J
JamieK
Hi Guys
I am hoping to get some outside opinion on an installation that I don't think is safe but others do, I've drawn a shocking pic which I have attached to help describe the issue but I will try and detail it aswell.
This was a Solar PV installation in which the AC side was fed into the board on the left. The board is then fed underground using 16mm 4 core and earth SWA back to the main board in the customer building which is about 20m away under a bit of grass.
The SWA has a proper gland fitted where it enters the board on the left and has a 16mm supplementary bond connected to the MET inside the board. However, the left hand boards only connection to earth is through the SWA earth cable going underground to the main board MET 20m away.
The SWA feeding the main board is not glanded due to it coming through a ceiling in steel box trunking and the customer being adamant they did not want any damage in the newly decorated ceiling so the electrician just cut the SWA and terminated into the board without earthing the SWA with a gland - make sense!!??
The spark said that it is safe because the SWA is glanded at the left hand board side and a connection to earth is made through the internal 16mm earth in the SWA to the MET of the board on the right hand side.
My comment is that if (in the unlikely event) some form of excavation takes place and penetrates the soil above the SWA and the sand and the tape that was installed and causes damage to the SWA earth cable this will cause serious risk???
The spark says that is that happens the MCB will trip posing no risk to the person excavating but again my response is that this might not happen soon enough not to pose a danger.
Hope I have explained this as simply as possible I know its an odd one but any input very welcome indeed even if it is just to say I am wrong and it is safe.