Wylex Consumer Units

Wylex Consumer Units and the 5 Star System

Since the launch of the 17th Edition Regulations much confusion has reigned over what constitutes a 17th Edition consumer unit. In order to address this problem Wylex have developed a 'Five Star' rating system to help both home owners and installers choose the correct wylex consumer unit for each installation.

The rating scheme illustrates the fact that consumer units only abide by the 17th Edition Regulations if they are installed and loaded according to the 17th Edition Regulations.

In general each of the 4 generic designs for Wylex consumer units, Main Switch, Split Load, High Integrity and Dual RCD meets the requirements of the 17th Edition.
Depending on the installation needs, however, it becomes apparent that some of the Wylex consumer units offer greater compliance than others by enabling the fitting of RCBOs - providing complete Independent Circuit Protection against earth leakage.

Wylex have produced a set of specification sheets which show each design of wylex consumer unit and how, when loaded it relates to the 17th Edition Regulations:

Overview of The 5 Star Wylex Consumer Units System

Main Switch Wylex Consumer Units

Split Load Wylex Consumer Units

High Integrity Wylex Consumer Units

Dual RCD Wylex Consumer Units

Wylex Consumer Units - An Overview

Dual RCD Wylex Consumer Units

When the 17th Edition regulations first came into being Dual RCD consumer units were considered the best solution, as all circuits were inexpensively protected against earth leakage. HOWEVER, under Wylex's own 5 star rating scheme A Wylex consumer unit with 2 RCDs is now considered the least best way to satisfy 17th edition as this configuration does not allow for any circuit separation!

High Integrity Wylex Consumer Units

A 'High Integrity Wylex Consumer Unit' is one which allows for superior separation of circuits whilst still protecting all circuits from earth leakage. With three neutral bars a high integruty wylex consumer unit allows for the use of 2 RCDs and a whole bank of RCBOs. The user may therefore protect all 'non-mission critical circuits like lighting and ring main on the RCDs whilst protecting all mission critical circuits independently with RCBOs. In this situation a problem with the fridge freezer will not affect the smoke alarms, the alarm system will not cut power to the tropical fish tank. High Integrity boards are the very best way to both abide by the 17th Edition Regulations and protect your circuits.

Split Load Wylex Consumer Units

A split load Wylex consumer unit is one which is supplied with a Main Switch and RCD. Now that we operate under 17th Edition regulations the implied loading of a split load Wylex consumer unit is that MCBs should only be put on the RCD side while RCBOs are fitted on the main switch side. A split load Wylex consumer unit, used in this way satisifies the 17th Edition Regulations particularly well and cost effectively as it protects all circuits against earth leakage whilst decreasing the risk of nuisance tripping on mission critical circuits.

Garage Wylex Consumer Units

A Garage Wylex consumer unit is simply a smaller Wylex consumer unit commonly used in sheds, outhouses and garages. There isn't anything else particularly special about these Wylex consumer units. Most normal domestic environments have only a small number circuits in its garages, garden sheds and outhouses and therefore does not require the larger 10 - 36 way consumer units used in the main household. Garage Wylex Consumer units are normally between 2 and 5 ways depending on what is being used in the outhouse. A normal shed with lighting and a couple of sockets would use a 2 way unit whilst a workwhop using a lathe and power tools might opt for a 5 way unit.