Inverter location

[digital48]

Does an inverter need to be close to the consumer unit and does it have to actually connect into the CU? I'm hoping to install it in the garage to avoid a very hot loft, but the CU is inside the house in a fairly inaccessible location whilst the meter and company fuse are on the garage wall. Could the connection be made close to the meter?

 

[trebormint]

Does an inverter need to be close to the consumer unit and does it have to actually connect into the CU? I'm hoping to install it in the garage to avoid a very hot loft, but the CU is inside the house in a fairly inaccessible location whilst the meter and company fuse are on the garage wall. Could the connection be made close to the meter?

Install an additional consumer unit dedicated to the PV adjacent to the main incoming fuse cut-out. Don't forget to install a 100A 2 pole isolator that can isolate both the existing DB & the new one. MEM do a unit with a BS88 80A fuse built in which is compact & accepts 25mm double insulated tails.

 

[digital48]

Install an additional consumer unit dedicated to the PV adjacent to the main incoming fuse cut-out. Don't forget to install a 100A 2 pole isolator that can isolate both the existing DB & the new one. MEM do a unit with a BS88 80A fuse built in which is compact & accepts 25mm double insulated tails.

Thanks for the reply: it was what I was hoping for, but I'm not sure what DB refers to.

 

[TJLinks]

good grief

 

[dansk]

Oh dear, I suggest you get someone in to do it for you.

 

[Worcester]

Guys, this is the problem that the Solar PV installation business is facing. If you look at the quality of questions being asked over the last 9 months they have been getting steadily more basic and gives cause for concen about the level of competence of individual installers.

Perhaps there should be a Master Guild of PV Installers!

 

[MorganPVI]

Nail on head Worcs, been getting worse and worse.

 

[digital48]

Perhaps 'someone' has been jumping to conclusions?

Perhaps 'someone' has assumed that I'm an installer?

Perhaps I'm simply interested in the subject and looking to understand it better?

 

[Worcester]

Perhaps 'someone' has been jumping to conclusions?
Perhaps 'someone' has assumed that I'm an installer?
Perhaps I'm simply interested in the subject and looking to understand it better?

In which case my apologies digital48

Any good installer can easily answer these questions for you and can advise on your particluar instance what is the best for you (and I mean for you) they cannot do it without a site visit, as it also depends upon cable routings, connection details etc.

Find a good local MCS certified installer that doesn't hesitate when you ask for references, and they can answer your specifics.

The best option (for you) is not always the cheapest.

Seeing as you like direct questions, without explanation here are your direct answers:

Does an inverter need to be close to the consumer unit?
NO

Does it have to actually connect into the CU?
NO

Could the connection be made close to the meter?
YES


However wether that is how it should be done in your case is a completely different matter.

 

[malcolmsanford]

And of course if your still wondering a DB is a "Distribution board" normally know in a domestic situation as a CU "Consumer Unit"

 

[digital48]

In which case my apologies digital48

No need. I think you'll find that the number of posters in my position will increase as we come across more and more installers who don't know what they're talking about. I've had several quotes and any number of them have contradicted each other or given information that was simply wrong (including from the rep of an installer who got national, and seeming positive) exposure on TV a few weeks ago). How do I know? From reading and asking on forums such as this.

Any good installer can easily answer these questions for you and can advise on your particluar instance what is the best for you (and I mean for you) they cannot do it without a site visit, as it also depends upon cable routings, connection details etc.

Find a good local MCS certified installer that doesn't hesitate when you ask for references, and they can answer your specifics.

See above! You only know if they're good if you have a little knowledge yourself or if they come well recommended by someone who has got an installation which is more than a few weeks old. The Solar PV industry, from a consumer's point of view, has all the hallmarks of the worst of the double glazing industry a few years ago: the good guys in danger of being swamped by unscrupulous cowboys.

The best option (for you) is not always the cheapest.

Agreed, and I won't be going with the cheapest, though the cheapest, to date, has come in at two thirds of the dearest (which magically dropped by £1500 within 10 days once he became aware).

