ᐅ Retrofitting Residual Current Devices (RCDs) in Older Electrical Systems

Hello,

as some of you have already read, I am currently renovating one of my 1.5-room apartments. Unfortunately, there is no RCD (residual current device) installed in this apartment. I would of course like to have one added.

Since I don’t really know much about electronics, I wanted to ask for your advice before calling an electrician. As you can see in the photos, there are already outlets with green-yellow protective earth (bathroom, kitchen, partly in the living room), but also outlets without green-yellow protective earth (also in the living room).

The photo with the black/red/gray cable shows a switch.

Now the crucial question: Is it possible to retrofit an RCD without having to break open all the walls? If there were a green-yellow protective earth conductor everywhere, I would have said yes—at least based on what I have read. With a "neutraling" system (i.e., without this protective earth), no.

But how does it look here? I don’t want to tear open the entire walls. If retrofitting is not possible, I would probably install RCD-protected outlets in the bathroom and possibly the kitchen.

Best regards

rennschnecke schrieb:

I don’t really know much about electronics, and before I call an electrician, I wanted to ask for your advice.

For this reason, hire only a qualified electrician and nothing else. They can tell you exactly on site what is possible and what is not. Based on the pictures alone, we can only guess.

Mycraft schrieb:

That’s why you should only hire the electrician and not anyone else. They can tell you exactly on site what is possible and what is not. We can only guess based on the pictures here.

I will do that as well. I was just hoping for an assessment or opinion in advance.

If you’re going to do it, do it properly.
Two RCDs (residual-current devices) are required, but you only have one, and it trips—meaning you are literally left in the dark.
Basically, measurements need to be taken first; otherwise, nothing will work at all.

In the distribution board, at least two circuits would need to be combined to accommodate the RCD (four modular units). Everything else is difficult to assess based on the pictures.

WingVII schrieb:

At least two electrical circuits would need to be combined in the distribution panel to accommodate the RCD (four modules). Everything else is hard to assess based on the photos.

What exactly does that mean?