Q & A of the Day – How high should a consumer unit be?

Question: Can you please advise as to whether there is any legislation regarding mounting heights for consumer units in domestic situations? It has been suggested to me that these should now be installed at 1200mm AFFL. However, I can't find anything in the Scottish Building Regulations that states this.

Answer: There are no specific mounting heights for consumer units stated in either the IEE Regulations (BS7671) or in SBS Regulations.

However, BS7671:2008 - Regulation 132.12, requires that electrical equipment, which includes consumer units, should be accessible and should have sufficient space for inspection and testing etc. Therefore, consumer units should be mounted where they are readily accessible for such purposes. Mounting positions should be avoided where access is difficult i.e. some situations underneath stairs or high up on a wall.

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