Enough space for smart meter?

Netexporter

I have a manual switch inside my house after the meter, before the fuse box but I dont know if that is a fuse as well.

That is most likely a 2-pole isolator. They fit them in the meter box, these days, as standard. My box didn't have one, so I asked Octopus to fit one when they installed the smart meter. 

doodling

Hi,

Netexporter said:

I have a manual switch inside my house after the meter, before the fuse box but I dont know if that is a fuse as well.

That is most likely a 2-pole isolator. They fit them in the meter box, these days, as standard. My box didn't have one, so I asked Octopus to fit one when they installed the smart meter. 

Whilst I agree that is is probably an isolator, there is the possibility that it is a switchfuse, depending on the overall length of the meter tails.  Given that the OP said the consumer unit is only a couple of feet from the meter then an isolator is more likely.

I also note that the earth cables going into the house (the plain green one and the plain black one) look smaller than a meter installer might be happy with (i.e. less than 16mm sq which might be expected for a TN-C-S (aka PME) supply such as this).  I wouldn't call them dangerous but they may not be up to modern standards.  I'm intrigued what the black one is - that is a very non standard choice of colour.

Mister_G

doodling said:

Hi,

Netexporter said:

I have a manual switch inside my house after the meter, before the fuse box but I dont know if that is a fuse as well.

That is most likely a 2-pole isolator. They fit them in the meter box, these days, as standard. My box didn't have one, so I asked Octopus to fit one when they installed the smart meter. 

Whilst I agree that is is probably an isolator, there is the possibility that it is a switchfuse, depending on the overall length of the meter tails.  Given that the OP said the consumer unit is only a couple of feet from the meter then an isolator is more likely.

I also note that the earth cables going into the house (the plain green one and the plain black one) look smaller than a meter installer might be happy with (i.e. less than 16mm sq which might be expected for a TN-C-S (aka PME) supply such as this).  I wouldn't call them dangerous but they may not be up to modern standards.  I'm intrigued what the black one is - that is a very non standard choice of colour.

Unlikely to be a switch fuse, as that would normally have to go at the meter end of the tails in order to provide the protection required.

I agree about the earthing cable looking a bit thin.  A bit surprising, as they seem to have wired the tails in 25mm2.  Perhaps the electrician has run out of 16mm2!

Ant555

The chap i bought the house off worked in some kind of practical role for the electricity people (maybe it was Norweb/Manweb at the time) and I suspect he did all this himself.

He will have done the shower fuse directly to the meter as he will have had the crimps/seals to make it 'official'

He must have been an 'access all areas' kind of role as a friend of mine worked at the same office and I remember he told me that this chap had been storing some of his own stuff in the local sub station and had to be told to move it all out which is crazy but I guess in 1999 it may have been a thing

BarelySentientAI

Ant555 said:

this chap had been storing some of his own stuff in the local sub station and had to be told to move it all out which is crazy but I guess in 1999 it may have been a thing 

Still a thing.  I find all sorts of stuff in very strange places.