Ask whether surge protection is appropriate for your installation. James reviews the existing consumer unit and explains suitable options alongside any planned electrical upgrades.
Describe the existing consumer unit and any planned electrical work. A photo of the board with its cover on is helpful.
Replies within an hour, 8am–6pm
Local to Brechin, Angus, Scotland
Brechin Sparks is James Leslie, working from a base in Brechin and covering the DD9 postcode area, Montrose, Forfar, Arbroath, Edzell and Dundee within an approximate 40-mile radius.
Homes, farms and businesses across Angus and surrounding areas. The work is either an SPD added to an existing board or one specified as part of a consumer unit replacement. Properties with solar panels and rented homes due a landlord EICR are assessed the same way, with the board checked before anything is proposed.
“James was very polite and sent over the quote immediately after the call and came out the same day in the early evening.”
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SPDs added to an existing consumer unit and SPDs specified as part of a board replacement, for homes, farms and businesses, from a base in Brechin covering an approximate 40-mile radius.
The device is selected for the board and the earthing arrangement, fitted to the manufacturer’s instructions, then inspected, tested and recorded, with the appropriate certificate issued for the work.
Speak directly with James Leslie, based in Brechin, with 40 years of electrical engineering experience, a former RAF electrical engineer and former Angus retained firefighter. Small jobs are welcome, with clear explanations and costs agreed before work begins.
Public liability cover across domestic, commercial and agricultural properties, with costs agreed before any work begins.
Read more about James Leslie and how Brechin Sparks approaches electrical work, from the first enquiry to explaining the completed job.
BS 7671 wiring regulations
Level 3 Award · BS 7671 wiring regulations
Cover for electrical work
Local service across a 40-mile radius
Engineering experience behind the advice
A background in serving the community
Retrofit or upgrade
Sometimes. It depends on the existing equipment and installation. James will explain whether a suitable retrofit or a wider upgrade makes more sense.
James checks the existing consumer unit, available space and manufacturer-compatible equipment before discussing a retrofit.
A protective device should not be selected solely because it appears to fit an empty space. A compatible device for that board, or a separate enclosure beside it, may be the right answer.
A consumer unit replacement or other planned installation work is an opportunity to assess the appropriate surge protection.
Some devices have a status indicator showing when attention is needed. Do not remove consumer unit covers to inspect the device yourself.
Not sure what board you have? Send a photo of the consumer unit.
Get a quote
Three things people ask about an SPD: what it protects, what it will not do, and where it goes in the board.
A Surge Protection Device (SPD) helps limit transient overvoltages that can affect electrical equipment. It works alongside earthing, bonding and other protective measures. It is fitted at the consumer unit, so the protection applies to the circuits fed from that board rather than to a single socket or appliance.
An SPD reduces the risk; it does not remove it. It does not replace RCD protection or guarantee that appliances will survive every surge or lightning event. Surge protection is one part of an installation and is not a guarantee against every damaging event.
The SPD takes a way in the board close to the main switch, connected through its own protective device as the manufacturer requires. Some installations need a different arrangement or further work. Where the existing board has no suitable space, James may propose a separate enclosure beside it or including the SPD in a consumer unit replacement.
The equipment, supply arrangement and installation requirements determine the proposal. Any extra work is explained before it is agreed.
A new EV charger, a heat pump, a solar or battery system or a new consumer unit each change what the installation carries and what is worth protecting, so surge protection is assessed at the same time rather than as an afterthought. Where the existing board has no suitable space, it is often simpler to include the SPD in the replacement than to retrofit it now and change the board later.
Planning a board change or a new circuit? Ask about surge protection at the same time.
Get a quoteThere is no fixed price for an SPD because the board it goes into decides most of the work.
The equipment, access, investigation needed and extent of installation or repair affect the price.
James explains the proposed work and any additional costs before you agree to proceed.
Compatibility, available space and the existing earthing arrangement influence what can be fitted.
Where the SPD is specified as part of a consumer unit replacement, it is included in the quote for that job rather than priced as a separate visit.
Adding an SPD to an existing board is a contained job; the checks before and after it are what make it worth doing.
