Five signs your switchboard needs upgrading

Most people never look at their switchboard until the power goes off. It sits in a cupboard or on an outside wall, and as long as the lights work it is easy to forget. But plenty of Gold Coast homes built before the 1990s still run on boards that were never designed for today's load: air conditioning in every bedroom, induction cooktops, pool pumps and now EV chargers.

Here are the five signs we look for when we open a switchboard door, roughly in order of how urgent they are.

The five signs your switchboard needs upgrading

1. It still has ceramic fuses

Older boards use white ceramic fuse holders with fuse wire inside. They protect cables from overloading but do nothing to protect people from electric shock. They are also easy to rewire with the wrong gauge of wire, which defeats the protection entirely. If you can see ceramic fuse holders, the board is due for replacement.

2. There are no safety switches, or only one

A safety switch (RCD) cuts the power in a fraction of a second when current leaks to earth, for example through a person. Many older homes have none, or have one that only covers the power points. The current wiring rules, AS/NZS 3000, call for safety switches on every circuit in new work, lighting included.

3. Breakers trip or fuses blow often

An occasional trip is normal. Regular trips, especially when the air conditioner and the oven run together, mean circuits are overloaded or something is failing. Our guide to why a safety switch keeps tripping covers what you can safely check first.

4. Heat, buzzing, scorch marks or a burning smell

A healthy switchboard is quiet and cool. Buzzing, crackling, a warm cover, discoloured plastic or a smell of hot plastic all point to loose connections or overloaded parts. Treat these as urgent. Do not touch the board, and call a licensed electrician.

5. There is no room for what you want to add

EV chargers, solar inverters, home batteries, ducted air and spa pumps each need their own circuit. If every slot is full, or the board is so old that nothing current fits, adding anything new means upgrading first. Our guide to what your switchboard needs for solar and a battery goes into more detail.

A note on older boards and asbestos

Switchboards installed before the late 1980s were often mounted on a backing panel that may contain asbestos. It is generally low risk while left alone, but it must not be drilled, cut or broken. Do not try to fix anything to an old panel yourself. Licensed electricians follow the safe handling rules for asbestos, and on many older homes the backing panel is replaced as part of the upgrade.

What a switchboard upgrade involves

Most single-phase upgrades are finished in one day. The power is off for part of that day, and we tell you in advance so you can plan around the fridge and anyone working from home.

If the meter box is damaged, too small or has an old backing panel, we usually replace it at the same time. Leaving room for future circuits, such as an EV charger or a battery, costs very little on the day and saves a second visit later.

What a switchboard upgrade costs on the Gold Coast

We price every job in writing before we start. The figures below are our starting prices, including GST, materials, testing and certification.

Larger homes, three-phase supply, long cable runs and old backing panels can add to the price. We tell you before we start.