Switchboard Upgrade Leederville: Safer Power for Your Home

The clearest sign is a tripping circuit or appliance. If the power drops whenever the microwave and toaster run together, the circuit is being asked to carry more than it was built for. A circuit breaker is a switch that cuts power when a circuit overloads or a fault appears. A breaker that trips again and again is doing its job, but it also tells you the wiring behind it needs attention.

Old ceramic fuses are the other big one. They have no safety switch, and they were never designed for today's loads of air conditioners, heat pumps and chargers.

Other signs point the same way: scorch marks or a burning smell near the board, a buzzing or warm switchboard, power going out at night for no clear reason, and no spare space to add a circuit.

Any burning smell or smoke is an emergency. Call 000.

The smallest job that fixes the problem is the right one. If the board is sound, an electrician can often add RCDs, which are safety switches that cut power within a fraction of a second when electricity leaks through a person or a faulty appliance. If the board is cracked, overloaded or full of old fuses, a new switchboard is the safer path.

A full replacement means the old board comes off and a new one goes on with circuit breakers and RCDs fitted. Each circuit is labelled, so you can see what runs where. The electrician also leaves room on the board for solar, air conditioning or an EV charger, so you are not back in the same position in a couple of years.

When the work reaches the meter or supply side, the network operator may need to be involved, and the electrician tells you when that applies.

Older boards sometimes have a backing panel that may contain asbestos. It is not a reason to panic, and it is not a reason to avoid an upgrade. It is a reason to leave the panel alone until a licensed electrician has looked at it. Drilling, cutting or breaking the panel is what releases fibres.

If the electrician suspects asbestos, they will stop and talk you through the safe way to deal with it before the job goes ahead. A quote can list the asbestos handling as its own line, so you see what is included before work starts.

A home sold or newly leased in WA needs at least two RCDs protecting its power and lighting circuits. If your Leederville board has none, adding them is a common reason for a quick upgrade before settlement or a new tenancy.

For electrical work other than maintenance or like-for-like replacement, the contractor must give you an electrical safety certificate within 28 days. Keep it with your property papers, because a buyer, agent or property manager may ask to see it.