James confirms the consumer unit type, the earthing arrangement and whether there is a spare way for the SPD and its protective device, and identifies the manufacturer-compatible equipment for that board.
The installation is switched off and proved dead before any cover comes off. Tell James in advance if the board feeds anything that cannot be switched off without warning.
The SPD is mounted in the board, or in a separate enclosure beside it where the board has no suitable space, with the overcurrent protection the manufacturer requires.
The connecting leads are kept as short as the layout allows and made as the manufacturer’s instructions describe, and the device is labelled so it can be identified at the board.
The installation is tested, the results are recorded on the certificate, and James shows you the status indicator and what a change in it means.
If testing shows a fault elsewhere in the installation, James explains it and agrees any further work with you before going on.
On completion
Paperwork and records handed over when the work is signed off.
Issued when an SPD is added to an existing consumer unit. It records the alteration, the inspection and the test results for that work; it does not certify the rest of an older installation.
Issued where the SPD is fitted as part of a consumer unit replacement, covering the new board as a whole. Any applicable building warrant or approved certification requirements are assessed separately.
The instructions for the fitted device, with a note of what its status indicator shows. Refer to the manufacturer’s instructions and arrange an assessment if the indication changes or damage is suspected.
Based in Brechin, Angus, Scotland, covering the DD9 postcode area and the wider Angus towns within an approximate 40-mile radius. Rural properties on overhead supplies, farms with electrically driven equipment and home offices with sensitive electronics are the kinds of premises where surge protection is worth asking about. Give James your postcode to confirm availability.
From the town centre to Trinity and Cookston. Our base, so usually the quickest to arrange.
Homes, rentals and business premises across the Angus towns.
Retrofits and consumer unit upgrades, including surrounding rural properties and farms.
Enquiries welcome for houses, flats and rented properties.
Call with your postcode to check coverage within the approximate 40-mile service area.
Full list of towns on the areas covered page.
Sometimes. It depends on the existing equipment and installation. James will explain whether a suitable retrofit or a wider upgrade makes more sense.
Surge protection is considered as part of the design whenever a consumer unit is replaced under the current wiring regulations, and the assessment decides whether an SPD is fitted. An existing board that is not being altered is not automatically required to have one. When James quotes a consumer unit replacement, the SPD is assessed and included in the proposal where it is appropriate.
Not fully. An SPD helps limit the transient overvoltages that lightning activity on or near the supply network can cause; a direct strike on a building is a separate matter, dealt with by a lightning protection system rather than a device in the consumer unit. It does not replace RCD protection or guarantee that appliances will survive every surge or lightning event. James explains what the device is for and where its limits are before it is fitted.
Look for a labelled SPD module with a small status indicator window, often next to the main switch, or a note of it on the circuit schedule or the certificate issued when the board was fitted. Do not remove consumer unit covers to inspect the device yourself. If you are not sure, send James a photo of the board with its cover on and he will tell you what is there.
They can. The device works by diverting surge energy, and after a large event or over time it can reach the end of its useful life. Many have an indicator that changes to show when the module needs replacing, and some use a replaceable cartridge rather than a whole new device. Glance at the indicator now and then without removing the cover, and arrange an assessment if it changes or damage is suspected.
It can help, but it depends on the installation. An SPD at the consumer unit covers the circuits fed from that board; a solar inverter, a battery or an EV charger may also need protection of its own, on the DC side or at the charger, as the manufacturer specifies. Whether what is in place is enough is assessed with the installation rather than assumed. Tell James what is connected and he will include it in the assessment.
A plug-in protector does a different job. It sits between one socket and the equipment plugged into it, whereas an SPD in the consumer unit is fitted at the origin of the installation and protects the circuits fed from it; the two are not substitutes for each other and are sometimes used together. A plug-in unit does nothing for hard-wired equipment such as a boiler, a heat pump or an EV charger. James can advise which, if either, suits what you are trying to protect.
Describe the existing consumer unit and any planned electrical work. James reviews the existing consumer unit and explains suitable options alongside any planned electrical upgrades.
Call 01356 235858