Home › RCD — residual current device
Electrician in Stockholm
The RCD cuts power in a fraction of a second if something goes wrong — the single most important safety upgrade in an older home. We install it in your existing consumer unit, function-test all circuits and leave a written report. Just as important in a flat as in a terraced house or detached house.
A standard RCD protects the whole consumer unit. A personal protection MCB combines an RCD and a miniature circuit breaker in one module and protects a single circuit — smart where a sensitive circuit should not cut power to the whole home when it trips. We help you choose the right solution for your unit, and we install both types.
An RCD that has never been tested is a false sense of security. At installation we test the trip function against every circuit in the consumer unit and document the result in a written report that you keep. In a housing association the report is also useful if the board asks how the electrical work was carried out.
Lightning surges travel through the mains into electronics. Booking an RCD and surge protection together saves money compared with two separate call-outs — see the package price above.
An RCD is a mechanical lifeguard, and mechanics benefit from exercise. Press the test button in spring and autumn — a good memory hook is to do it when the clocks change. If it does not trip, or cannot be reset, it must be replaced immediately. At installation we show you how the test works so the protection remains a protection.
The requirement for RCDs in new homes only came in the late 1990s. Large parts of Stockholm's housing stock — older flats, terraced and detached houses — were built much earlier, and there the protection is often completely absent. Retro-fitting an RCD in an existing consumer unit is a small intervention for what is the single most important safety improvement in the home.
No, it protects people against fault currents. Lightning surges are handled by a surge protection device in the consumer unit — the two complement each other, and there is a package price for installing both in the same visit.
Because it detects current leaking the wrong way — often moisture, a faulty appliance or a damaged cable. If it trips frequently the cause should be investigated, not ignored. We do that at a fixed price.
That is the most common solution. If you want a fault in one circuit not to cut power to the whole home, personal protection MCBs per circuit are available — we help you choose based on how your consumer unit looks.
How the ROT deduction works — conditions, amounts and what does not qualify