Seeing as you like direct questions, without explanation here are your direct answers:

Does an inverter need to be close to the consumer unit?
NO

Does it have to actually connect into the CU?
NO

Could the connection be made close to the meter?
YES

No! The explanations are the most important part of the answer. That's where the understanding comes from. The explanation I got on whether or not the connection had to be into the existing CU was excellent. I simply didn't (and still don't) know what DB stood for. I do know now, however, that if I get an installer telling me he's got to go to the CU I can suggest otherwise with some confidence (to get to the CU is going to be seriously messy as it's pretty much buried in the centre of the house).

However wether that is how it should be done in your case is a completely different matter.

Agreed.

And thanks for your response!

 

[digital48]

And of course if your still wondering a DB is a "Distribution board" normally know in a domestic situation as a CU "Consumer Unit"

Thanks! Obvious now you've told me. Just didn't come to mind despite puzzling over it for ages!

 

[SolarCity]

Guys, this is the problem that the Solar PV installation business is facing. If you look at the quality of questions being asked over the last 9 months they have been getting steadily more basic and gives cause for concen about the level of competence of individual installers.

Perhaps there should be a Master Guild of PV Installers!

I strongly agree.

By making MCS a paperwork exercise that can be pretty much bought, it was bound to happen. I'm happy to answer questions on here but some of the questions being asked are so basic that you can clearly see that some of the installers are way out of their depth.

There also seems to be a lot more shoddy installs going up. Some of the things I've been seeing have really angered me and I am really tempted to knock on doors and ask the home owner exactly what is going on.

 

[SolarCity]

No need. I think you'll find that the number of posters in my position will increase as we come across more and more installers who don't know what they're talking about. I've had several quotes and any number of them have contradicted each other or given information that was simply wrong (including from the rep of an installer who got national, and seeming positive) exposure on TV a few weeks ago). How do I know? From reading and asking on forums such as this.!

This is one of the best things about this forum. Joe Public can come on and read for themselves. This way it helps them distinguish between the crap installers and the decent installers.

 

[digital48]

This is one of the best things about this forum. Joe Public can come on and read for themselves. This way it helps them distinguish between the crap installers and the decent installers.

Exactly! And from what I've read on here, and other similar forums, I've binned two quotes and asked one of the others to reconsider one of the options he had offered. I even got the two I eventually binned to come back and have another look just to check I'd not misunderstood. I hadn't, they were binned...

Two of the other quotes I got were from posters on one of the forums. They clearly knew what they were talking about and their answers to questions from Joe Public (AKA 'Potential Clients') inspired confidence.

 

[Eco Deal]

Forums like this are giving the cowboys the basic answers they need to complete a job !!!! I wonder what would happen if they did not get any advice from installers , this forum helped me out during my MCS process all on the paper work side !! but the installation side come with ease has I have been in the electrical industry for over 15 years !!! where its the other way round with the newly formed companys they are good with paper work and sales but if you give them a tool box they would not even know how to open the box ??? No matter what MCS or REAL do these guys will find a way round it , but I think it should be made harder to get in , My NICEIC assessment was harder than my MCS assessment.

 

[BruceB]

Forums like this are giving the cowboys the basic answers they need to complete a job !!!!.

Yes, that worries me too sometimes. I like tackling interesting and difficult questions on here, because it teaches me a few things and keeps me up to date. I hesitate to answer very simple questions sometimes because if it is installers asking, then they really should already know the answer. I did cause offense to one accidentally a few months ago by suggesting that though!
Regards
Bruce

 

[Worcester]

The explanation I got on whether or not the connection had to be into the existing CU was excellent. I do know now, however, that if I get an installer telling me he's got to go to the CU I can suggest otherwise with some confidence (to get to the CU is going to be seriously messy as it's pretty much buried in the centre of the house).

Here's a photo of a recent install, the two large grey wires that dissapper top left are going off to the customers existing CU. The black blocks to the right and left of the supply meter are called 'Henley' blocks and the inverter is atatched to those via its own 'Garage' CU , seen above it with the Total Generation Meter and PV System Main AC Isolator.

 

[GaryM]

I wish people wouldn't cut short the outer insulation when entering henley blocks thereby having a single insulated conductor on show, yes I know it's a very small amount but it's incorrect and bad practice all the same. Ditto for the pvc insulated conductors entering the meter.

 

[Worcester]

Thanks GaryM, I'll pass your comments on to the Sparks who did it (he might even be on here now)