Electrical Upgrades Worth Doing in a Delhi Home

1. An RCCB, if the board does not have one

This is first because it is the one that protects a person rather than the wiring, and a great many older Delhi boards do not have one.

• MCBs and an RCCB do different jobs. An MCB trips on overload and short circuit — it protects the cable. An RCCB trips on current leaking to earth, which is what happens when someone touches something live. You want both.
• Go and look at your board. If everything in it is the same small size, you probably have MCBs only. An RCCB is usually a wider device, often with a test button on it.
• Press the test button every few months. It should trip immediately. A device that does not trip on test is not protecting anything, and this is the only way to know.
• It matters most where water and electricity meet — the geyser, the bathroom, the washing machine, the kitchen.

Our MCB and distribution board guide covers what each device does.

2. Proper earthing — check before you assume

• Two-pin-only sockets mean no earth at that point. In an older Delhi flat this is common and it is a defect, not a style.
• A three-pin socket is not proof of an earth. The pin may be there and connected to nothing. An electrician can test it in seconds — ask, rather than assume.
• A tingle from an appliance body — a geyser, a washing machine, a fridge, a tap near a geyser — is a warning to act on the same day, not a quirk of that appliance.
• Ask for the earth to be checked whenever an electrician has a switch plate off for any other reason. It costs nothing extra and it is the right moment.

3. Separate circuits for the heavy things

This is the Delhi-specific one. Summer load here is unlike most places, and a lot of older wiring was never designed for two or three ACs plus a geyser plus a kitchen.

• Each AC on its own circuit, correctly rated. Not sharing with the room lights.
• The geyser on its own circuit, with its own MCB.
• The kitchen separately. Microwave, chimney, fridge, mixer and RO on the same circuit as the bedroom lights is how you get nuisance tripping.
• Repeated tripping across different circuits is a load problem worth solving properly rather than by replacing MCBs — see our tripping MCB guide.
• Adding an AC? Ask about the circuit before the installation, not after. It is far cheaper to plan for than to retrofit.

4. Worth it, and not worth it

Generally worth doing:

• Replacing old, worn switches and sockets — especially any that are loose, warm or where plugs fall out. Cheap, quick, and one of them is a fire risk. Our switch replacement guide covers it.
• A socket where you currently use an extension board permanently. Long-term extension leads under carpets and behind furniture are exactly what you want to design out.
• LED conversion, if you still have tube lights or halogens. It genuinely reduces the bill — our electricity bill guide covers where the savings actually are.
• A stabiliser for expensive appliances if your supply fluctuates. Cheaper than the board it protects.

Usually not worth it:

• Rewiring the whole flat because one circuit misbehaves. Diagnose first. Our rewiring guide lists the signs that genuinely justify it.
• Expensive modular plates purely for appearance when the wiring behind them is the actual problem. Spend on what is inside the wall first.
• Smart switches on old wiring with no neutral at the switch. Many need one, and finding out afterwards is an expensive way to learn.

Our electrical safety tips cover the daily habits, and the inverter tips cover backup.