Electrical
Switchboard upgrades in Brisbane
A switchboard upgrade replaces the old fuse board that distributes power around your house with a modern enclosure fitted with circuit breakers and safety switches. In a lot of Brisbane housing stock, particularly pre-1990s homes around the inner north-west, the original board was designed for a fraction of the load a household now puts through it.
- Licence 90673
- ARCtick L169731
- Fully insured
Hoff inspects the existing board before quoting anything. Some boards genuinely need replacing. Others need a specific fault addressed, or space freed up, and saying so costs you less than a full upgrade you did not need.
What it covers
What's included.
Board assessment
What is actually installed, what condition it is in, and whether the enclosure has room for what you want to add.
Ceramic fuse replacement
Rewireable fuses swapped for circuit breakers that trip on overload and can be reset without a fuse wire.
Safety switches (RCDs)
Residual current devices fitted to circuits so the supply cuts within milliseconds of a fault to earth.
Circuit identification
Every circuit traced and labelled properly, so the next person opening the board is not guessing.
Main switch and enclosure
A correctly rated main switch in an enclosure with capacity for future circuits.
Testing and certification
The installation is tested on completion and you receive the Certificate of Testing and Compliance.
Why people call
Common reasons for this job.
- The board still has ceramic rewireable fuses
- There are no safety switches on the power or lighting circuits
- Breakers trip regularly with normal household load
- There is no spare space to add a circuit for air-conditioning, an oven or an EV charger
- A building or pre-purchase inspection has flagged the board
- The house is being renovated and the load is increasing
Worth acting on
Signs something is wrong.
- Scorch marks, discolouration or a burning smell at the board
- Buzzing or crackling from inside the enclosure
- Fuses that blow repeatedly on the same circuit
- A board with no RCD test buttons anywhere on it
- Cloth-insulated or brittle cabling visible at the board
How Hoff works
The approach.
The first visit is an inspection, not a sales call. Hoff opens the board, looks at the incoming supply, the existing circuits and the condition of the cabling behind them, then tells you what he found.
If an upgrade is warranted, the quote is itemised so you can see what is being replaced and why. Where a board can be staged, upgrading the protection now and adding circuits later, that option gets put in front of you rather than hidden.
On the day, power is off for part of the work. Hoff gives you an arrival window and tells you roughly how long the supply will be down so you can plan around it.
Switchboard work is electrical work and must be carried out by a licensed electrical contractor. Hoff holds Electrical Contractor Licence 90673. On completion you receive the Certificate of Testing and Compliance required in Queensland.
Suitable for
Where this comes up.
Switchboard upgrades questions.
It depends on the size of the board and the condition of what is behind it. Hoff gives you an expected duration and an arrival window with the quote, and tells you how long the power will be off.
Not usually the whole time, but there is a period with the supply isolated while the board is changed over. You will know roughly how long before the day.
Not always. Sometimes the right answer is addressing a specific circuit or making room in the existing enclosure. Hoff will tell you if that is the case rather than quoting a replacement by default.
Yes. All electrical work comes with the Certificate of Testing and Compliance, and any equipment installed carries its manufacturer warranty.
Yes, and it often makes sense to. Hoff is licensed for both the electrical and the refrigerant side, so the board work and the air-conditioning circuit can be planned as one job.
Send Hoff the switchboard upgrades details.
Describe the job in plain words and Hoff will come back to you personally with a written price.