Electricity meter is running after I've turned the electricity off at the mains

jp456

Hi - I was wondering if anybody could help me.

I have just noticed that my electricity meter reading is way above what it always has been. I've tried to trace the problem to a faulty appliance and in the process of elimination have turned all the switches in the 'fuse box'? Off including the big red double-switch one that says 'Mains'. The meter is still pulsing at the same quick rate though... I started monitoring this 3 days ago and it would appear that I am using about 25Kwh per 24 hrs which is ludicrous as I have no appliances apart from a small fish tank and a freezer and fridge and a PC that's rarely on. The house is a small 3 bed semi and I admit to being pretty frugal with energy consumption.

I called BGas who told me to monitor this for 7 days and also informed my letting agents who told me I had to deal with BGas.

I was wondering if this could be a meter problem or maybe a dodgy burglar alarm that seems to bypass all the mains (for presumably obvious reasons).

Any help would be gratefully received

Thanks

Jon

matelodave

If the electricity meter is still recording after you've shut off the main switch then it's either faulty or something is bypassing the main switch and using it. I'd be inclined to think it's the latter.

If you are in rented property then it's up to the landlord or letting agents to get an electrician in to check the wiring and to remove anything that's bypassing the main switch.

BG will only check the main fuse and their meter, not anything past that.

Can you see any additional wiring coming out of either the meter or the fuse box on the meter side of the main switch. Be careful as the switch may have been bypassed inside the consumer unit.

Anything that doesn't get switched off when the main switch is turned off or hasn't got it's own isolation switch is dangerous and poses a shock hazard to anyone working on the system - even a burglar alarm should not be bypassing the main switch (is it only a burglar alarm or is it feeding something else as well)

Perhaps you could take a photo and post it here so someone could give you some advice. In any case don't muck about with it if you don't know what you are doing - ELECTRICITY KILLS. Get it looked at by an electrician or someone who knows what they are doing.

AndyPK

Are you in a flat.

picture of meter and CU would be good

HappyMJ

TV/Sky box? Mobile phone chargers? Lighting? Exhaust fans? Cellar pump that you don't know is there? Cooking? Iron? Heating? Even a gas boiler uses some electricity.

How many watts is the heater on the fish tank? They are mostly around the 100W mark so shouldn't use too much.

matelodave

HappyMJ wrote: »

TV/Sky box? Mobile phone chargers? Lighting? Exhaust fans? Cellar pump that you don't know is there? Cooking? Iron? Heating? Even a gas boiler uses some electricity.

How many watts is the heater on the fish tank? They are mostly around the 100W mark so shouldn't use too much.

That should all be irrelevant if the main switch is shut off - no electricity should flow unless the main switch is faulty, in which case there's a severe hazard which should be rectified immediately

The meter should be connected to the main switch in the consumer unit and then everything else should be fed via fuses or circuit breakers connected to the service side of the main switch.

Nothing should be connected to the incoming side of the main switch except the meter

jp456

Thanks for the replies. I've been round the house and checked every single plug socket and turned every appliance off at the wall and turned every switch on the CU off. I'll try and get a couple of pics later when I'm back in an hr or so. Incidentally, is it straightforward to put images on here or will I have to link to them via photobucket or something like that..?? Assuming the burglar alarm is not responsible for this??

Thanks to all for the replies - much appreciated.

Jon

Consumerist

If you have switched off at the consumer unit then it is possible you have two consumer units in the property. Each CU will have tails coming out of the meter so you can trace its whereabouts.

ChumpusRex

matelodave wrote: »

That should all be irrelevant if the main switch is shut off - no electricity should flow unless the main switch is faulty, in which case there's a severe hazard which should be rectified immediately

It might not be the main switch though. It might be that the electricity supply is split into 2 after meter - one goes to the OP's fuse box, one goes somewhere else.

This is common in converted flats, where one flat's supply is split off into a private supply and the landlord's supply.

Although it is current practice to install a single main isolation switch on such installations, it did not use to be the case, and it is common to find split supplies with no main switch in older flats.

Larger, older houses, or houses with outbuildings might have a similar set-up, where the supply is split into two consumer units.

stator

Oh dear, we need to know what sort of situation you live in. If it's a converted flat then my bet would be the other flat has been wired up to your meter :eek:

jp456

It's a small semi-detached house - built in about 2000 + or - a cpl years max.

Consumerist

Just a thought - and I kid you not - check again during the day when the street lamps are off.