Covering Electric Meter

T3RRY

Hi Everyone,

I am looking to fit high cabinets in our utility room. The problem is we have an electric meter and consumer unit on the wall we want to have the high cabinets.

Moving them is not an option as it would cost an arm and leg to do so as they would have to move the meter to the other side of the room, far from were the main cable enters the house.

I plan on fitting the cabinets and having the meter inside the cabinet. However, I am looking to cover the back of the cabinets and only have the face of the meter visible. This hide the tails/cables and the board that the meter seats on. (I will not be touching the board or anything there)

Are there any regulations around covering this doing or safety concerns?

Thanks

Tom99

I would fit a removable back to the cabinet so that it can easily be removed in case of upgrade etc.

Ectophile

So what happens when it's time to replace the meter? What happens if the supply fuse goes pop one day while you're cooking the Chrismas dinner, and it's hidden behind the back wall of a cupboard? What happens if you need the power disconnected so an electrician can work on the consumer unit?

These things are supposed to be accessible.

shaun_from_Africa

Will the back of the cabinet prevent access to the consumer unit and main switch?
If so, I would say that it's a very bad idea and possibly even illegal as you would have no way to disconnect the power quickly in the event of an emergency.

Couldn't you fabricate a frame of some sort around the meter so that the back of the cabinet can be clipped on and removed very easily?
Another option would be to have a large cutout in the back of the cabinet and make a cover for this with a piece of laminate the same colour as the internals of the cabinets and hold it on with a bit of self adhesive Velcro.

Mutton_Geoff

Tom99 wrote: »

I would fit a removable back to the cabinet so that it can easily be removed in case of upgrade etc.

Seconded. That's exactly what I would do.

Jonesya

You should not cover the meter or the consumer unit with any paneling because both of these need to be accessible at all times.

The meter, so it can be read and inspected, and the consumer unit because you may need to access it in a emergency if you get an electrical fault, or if a circuit trips.

And obviously when fixing the cupboard take great care to use a cable locator to check for cables in the wall, because there will be loads of cables radiating to/from the customer unit.

Heedtheadvice

Lots of good warnings there. Original idea not good but if is just for esthetics to could make that cupboard section 'false' so it looks ok, maybe a shelf to keep spare light bulbs and a torch, but do not fill it with kitchenware. You do need to have routine and emergency access as posted above.

T3RRY

I don't intend to cover the consumer unit or the meter face (and our boiler switch)

What I am looking to cover is the other items that seat on the wooden board I.e. The cables/tails the black box that has the main cable from outside come into. All these items are not serviced by a general electrician as far as am aware and if they had to am sure there would be plenty of notice to take the back off for access.

The back of the cabinets will be made to come off (with a screwdriver of course and after removing the shelves inside the cabinet. The cabinet is in our utility so will be used to store cleaning products and stuff along those lines. The reason for the backboard is that the cables simply scare the life out of me. Trying to find an item in the dark around such cables does not seem safe, I would like to be able to touch and feel around without fear of putting my finger in the wrong place.

My question was, is there any regulations stopping me coving the items mentioned above (not covering the CU & Meter face)

chappers

No . I would remove the original panel from the back of the cupboard, make the cutouts to go around the items and then refit it from the inside over them, obscuring everything else