Can I remove the Economy 7 Board?

[Nathan9800]

Hi all,

I got Economy 7 and 2 consumer boards, but only want 1 consumer board as it'll look a lot tidier and save me replacing the E7 board as its very old and needs replacing. The E7 board only runs the immersion tank, used to run heaters too but I moved those circuits to the main consumer board as they are no longer night storage heaters.

Can I just remove the E7 board all together and put the 25mm meter tail in a connection block and encase it in a terminal box on the wall?

Could the energy supplier remove the tail when they change the meter later on this year?

Any advice appreciated !

 

[pc1966]

Well first thing is a replacement CU (consumer unit = panel = fuse box = distribution board) is covered by part P of the building regulations in England & Wales so is notifiable work. Basically you need to get a registered electrician to do it (i.e. one who is a member of one of the competent person schemes such as NICEIC, SELECT, etc), otherwise the additional certification could cost almost as much as the work.

If you no longer use the "white meter" rate, etc, then it would make sense to replace all with a newer CU, most likely the old one will be obsolete so replacement parts difficult to get and might not offer all of the protection that you would expect from an installation done to the current 18th edition of the wiring regulations.

There is advice on line relating to this, and normally it suggests you get an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) done first so you have a good idea of any corrective work that might also be needed. Common examples of serious issues are "borrowed neutral" between upstairs/downstairs lights, and some older installations where the wire is in poor condition or is missing the CPC (earth wire) for lights, etc.

However, find a reputable electrician to do this. There are many "drive by EICR" merchants who charge minimal and plan on making it up by work they find (a bit like the withcfinders of old). If you get a couple of quotes for both an EICR and CU change then you will get a better idea and they won't have any incentive to find that particular witch.

Best Practice guide #1 covers CU changes, and #4 covers EICR examples & coding:

Best Practice Guides | Electrical Safety First

Electrical Safety First produces, in association with other industry bodies, a range of Best Practice Guides which provide definitive information and guidance on a range of technical subjects.

www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk

 

[timhoward]

In a nutshell you are legally required to get the 2 non-E7 boards consolidated and replaced by a CPS scheme member, and there is no advantage to you decommissioning the E7 board yourself in advance. I'd just make it part of the same job (and it's only a few minutes of work for a sparks)
I'd add that if in any circumstances the meter is changed before this work all gets done, most meter installers would thank you profusely for being instructed not to reconnect the E7 board. We've had a fair few threads on here where smart meter installers haven't quite got it right in dual-tariff situations!

 

[Nathan9800]

Well first thing is a replacement CU (consumer unit = panel = fuse box = distribution board) is covered by part P of the building regulations in England & Wales so is notifiable work. Basically you need to get a registered electrician to do it (i.e. one who is a member of one of the competent person schemes such as NICEIC, SELECT, etc), otherwise the additional certification could cost almost as much as the work.

If you no longer use the "white meter" rate, etc, then it would make sense to replace all with a newer CU, most likely the old one will be obsolete so replacement parts difficult to get and might not offer all of the protection that you would expect from an installation done to the current 18th edition of the wiring regulations.

There is advice on line relating to this, and normally it suggests you get an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) done first so you have a good idea of any corrective work that might also be needed. Common examples of serious issues are "borrowed neutral" between upstairs/downstairs lights, and some older installations where the wire is in poor condition or is missing the CPC (earth wire) for lights, etc.

However, find a reputable electrician to do this. There are many "drive by EICR" merchants who charge minimal and plan on making it up by work they find (a bit like the withcfinders of old). If you get a couple of quotes for both an EICR and CU change then you will get a better idea and they won't have any incentive to find that particular witch.

Best Practice guide #1 covers CU changes, and #4 covers EICR examples & coding:

Best Practice Guides | Electrical Safety First

Electrical Safety First produces, in association with other industry bodies, a range of Best Practice Guides which provide definitive information and guidance on a range of technical subjects.

www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk

Hi there PC1966

Well first thing is a replacement CU (consumer unit = panel = fuse box = distribution board) is covered by part P of the building regulations in England & Wales so is notifiable work. Basically you need to get a registered electrician to do it (i.e. one who is a member of one of the competent person schemes such as NICEIC, SELECT, etc), otherwise the additional certification could cost almost as much as the work.

If you no longer use the "white meter" rate, etc, then it would make sense to replace all with a newer CU, most likely the old one will be obsolete so replacement parts difficult to get and might not offer all of the protection that you would expect from an installation done to the current 18th edition of the wiring regulations.

There is advice on line relating to this, and normally it suggests you get an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) done first so you have a good idea of any corrective work that might also be needed. Common examples of serious issues are "borrowed neutral" between upstairs/downstairs lights, and some older installations where the wire is in poor condition or is missing the CPC (earth wire) for lights, etc.

However, find a reputable electrician to do this. There are many "drive by EICR" merchants who charge minimal and plan on making it up by work they find (a bit like the withcfinders of old). If you get a couple of quotes for both an EICR and CU change then you will get a better idea and they won't have any incentive to find that particular witch.

Best Practice guide #1 covers CU changes, and #4 covers EICR examples & coding:

Best Practice Guides | Electrical Safety First

Electrical Safety First produces, in association with other industry bodies, a range of Best Practice Guides which provide definitive information and guidance on a range of technical subjects.

www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk

Hi there PC1966,

Thank you for your response and the advice.

