Discuss Isolator & consumer unit fitted in meter box in the Solar PV Forum | Solar Panels Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

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pauldreed

Had solar panels fitted today, and was surprised to see that they fitted the isolator switch & a 1 gang consumer unit inside the external meter box.
A short time later, a Meter Plus inspector arrived and went berserk at the sight of 'other equipment' being fitted on the back-board, taking photos & reporting it to his manager.

Is this normal practice to fit solar stuff in the meter box?
 
Is the existing CU in the same box ?

We install Two AC isolators one next to the CU whether it be inside the house our external box and the other next to the Inverter along with the DC isolator.
 
The main CU is in the kitchen.
But do you ever fit a CU and AC isolator in the customers electric box next to the supply meter.
 
No, as we have all had experience of the meter reader getting stroppy about even a Henley block being fitted to the back board!!! We generally fit the gen meter in the meter cupboard and then run the tails to an externally ip rated consumer unit and ac isolator, assuming it isn't a meter cabinet that is facing onto the pavement!
 
the meter plus guy was probably crying cause if hes got to fit a new meter theres no room left for him and it would require a spark to get it all to fit and meter plus guy isnt a spark


im guessing the installer has split the tails for the new DB
 
The back board is my property - not Meter-Plus's, so shouldn't I be the one that say's what goes where??
 
theres no issue here, meter guy wasnt shown how to install meters with other things in the same box. hes just after an easy life IMO
 
years ago the backboards used to have FOR SUPPLIERS EQUIPMENT ONLY stamped in big black letters on them.
 
OOOPPPSSSS!!!!

Guess I am in trouble!!!!

Customer insisted that he wanted it all in the same place!
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I've also done this on one job as the CU was positioned behind kitchen cupboards and impossible to access and there were difficulties in obtaining an Mcb to suit assuming I could get the cover off which turned out to be no go

So after discussing it with the client who wanted it in the meter cupboard I made enquiries with the Dno and meter operator and was told the meter cupboard belongs to the property and technically I could fit a CU or similar equipment in it within reason as long as it does'nt interfere with their equipment and access to terminations or cause any other adverse effect.

The people I spoke to said to think about ensuring that there is enough room for a smart meter which is a good idea as the meter operator can insist that the customer makes room for it which can result if further costs ,hassle changes of tarriff etc however I don't know all the details of this and whether this is accurate or not

so I would suggest make the enquiries yourself and try and find an alternative location and use this method as a last resort
 
Makes me smile that the meter housing belongs to the home owner, hence if the door blows off or breaks its the home owners responsibility to replace it, probably at great expense. How the dno claim the back board only from this is beyond me, anyone know??
 
Its one of those things with suppliers,they want you to allocate a place for their equipmet however you cannot put anything in the same space even though its your property,all utility companies seem to do this I think its something to do with keeping their kit seperate from everyone else,s ,probably from years ago like when they didn,t supply an earth and although they were giving you a supply you had to provide an earth to their satisfaction or you didn,t get the electric.Maybe it,s just their way of holding on to a bit of power.
 
"holding on to a bit of power" sounds about right. Im trying to think of other circumstances where it is the home owners obligation to protect a someone elses kit......... maybe im wrong and it doesnt have to be protected!? Theres one round the corner from me thats not had a door for ages!!
 
"holding on to a bit of power" sounds about right. Im trying to think of other circumstances where it is the home owners obligation to protect a someone elses kit......... maybe im wrong and it doesnt have to be protected!? Theres one round the corner from me thats not had a door for ages!!
Yes its a classic case of we know you need it so its our way or no way.Reminds me of a place i worked at and the question arose about what would happen if we needed more power,we were told by networks that in that case they would have to install a substation,but the problem for them was it would have to be on our land and they were not happy as it would mean they would not have 24hr access due to premises being locked at night.Heres where it got interesting,when we informed them that the boss lived on site and since the sub was only feeding our plant it would not be a problem,also that any incident causing total loss of supply would require myself as works engineer to attend they asked what would happen if he was on holiday? my answer was that they could have my mobile number and that if he was away then someone else would be on site.ultimately what I think they wanted was a key to the site,a classic case of if we don,t play my way I,m taking my ball and going home.
 

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