Switchboards
An outdated switchboard is one of the most common fire and shock hazards in older homes. We upgrade ceramic fuse boards to modern safety-switch-protected switchboards, sized correctly for your home's current and future electrical load, and handle all compliance paperwork on your behalf.
Why choose AUS Electrical & Air Service for switchboards?
- Licensed, insured electrical work backed by licence 172584 C.
- Upfront pricing with no surprise call-out fees.
- Local to Lugarno and servicing 10+ surrounding areas.
Our process
- 1
Get in touch
Call us or send a quote request with a few details about the job — the more you can tell us upfront, the more accurate your quote will be.
- 2
Upfront quote
Straightforward jobs can often be quoted over the phone. More involved work gets a quick site visit so the price is accurate, with no surprises later.
- 3
Work completed
We arrive on time, work cleanly, and keep you informed if anything changes once we're on site — nothing happens without you knowing first.
- 4
Tidy finish & compliance
We clean up after ourselves and provide any compliance certification the job requires, so you've got the paperwork on file if you ever need it.
Switchboards FAQs
A safety switch (also called an RCD, or residual current device) monitors the electricity flowing through your home's circuits and cuts the power almost instantly if it detects current leaking to earth — for example through a faulty appliance or a person accidentally contacting a live wire. It's the single most effective device for preventing electric shock, and it's been mandatory on new and renovated homes in NSW for years.
Ideally every circuit — lights, power points, and any air conditioning or hot water circuit — should be protected by its own safety switch. Older homes are often fitted with just one safety switch covering the whole property, which means a single fault anywhere in the house trips all your power. We can upgrade your switchboard to give each circuit its own protection.
A safety switch trips when it detects current leaking to earth, which usually points to a fault rather than a random glitch. Common causes include a faulty appliance, water ingress in an outdoor power point or light fitting, damaged wiring insulation, or a fault developing in the switchboard itself. If it happens repeatedly, it needs proper fault finding rather than just resetting it and hoping it doesn't happen again.
The clearest sign is a switchboard with ceramic fuses instead of circuit breakers — these were standard decades ago but don't offer the same protection as modern safety-switch-protected boards. Other signs include a board that's overcrowded with add-on circuits, visible scorch marks, or a home that regularly trips its single safety switch because there's no per-circuit protection.
A standard residential switchboard upgrade is typically completed in a single day, including a short, scheduled power outage while the old board is disconnected and the new one wired in. We'll let you know in advance roughly how long the power will be off for.
Yes, briefly — the supply needs to be isolated while we disconnect the old board and connect the new one. We schedule this for a specific window during the job and let you know beforehand so you can plan around it.
A ceramic fuse has a wire inside that melts and breaks the circuit when it's overloaded — once it blows, it has to be physically replaced. A circuit breaker does the same job electronically and can simply be switched back on after it trips, and modern breakers respond faster and more reliably. Combined with a safety switch, circuit breakers give far better protection than an old fuse board.
It depends on your switchboard's total capacity and what else is already drawing power in the home. Older switchboards, especially single-phase boards in homes with several other high-draw appliances, sometimes need an upgrade to safely accommodate a home EV charger. We assess your existing capacity as part of the quote.
Ready to get started?
Reliable residential and commercial electrical services delivered with honest advice, quality workmanship and exceptional customer service.
0403 337 877