Yes I agree about being notifiable and part p and all that, I should probably add that I’m an industrial Electrical Engineer, I’ve got my 18th edition through the company I work for, but not yet got my Part P certificate, will hopefully do that later on this year, so the work won’t be carried out until later this year as I’ll probably do it myself once I’ve got all the bits of paper. Just trying to get ahead of the game lil bit as I want to repaint the porch and was wondering if I could get rid of the old E7 board completely and just use the main consumer board or whether you had to, by some regulation have an E7 board if you had E7 meter.

I will replace the main consumer unit at the same time the supplier is changing the meter outside, so then it can be isolated properly.

I haven’t done a great deal of domestic wiring as you can probably tell. All of the serious stuff I do is industry and still need to get some experience under my belt really. Hoping to do a bit more domestic stuff once I get my Part P and things.

 

[Nathan9800]

In a nutshell you are legally required to get the 2 non-E7 boards consolidated and replaced by a CPS scheme member, and there is no advantage to you decommissioning the E7 board yourself in advance. I'd just make it part of the same job (and it's only a few minutes of work for a sparks)
I'd add that if in any circumstances the meter is changed before this work all gets done, most meter installers would thank you profusely for being instructed not to reconnect the E7 board. We've had a fair few threads on here where smart meter installers haven't quite got it right in dual-tariff situations!

Hi Tim,

Yes absolutely right, I wouldn’t touch it without getting me part p and proper qualifications first, just trying to get ahead of the game a lil bit and plan it in advance. I’ll probably do it myself once I get my part p, I’ve already got 18th edition, so hopefully get part p later on this year and do it then.

Wanna do some decorating and was hoping that I could just get rid of the E7 consumer board since it only runs 1 thing now, pretty pointless having a whole board just for that, may aswell put a time clock on the immersion imo.

So it is perfectly fine to have the E7 board removed and just run on the main consumer board with E7 instead? I just didn’t know if you had to by some regulation keep a separate E7 board if you had E7?

 

[brianmoooore]

OP is removing a board. Hasn't said anything about replacing one

 

[timhoward]

OP is removing a board. Hasn't said anything about replacing one

I wondered that -
"I got Economy 7 and 2 consumer boards, but only want 1 consumer board "
Is that 3 total and want 1?

 

[brianmoooore]

No obligation to have a CU connected to the switched E7 supply. I have three E7 meters, and make no use of the switched supply from the meter (or radio switch) at all.

 

[pc1966]

OP is removing a board. Hasn't said anything about replacing one

What will they do with the heaters and immersion circuits?

If the OP is going to be registered, or is doing this with supervision as part of an assessment in getting there, then it is a bit of a different game!

 

[Nathan9800]

OP is removing a board. Hasn't said anything about replacing one

I wondered that -
"I got Economy 7 and 2 consumer boards, but only want 1 consumer board "
Is that 3 total and want 1?

Many apologies, I should have made it clearer. I’ve got 2 consumer boards at the moment and only want 1 if possible. So to get rid of the E7 one which doesn’t feed anything but the immersion anymore.

 

[Nathan9800]

What will they do with the heaters and immersion circuits?

If the OP is going to be registered, or is doing this with supervision as part of an assessment in getting there, then it is a bit of a different game!

I plan to put a bigger main board in, maybe a 16 module 10 way so I can add extra circuits for the heaters and immersion. When I get my part p ofc.

 

[brianmoooore]

If I'm reading it right, the storage heater circuits have already been moved to the main CU (and the flex connectors replaced by sockets?).
It's only the immersion heater left to be transferred. You could argue that this is a new circuit, so under Part P, or you could argue that it's an existing circuit.

 

[Nathan9800]

If I'm reading it right, the storage heater circuits have already been moved to the main CU (and the flex connectors replaced by sockets?).
It's only the immersion heater left to be transferred. You could argue that this is a new circuit, so under Part P, or you could argue that it's an existing circuit.

Yes, I did the heaters under the supervision of my uncle who is part p registered, but I want to be registered myself so I can do it without supervision. Didn’t do the immersion because didn’t see the need to at the time because the immersion currently doesn’t have a time clock on it and also there isn’t enough spare ways on the main consumer board. But now if I can get rid of the E7 board that’s what I’ll do. I should have explained it better, sorry.

 

[littlespark]

How is the E7 board connected in?
I take it you have an E7 tariff? In which case is there an old time clock or teleswitch that needs removed too?
You could clear up quite a lot of space straight away. Would your supplier disconnect all that for you if you changed tariff?

 

[Nathan9800]

How is the E7 board connected in?
I take it you have an E7 tariff? In which case is there an old time clock or teleswitch that needs removed too?
You could clear up quite a lot of space straight away. Would your supplier disconnect all that for you if you changed tariff?

Hi littlespark,

E7 board is connected in via a second pair of tails coming from the meter.

Yeah I have an E7 tariff but the meter is fairly new (but not a smart meter) so the time clock and all that old stuff has already been removed before I bought the house. All the E7 stuff is done inside the meter.

I’d have to ask them but hopefully they could remove the second set of meter tails which are no longer in use when they install the new meter. I’d looking to stay on the E7 tariff tho.

 

[brianmoooore]

Would your supplier disconnect all that for you if you changed tariff?

Been trying to change from E7 to a standard tariff on one supply for coming up to four years. Scottish Power said the meter would need to be changed, and agreed to change it. Still waiting.
Stopped paying them two years ago, but apart from one phone call where the installer said he wouldn't be able to make it for the morning appointment (which didn't exist), but would definitely be there in the afternoon. Still waiting.
Since then, I wanted rid of one of the other E7 supplies as well, but found a tariff where the day and night rates were identical. That supplier has now gone bust, so I'm now back to E7 on that meter, which I'll have to sort at some point.