in this video Rick's going to install the Schneider Easy9 compact multi-row consumer
unit I posed the question to you are the current consumer units we're fitting big
enough for installations that in the future will become prosumers where we have battery solar and
EV we've all done it we're on the continent we're on holiday and we're poking around in
their consumer unit to find different types of overcurrent protection device time clocks and
contactors and is that the way we're going in the UK in the configuration we've got here on
the bottom row we've got a type 2 SPD main switch and RCBOs and on the top row we've got AFDDs well
I've fitted loads of consumers before so the one that was fitted on the wall here was fitted by
Rick so let's see how he did it first for me then Rick I'm going to be the first time I've
watched anyone install an Easy9 compact multi-row consumer unit so we're going to start off with
yeah I'm just going to take out a couple of these knockouts at the back so I've got one here and one
so those cables can come through yeah it's gonna give us plenty of room in it when we're working
with it when it's usually the thing we all say there's not enough room in our consumer unit in
order to dress our cables got plenty of room this time so knock out that one oh look pretty fancy
okay I've got another one here okay let's try and hit it in the spot welds broke nicely
okay I'll take your room for a little bit of grommet strip now to protect those
they just see what other people do whether they use super glue or think of another
way in order to hold it into place always use super glue check this one for length
there we go oh that's a nice tight fitting it yeah to it that link should be perfect
always if I'm going to use super glue put it everywhere I don't need it normally on my hands
and uh find that they're stuck to everything and then the item will try to stick down hasn't got
enough glue on it but you look a dab handle that is at years of doing Airfix models in your youth
Rick not quite no it's fixing Josh's toys okay that's your sons toys right so little dobs of glue
that's another little top tip I probably put too much glue on probably one a bit mad when I used
to do it remember there are other glues available not just super glue so we pop that one in there
and we get that protection and we'll do both of them we can mount it on the wall
how's that looking for the random stickiness look at that yeah perfect
just pop it onto the surface there I'd like to tell you that I've added up the number of
entry points on the outside Rick to be 18 and there's eight in the back so you have plenty of
holes to choose from yep and then you're ready to obviously uh make that final securing of the
fixings and we can start dressing the cables so within this multi-road we're going to use
the top one to house the AFDDs and what was interesting how people identify their cables
coming into a board so what we've done this time Rick yeah we've got two ring circuits
here so to identify them I've got two nicks here for them ones and a single nick on this one here
okay slightly larger cable we also put a nick in that doesn't seem as if that was worth doing
yeah well I've actually got another one here Gaz which is for the cooker circuit so if you have a
look on this one there's no nicks so that clearly identifies which is which okay and as that's going
into the AFDD you've got it in the correct section at the top there that's logical yeah
so striped cable is ready to make your connections which ones are going to start with connecting yeah
so I'm going to make off the CPC's once I've got the sleeving on I'm going to dress them along the
top and then connect them into the board and as it's the AFDDs on the top they've got quite
a cute way of which we pick up the line and neutral for these as well yes made a lovely
job with those CPCs what's next yeah I'm going to remove this DIN rail saw when I'm dressing
in the line of neutrals for each circuit it's close to the board and I'm not up at the fight
into stuffing behind I run that make it a lot easier are you going to try and sort of guess
the position of them as well so as you dress them into where you think the AFDDs are going
to sit yeah exactly yeah so I'll just put them into a position I feel the AFDDs are going to be
well they're not AFDDs what are they Rick no they're terminal blocks them so we've got the
line in neutral which will connect us to the bottom row but what we've also got on this DIN
rail is two little nicks here so as I slide these across it butts them up and it allows me to pop
the lid on much easier just making those final connections on the third of the AFDDs you're
going to torque them up at this stage no I'll torque them up at the end so I can go through
methodically okay I'm sure everyone else has noticed the RCBO's have a fly lead to the neutral
bar but these AFDDs don't so how are they picking up their neutral take a look at this bus bar it
clearly identifies neutral and line so as we flip this over and pop it into the terminal block here
we need to make sure we're getting the correct polarity and that's from this end here isn't it
so it goes neutral then line and we'll put the tails in that links the bottom section
to this one later on but I can see some copper exposed on the end here we're leaving it like
that no we've got some caps that we can use to cover them up as we go along okay and it
seemed to go with real ease there into the top of the AFDD is there anything that can help the
electrician yes if you want to take a look at the top of this AFDD here as I tighten that up
I'll close the cage you can see the no mist technology so let's remind ourselves of the
protection and AFDD will offer us it'll offer us the technology from an MCB so it'll offer short
circuit and over current protection it's also an A type RCD rated 30 milliamps so we'll offer
additional protection as well as a protection against serial and parallel arcs and we know in
certain instances in BS7671 these are mandated on socket outlets single phase up to 32 amps but in
a domestic dwelling it is recommended in those locations recommended means you should install
them and as we move forward we will see more and more use of AFDDs I'll tell me back for a minute
and you're already making off the last connection into our RCBO and talking of connections I can
see we've got connections in the bottom of the main switch the surge neutral bar and up to the
terminals at the top where we pick up our AFDDs and we've left a link in the description for a
separate video on how we made those connections and talking about connections do I have to have
that surge and main switch on the left-hand side Rick no the SPD advanced switch can both go to the
other side okay we've configured it RCBO AFDDs is there any other way we can have it we could have a
full AFDD board if we want to you can also have MCBs and RCBOs on both bottom and top you could
say the Easy9 compact multi-road consumer unit has got you covered for all situations
okay so you had plenty of holes to choose from so
we're putting our glands and a bus bar in next before we do the lid
yep take that off that one into position right okay that's the advantage isn't it that many
holes that many positions you could have come in two so see tails in now it's the bus bar to go in
and then we're just going to concentrate on that lid you say you torque up at the very end so you
still just uh just nipping these in yes yeah just getting things into place and then we'll
go around and torque them up afterwards hold on Rick you got the old inch and half eights out in
order to hold the consuming cover and I've seen it many times before on domestic consumer units
well I think I'm going to opt for the metric captive screw okay it says pop those on them
I do love a captive screw especially on a consumer cover nothing worse is it whenever
you take it off it drops and goes left you look right you can never find it can you wow that was
one of those eFIXX videos I gave you plenty of opportunity to comment however at the start of
the video I mentioned the word prosumer and you might have spent the last seven minutes
going I'm not sure what a prosumer is and if that's the case check out the video over there