AS/NZS 3000 Wiring Rules, with RCD protection on all final sub-circuits as required. Boards containing asbestos backing are removed under the appropriate controls. As prescribed electrical work, each upgrade is certified with an Electrical Safety Certificate on completion under Energy Safe Victoria requirements.