Our electric cooker that dates back to the 70's (or maybe earlier) has died. I'll need to replace it and get an electrician to install it.
I've been doing a bit of homework and I can see that the old installation would not comply to the current AS/NZS standards. Will the electrician be able to just replace the existing appliance or will he have to work backwards to bring the entire installation to current standards?
In particular, the current installation is wired into a dedicated cable that runs directly to the main switchboard and a 32A circuit breaker. No RCD. My Google-fu suggest that these days a 3mm air-gap, all conductor, unobstructed switch is required within 2m of the cooker and that there also should be a circuit breaker with a dedicated RCD.
I'm definitely up for the RCD on the circuit, but unless it's mandatory, I'd rather not have to add a stove switch to the existing kitchen. It would be good to know what the requirement is before I get sparkies in and they start quoting for work that may not be mandatory.
Whichever install option is more expensive is normally the law.