Renovating an Older Perth Home? Why a Switchboard Upgrade Should Be Your First Step

by Sheddy Bloggs | Mar 12, 2026 | Electrical, Renovating | 0 comments

electrician working on an open electrical breaker panel

Renovating an Older Perth Home? Why a Switchboard Upgrade Should Be Your First Step

Perth is full of older homes with character — workers’ cottages in Fremantle, 70s brick homes across Dianella and Morley, 80s single-storey builds across the northern suburbs, and spacious early-90s properties throughout Canning Vale, Willetton and Thornlie. These homes have great bones and enormous renovation potential.

But they all share one major issue that renovators often overlook:

Their electrical system hasn’t been updated in 20, 30, sometimes 50 years.

Whether you’re planning a kitchen upgrade, bathroom remodel, shed fit-out, patio extension, or simply adding new lighting and power points, there’s one renovation task that should be completed before any other work begins:

Upgrading the switchboard.

A switchboard is the central hub of your home’s electrical network. It controls the power supply to every room, appliance, and circuit. And in older Perth homes, these switchboards weren’t built for modern loads, modern safety standards, or modern renovation plans.

Here’s why upgrading your switchboard early is one of the smartest, safest, and most cost-effective renovation decisions you can make.

If Your Home Was Built Before 2000, Read This First

Home designs from previous decades rarely considered:

Reverse-cycle air conditioning
Induction cooktops
Pool pumps and spas
Outdoor kitchens
Fridges & Freezers
EV chargers
Workshop tools
Multiple fridges and freezers
Heat lights

Yet today, people expect their renovated homes to include many (or all) of these.

The problem?

Your original switchboard cannot handle it.

Most WA homes built before 2000 still contain:

Ceramic fuses
Old breakers
No arc fault protection
Few or no RCDs
Inferior wiring insulation
No spare circuit capacity
Outdated earthing arrangements
Boards mounted on asbestos sheeting

This means every major renovation depends on whether the switchboard can support the upgrades.

Why Renovations Often Fail Without a Switchboard Upgrade

Many renovators begin work only to discover halfway through that the electrical system is the bottleneck.

Here are the most common problems:

1. Not Enough Circuit Capacity

Renovating a kitchen often means adding:

Dishwasher
Island power
Oven (often hard-wired)
Cooktop
Bench sockets
LED lighting

These require dedicated circuits — circuits older switchboards cannot supply.

2. RCD Requirements Stop the Project

WA law requires RCDs (safety switches) on every lighting and power circuit before any electrical work is carried out.

Old homes usually have 0–1 RCDs.

No RCDs = no renovation progress.

3. New Appliances Overload Old Wiring

Modern appliances draw far more power than older circuits were designed to handle. This leads to:

Tripping
Overheating
Fire risk
Failed inspections

4. Shed and Workshop Upgrades Need More Load

Homeowners often want to run:

Saws
Compressors
Dust extractors
Lighting
Fridges
Charging stations

These tools require safe, well-distributed circuits — not 30-year-old fuse boxes.

5. Insurance Issues During Renovation

If something goes wrong during a renovation and the switchboard is found to be outdated or non-compliant, insurers may:

Reduce payouts
Reject electrical claims
Require a switchboard upgrade before covering the property

Planning ahead avoids this entirely.

Switchboards Are the Foundation of a Safe Renovation

Just like you wouldn’t build an extension on rotten stumps, you shouldn’t build a modern renovation on top of an outdated electrical system. Treating the electrical system as foundational — where a switchboard upgrade should be your first step — ensures the entire renovation can proceed safely, legally, and without costly delays.

A modern switchboard provides: