Protection against open/loose neutral?

[kevin smyth]

Hello friends, is there such a thing as a "smart meter" that I can install on my backwoods house that will trip if it detects a loose/open neutral? If so, where can I get one? Thanks very much

 

[Megawatt]

Hello friends, is there such a thing as a "smart meter" that I can install on my backwoods house that will trip if it detects a loose/open neutral? If so, where can I get one? Thanks very much

Hello Kevin and welcome to the forum and yes they make smart meters but that’s the meter the power company puts in. The meter is called a smart meter because the power company can read it without ever coming on your property. Are you having some kind of problem that you need help with. You can buy GFCI breakers that could do what you want

 

[Lucien Nunes]

A high resistance neutral connection is usually manifest by incorrect voltages - on a single (split) phase supply one hot-neutral voltage goes up (the one with more load) and one goes down while the hot-hot voltage is unaffected, similarly for 3-phase.

This is easy to detect; for example you can buy voltage-sensing relays that can be set to trigger an output when the voltage goes beyond settable limits for a certain duration. These could then operate a shunt-tripping add-on unit to a main breaker, to isolate your panel from the faulty supply. (There are complications in practice, such as making this run from the hots only, so that the failed neutral doesn't stop the protection working).

Perhaps there is an all-in one unit? As MW says, is this a precaution or are you experiencing equipment damage from repeated loss of your neutral? For small loads, certain types of UPS will protect them against excessive voltage.

 

[Megawatt]

A high resistance neutral connection is usually manifest by incorrect voltages - on a single (split) phase supply one hot-neutral voltage goes up (the one with more load) and one goes down while the hot-hot voltage is unaffected, similarly for 3-phase.

This is easy to detect; for example you can buy voltage-sensing relays that can be set to operate an output when the voltage goes out of range. These could then operate a shunt-tripping add-on unit to a main breaker, to isolate your panel from the faulty supply. On the more sophisticated ones you can set the thresholds and delay time to minimise nuisance trips on start-up surges etc.

Perhaps there is an all-in one unit?

I got to admit that you are pretty sharp on electrical, are you some sort of engineer.

 

[Zerax]

I got to admit that you are pretty sharp on electrical, are you some sort of engineer.

Some sort of engineer ??? I'm convinced he's from a different planet... a planet far superior to our own in a distant galaxy...

 

[DPG]

I got to admit that you are pretty sharp on electrical, are you some sort of engineer.

Must admit, I have noticed that Lucien seems to have a rudimentary knowledge of electrical matters.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

are you some sort of engineer.

Yes, although I've long since forgotten which sort!