Can anyone help me identify what is in my electrical meter box please?

sasquatch77

Hi all please can you help me identify the components in my electrical set up?  We moved into a house that had storage heaters and E7, we have had the heaters removed and are going to update all our electrics but I am confused as to who owns what.  In particular I am keen to know what the box on the right is in the meter cupboard, what is (what looks like to me) the second fuse box on the right and finally what these two black boxes are?

Any thoughts much appreciated

powerful_Rogue

I could be wrong so don't quote me on this and wait for people with more knowledge to reply, however it looks like this:

Pictures 1 & 2 are your consumer units. Picture 3 is your smart meter. Picture 4 is the electric feed into your house.

So the electric goes into your house via picture 4, then into your smart meter picture 3 and then to your consumer unit pictures 1 & 2.

cm4ever

Caveat - I'm no electrician but.....

In your 1st photo, you probably have 2x distribution fuse boards as one could be for normal mains circuits (left) and the other for your dedicated E7 heater circuits (right). You own and are responsible for all this kit.

In your 2nd photo (meter box), the 4x switch box on the right is what looks like 4x main 100A incoming circuit breakers. You have 2x mains circuits coming from the electric meter (normal and E7) circuit feeds. Generally you don't own and are not responsible for this kit.

In you 3rd photo, they look like incoming mains feed joint/tap blocks - they could well have been installed to extend/divert/join the mains feed from the meter box to internal fuse box or else where. Probably your responsibility, but need further investigation.

Probably not 100% accurate, but food for thought....

Gerry1

I hope that you're not replacing storage heaters with panel radiators or anything else using daytime electricity?  That would be a very expensive mistake.

doodling

Hi,

The last picture shows some boxes which join the cables coming out of them.  The left had little box simply joins two cables together, presumably because the consumer unit has been moved and the cable didn't reach to the new location.  The right hand little box splits the neutral connection from the meter cupboard into two, one for each consumer unit.  You own those little boxes and all the cables going to them.

The second picture shows the meter cupboard and you don’t own anything in there, except the cables leaving it towards the little boxes and the consumer units. The contents are owned by the local DNO and your electricity supplier.

The first picture shows two consumer units, probably one for peak rate which will be powered all the time and one for E7 cheap rate which will probably only be powered at E7 times. You own these.

I hope you've replaced the storage heaters with something like gas, oil or a heat pump rather than peak rate electric heating (the only thing more expensive than peak rate electric heating is buying a stove and burning £10 notes in it)!

flashg67

I had the storage heater consumer unit incorporated into one big unit for the whole house when I had my storage heaters removed. There was an old  time switch for the Economy 7 that I had removed too. My supplier still shows that I have a 2 rate meter but currently charges me the same rate for both readings 

Qyburn

Last picture show "Henley Blocks" used to join or split meter tails. Looks as if one just extends one of the Live tails, the other splits Neutral into two, presumably one for each consumer unit.

Qyburn

The thing on the right in the meter box is an isolator, allowing power to be switched off from one place. Some DNOs require this if the consumer unit is more than a certain distance from the meter.

Scot_39

As others, 1st pic is 2 consumer units - looking at sizes and number of MCB's - split normal house circuits on 24/7 live mains on the left and E7 switched circuits on right - but note that will most likely at least at one stage been heating and hot water immersion tank heater (piccy a bit rough but is that a gap next to three remaining MCBs ?) - not just the NSHs say you have removed (*).

So - "if like mine" it should have 1 MCB per each dedicated spur to each storage heater - and 1 for E7 feed to hot water tank (either only element - or generally lower heating element on a two element tank).

Looking at the photo again - it looks as if powered off completely - at least at time of photo - and a bit diffult with the cover / reflections - feed isolator and three MCBs all in off position ?).

 

The meter, is a smart meter (comms module on top) - with internal load switching circuit - as it has two live outputs - and will be making one of it's two live outputs live only during off peak period (hence 1 live input - 2 live outputs towards RHS as a rule - cannot remember if front or back the switched e10 on my meter) ("at least if still in multi-rate mode").

That could be E7 - even some older legacy tariff like 20:20 or E10 etc - but could equally be being billed as flat rate - with the electricity company simply adding both registers. 

Or even remotely reconfigured to single rate according to some posts read here (which according to one post many months ago - make both outputs live 24/7).

The block below it - the main incoming feed from the street - with a 100A amp isolation fuse on the live - the block on the right - isolation switches - to protect say cables to and anyone working on the consumer units in picture 1 with covers off. 

The split of ownership in the meter cabinet itself - I always thought none of that was householder - but a poster above suggests otherwise - and happy to bow to better knowledge.

My meter cabinet needed rejigging 2 times in the move from 2 physical meter heatwise to E10 digital with load switching to E10 Smart (the non load switching variant as suppliers standard at the time). Taking maybe 3-4x the work time as a simple swap out - wasn't billed for any of that extra work - parts or time.

All the bits needed to connect the feed wires to the 3 way split consumer unit feed cables - done by the meter engineer - without any cost to me.

The consumer units - are 100% yours.  The cables to the meter cabinet - probably likewise - isolator switches ?

But from those 3 pics - not at all obvious where isolated brown in piccy 2 turns red in piccy 1 below RHS consumer unit assuming that was the original supply (old wiring standard colours - or even if still connected (the black probably the neutral - on one of the Henley blocks in last piccy).

So that CU may already have been worked on by your or previous occupants electricians.

And any work / further work needed there - should be included for by your electrical contractor.

As others have asked - out of curiosity - what are you planning on replacing the old ripped out NSH with ?

Scot_39

Gerry1 said:

I hope that you're not replacing storage heaters with panel radiators or anything else using daytime electricity?  That would be a very expensive mistake.

Panel heaters - generally very true.

But if an ASHP with a high COP  or multiple air to air reverse air conditioner / air conditioner heaters - do they have COP or an equivalent ?

So arguably if flat rate/COP <= off peak rate - beats NSH.

Unless you end up one with high standby / vampire loads all year round - as others report.

Spoonie_Turtle

Scot_39 said:

Gerry1 said:

I hope that you're not replacing storage heaters with panel radiators or anything else using daytime electricity?  That would be a very expensive mistake.

Panel heaters - generally very true.

But if an ASHP with a high COP  or multiple air to air reverse air conditioner / air conditioner heaters - do they have COP or an equivalent ?

So arguably if flat rate/COP <= off peak rate - beats NSH.

Unless you end up one with high standby / vampire loads all year round - as others report.

Generally can hope to get a COP of 2 to 3 (anything else is a bonus).  So depending on the exact rates will differ, but then what's the point of nighttime electricity?  Heat pumps are more efficient when it's warmer out, so daytime not nighttime.  Even for water.  So no point paying more during the daytime (peak rate rather than flat) than you have to.