Switchboard & Main Upgrades in Brisbane

A few common signs: ceramic fuses instead of circuit breakers; no RCDs (safety switches) on the board; circuits that trip regularly; the smell of burning plastic or visible scorch marks around the board; or labelling that's missing, illegible, or wrong. If you've recently bought an older home, or you're planning to add solar, an EV charger, ducted air-con, or a pool pump, an upgrade is often needed to handle the additional load safely. Send us a photo of your current board and we'll give you a quick read on whether it needs work.

For a typical residential property the swap-over is usually completed inside a single day, with the power off for around 4-6 hours of that. We coordinate the supply isolation with Energex in advance so you know exactly when the power will be off and when it'll be back on. For more complex jobs — three-phase upgrades, larger commercial boards, or sites where the existing main cable also needs replacing — we'll quote the timeline as part of the upfront quote so there are no surprises.

Sometimes — if the upgrade involves changes to the supply side of the meter, an increase in supply capacity, or main neutral replacement, then yes, we'll arrange an Energex disconnect and reconnect as part of the job. We handle the paperwork and the booking with Energex directly so you're not chasing them yourself. For straightforward consumer-side board replacements, we can isolate at the main switch and the work doesn't need an Energex visit at all.

A standard residential upgrade includes a modern, fully-enclosed switchboard with circuit breakers sized for each circuit, RCDs (safety switches) on all final sub-circuits per the current Standards, clear and accurate labelling, and a Certificate of Testing and Safety once the work is done. We'll talk you through the layout before we start so you know which breaker controls what — and we leave you with a labelled key to the board for future reference.

Yes. The supply voltage and frequency to your appliances doesn't change as part of a switchboard upgrade — we're replacing the protection and distribution gear, not the supply itself. The practical change is that some circuits may now trip on faults that the old board would have ignored, which is the upgrade doing its job. If a particular appliance trips a new safety switch consistently, that's a sign the appliance has a fault and needs investigation.

Yes — this is one of the most common reasons people upgrade. If you're adding solar, the board needs the right protection on the inverter circuit and clear segregation per the Clean Energy Council guidelines. For an EV charger, the board often needs a dedicated circuit and load-management arrangement so charging doesn't overload the main supply. We size and configure for what you need today and leave reasonable headroom for future additions.