ᐅ Old Electrical Installation – Is It Possible to Determine Its Age?

Well, so far it looks okay. I’ll have an electrician take a quick look. They will open it briefly and inspect it.
If everything has three conductors, expansion is often possible.
And yes, 50 years ago, the installation shown would have been considered high-end.

guckuck2 schrieb:

It is quite certain that at least a three-core cable is connected behind the box.
You don’t usually use a 16A circuit breaker for any old wiring.

With all due respect, that’s nonsense. We also have a box with RCDs here, and about two meters further along there are 50-year-old aluminum cables connected, where the protective conductor and the neutral conductor are combined(!) A big sign of negligence. But as long as the lights were working, it didn’t matter during the renovation (mid-90s).

HausiKlausi schrieb:

With all due respect, that’s nonsense. We also have a panel here with RCDs, and about two meters (6.5 feet) away, there are 50-year-old aluminum cables connected, where the protective earth and neutral conductors are combined(!). That’s extreme negligence. But as long as the lights worked, it didn’t matter during the renovation (mid-1990s).

Then it seems your entire installation is mostly nonsense ;-)

Absolutely agree. I have seen things inside junction boxes that can safely be described as time bombs. I just wanted to point out again that a residual current device (RCD) does not mean there is a “pretty much certain” three-wire installation behind it.

guckuck2 schrieb:

Then it’s probably your installation that is complete nonsense ;-)

You need to check the connected and installed cables!

If there are still stranded conductors inside, they are likely from the 1950s or earlier.
Since around 1968 (if I recall correctly), the protective conductor (plastic insulation) has been marked green-yellow.

From that time on, the DIN rails on which components (RCCBs, circuit breakers, relays, timers, etc.) are mounted also date back and are still compatible with modern designs.

ruediger42 schrieb:

I just don’t know whether I should basically redo all the electrical work as a preventive measure or just leave it as it is.

You can relax for now – I wouldn’t completely redo the electrical system, but I would have it checked thoroughly and update or modernize parts if necessary.