25 June 2026

When is your fuse box due for replacement?

Four clear signs the box has had its day — and what a modern fuse box costs and delivers.

The fuse box is the heart of your electrical installation, and many boxes are decades older than what gets connected to them today. Four signs replacement is due. One: there is still an old box with screw-in fuses — it protects against short circuits, but lacks the earth-leakage protection the current installation standard (NEN 1010) prescribes for modern installations. Two: there is no earth-leakage breaker, or a single one for the whole house, so one leakage current takes everything down.

Three: circuits regularly trip once several appliances run at the same time — the classic sign of too few circuits for modern demand. Four: a heavy addition is coming, such as induction cooking, a heat pump or a workshop with three-phase power. That is the logical moment to make the box future-ready in one go.

A new fuse box costs € 850 to € 1,500 including installation, depending on the number of circuits and earth-leakage breakers; adding three-phase or relocating the box is quoted individually. The electrician tests every circuit and hands over a working installation. If you doubt the rest of the installation, an electrical inspection (€ 150-350) records the defects by priority.

To be clear: the meter cupboard is no place for DIY. Everything before and inside the box — circuits, earth-leakage breakers, the main connection — is work for a professional. What the jobs should cost is in the price index.