Switchboard Upgrades & Safety
Old ceramic fuses or nuisance tripping? We upgrade switchboards to current Australian standards, safety switches, surge protection, and a certificate of compliance on completion.
5 stars across Google
Real Google reviews from Brisbane & Logan, QLD. The rating is the credibility, so here it is with the count.
Good service. Turned up on time and did a great job very quickly. All good.
I now have an as-new aircon. On time, polite and fantastic job. Will definitely get them back to do other units as needed.
PQ Air are very responsive with an enquiry and do try their best to confirm a book in at the earliest They're a good business.
Thank you so much for an exceptional job! So accomodating to come out on a public holiday - great communication and super helpful!
Drag the handle. A real upgrade.
A ceramic-fuse board on the left, a modern board with circuit breakers and safety switches on the right. Same house, one day's work. This is the part that gets sealed behind a cover, so we photograph it.
Is your fuse box the original from 1975?
Ceramic fuse boards were standard when your home was built. They were fine then. The problem is they were never designed for the load a modern household puts through them, reverse-cycle aircon, EV charger, induction cooktop, a dozen devices charging overnight.
Worse, a ceramic fuse gives you almost no protection from a fault. You replace the wire, reset the fuse, and the problem that caused it is still there.
Safety switches (RCDs) are different. They detect a fault current, the kind that travels through a person, and cut the power in milliseconds. Queensland has required them on new builds since the 1990s, but hundreds of thousands of older Brisbane and Logan homes still don’t have them on every circuit.
That’s the gap a switchboard upgrade closes.
Signs your switchboard needs attention
- An old fuse box with ceramic fuses or older rewireable fuses instead of circuit breakers
- No safety switches: or only one covering a couple of circuits
- Your safety switch keeps tripping and resetting it only holds for a while before it drops out again
- Nuisance tripping that the electrician before us couldn’t explain
- Lights flickering or a burning smell near the meter box
- You’re adding circuits: aircon, EV charger, solar, and the existing board is full
- You’ve bought an older property and you’re not sure what’s inside the box
If any of these sound familiar, give us a call on 07 2142 5656 and we’ll talk you through it before booking anything.
People ring us asking about all sorts of things: an old fuse box, ceramic fuses that keep blowing, a fuse box replacement, getting a safety switch (an RCD) put in, or a home with no safety switches at all. It’s usually the same job under a few different names, and we’ll tell you which parts your place actually needs.
What a switchboard upgrade involves
Every job starts with an assessment of your existing board, the wiring feeding it, and your overall load. We’ll tell you what we find and what we recommend, before you agree to anything.
A typical upgrade includes:
- Removal of the old ceramic fuse board and any obsolete wiring feeding it
- Installation of a modern, clearly-labelled switchboard with individual circuit breakers
- Safety switches (RCDs) across all circuits, meeting AS/NZS 3000 and Queensland requirements
- Surge protection device (SPD) to guard appliances against voltage spikes from storms (Brisbane gets a fair few)
- Certificate of electrical safety issued at completion, required by law and important for insurance
We do the work, we clean up, and we hand you the paperwork. That’s it.
Why PQ Electrical
We’re a licensed residential electrical and air conditioning team operating across Brisbane and Logan. A few specifics:
- Licensed & insured: Queensland electrical contractor licence, full public liability
- Lifetime labour guarantee in writing on every job
- Fixed quote, approved before work starts: you know the number before we touch anything
- Certificate of compliance on completion: because you need it, and because it’s the law
- Tidy, police-checked technicians: we respect that it’s your home
We also install safety switches and surge protection as standalone jobs if a full upgrade isn’t what you need right now. And if you’re thinking about adding EV charging or air conditioning while the board is open, we can quote that at the same time.
Frequently asked questions
Do I legally need safety switches in Queensland?
Yes, for any new electrical work or when an existing circuit is modified. If your home was built before the mid-1990s and has never had the board touched since, there’s a good chance you don’t have them on all circuits. Queensland regulations now require RCDs on all final subcircuits in domestic premises. An upgrade brings you into compliance.
What does a switchboard upgrade cost?
It depends on the number of circuits, the state of the wiring behind the board, and whether your Energex supply is single or three phase. There’s no one figure that fits every home. We look at the board, tell you what it needs and what it doesn’t, and give you a fixed price before any work starts.
My safety switch keeps tripping. Do I need a new board?
Not always. Sometimes it’s one faulty appliance or a circuit taking on water, and that’s a quick find. But if you’ve got the nuisance tripping that resets fine and then drops out again a day later, or an old board with only one safety switch trying to cover everything, the board itself is often the problem. We test it properly before telling you either way.
How long does a switchboard upgrade take?
Most residential upgrades take half a day to a full day. The power will be off for most of that time. We’ll agree a start time with you, call before we’re on the way, and do our best to have it done in one visit.
Can I stay home while you do the work?
Yes. The power will be off to the house during the installation, so worth planning for that, charge your devices beforehand and have a plan for the fridge if it’s a hot day. We’ll let you know the likely timeframe when we book in.
Get a switchboard assessment
Fixed quote before work starts.
Get a quote online or call 07 2142 5656: we cover Brisbane, Logan, and the surrounding suburbs.
You pick a time online and one of our licensed electricians comes to you, usually within a few days. We look at the job properly, talk you through it, and hand you a fixed written quote to approve before any work starts. When the work is done you get a certificate of compliance where the job needs one, and every job is backed by our lifetime labour guarantee.
Easy from go to whoa
Pick a time online and we'll confirm straight back. No call centre, no hold music.
Drop sheets down, shoes off, tidy as we go. We treat your place like our own.
Licensed work to AS/NZS 3000, tested and checked before we pack up.
Walls made good, a certificate of compliance, and a lifetime labour guarantee in writing.