ELCD

[binky]

all right Andy, give him a break, he's getting  an electrican in.

@Andrew Scott if you could report back his findings, it would be nice to know what he concluded.

 

[Andrew Scott]

all right Andy, give him a break, he's getting  an electrican in.

@Andrew Scott if you could report back his findings, it would be nice to know what he concluded.

In a small village in Scotland the electrical people spent days trying to get an earth for the main transformer.

Eventually they got it.

However when the local garage put in new petrol pumps an earth could not be found so an earth leakage switch was installed. That was mid 60s.

Suspect it is the same to this day. The building is still there but no longer a garage and pumps have been removed.

 

[ProDave]

In a small village in Scotland the electrical people spent days trying to get an earth for the main transformer.

Eventually they got it.

However when the local garage put in new petrol pumps an earth could not be found so an earth leakage switch was installed. That was mid 60s.

Suspect it is the same to this day. The building is still there but no longer a garage and pumps have been removed.

If it was such a shambles then and has not been rewired since, it is WELL overdue to be checked.

Can we have the full story in one go rather than drip drip drip please.

 

[Andrew Scott]

If it was such a shambles then and has not been rewired since, it is WELL overdue to be checked.

Can we have the full story in one go rather than drip drip drip please.

Don't know anymore. I left the village 1993 and have no more information.

 

[Andrew Scott]

Spark has now been and confirmed earth is poor. He got a reading of 4.35 ohms.

Told me to phone power co.

Power company is coming to do repairs shortly. (I hope)

 

[Murdoch]

^^'good man. It's good too get feedback, so often it's not forthcoming!

 

[Andy™]

probably TNS with lead sheath then. at least they also make good earth rods so when they do fail they dont leave you without any earth.

 

[Andrew Scott]

probably TNS with lead sheath then. at least they also make good earth rods so when they do fail they dont leave you without any earth.

Chap from Scottish power arrived and said this house has never had an earth.

Will be back Wednesday to renew main cable right into meter.

Sparky said earlier today that many older houses in this town do not have a earth.

What does everyone think about smart meters?

 

[Andy™]

do you mean never had any earth, or never had an earth supplied by DNO?

for smart meters, ask @apprentice87 what he thinks of them

 

[binky]

Probably a TT system then? Rod been lost under something or earth connected to water / gas main.

Smart meters - PITA, you have to get it changed every time you change leccy supplier. So why are the energy companies pushing them? £350 charged to tax payer every time its changed......  X(

 

[Andrew Scott]

do you mean never had any earth, or never had an earth supplied by DNO?

for smart meters, ask @apprentice87 what he thinks of them

Never had earth supplied I think.

 

[Andrew Scott]

Probably a TT system then? Rod been lost under something or earth connected to water / gas main.

Smart meters - PITA, you have to get it changed every time you change leccy supplier. So why are the energy companies pushing them? £350 charged to tax payer every time its changed......  X(

Now changing my supplier every year.

Does this mean I should not get a  SMeter?

 

[Blue Duck]

Don't get one until they force it on you.

There is much info out there on why not to have one installed.

http://stopsmartmeters.org.uk

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-5005763/Smart-meter-scare-tactics-claims-old-ones-unsafe.html

Oh And they are still fitting SMETs1 meters which dont allow you to change providers and don't plan to install SMETs2 meters until next year but who cares as the tax payer is footing the bill!

 

[Murdoch]

Now changing my supplier every year.

Does this mean I should not get a  SMeter?

Do NOT get a smart meter .............. they are not mandatory and there are different ones for each suppliers .............. go figure ...............

 

[apprentice87]

Hi There.

I asked a meter reader about smart meters. They told me that they were terrible things, that they have had terrible trouble with them, and that until very recently, they had to go out and read them as normal, as the things were so unreliable. I could go on and on about the reasons you do NOT want one, but i think you get the idea!!

john..

 

[Rob_the_rich]

I saw a good post from AJJewsbury on the IET forum about smart meters here http://www.theiet.org/forums/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=205&threadid=103241&STARTPAGE=6&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear

........

Actually most of what we'd need - voltage sensing & contactor are already present in the new smart meters - just a bit of extra logic (probably a software change?) would be needed. It presumably would also have the facility to send a message to the DNO informing them of the problem immediately too. I guess you could even build in a bit of logic so that the installation was reconnected once a stable and correct voltage returned, but if the problem recurred several times in quick succession (perhaps indicating a failing joint or other loads being removed from the distribution system) then it locks out and awaits instruction from the DNO before reconnecting. If the DNOs want the installation's earthing conductor switched out during power cuts for embedded generation then they can add an extra contact to the meters for that too. The meter is then in the ideal position for checking that the PE contactor has indeed closed before energising the installation. To me it also 'feels right' that a supply side problem is solved within the supply system rather than passing the responsibility onto the consumer (ignoring the separation between DNO, supplier, meter operator etc for the moment).

Implementing the solution via smart meters would also mean it would be implemented across many more installations far more quickly (given the current smart meter roll out program) than if it had to wait for each consumer to upgrade their installation.

In short, it's a distribution side problem of their own creation - let them solve it.

Makes perfect sense. Instead of the mishmash hotchpotch implementations we have now.

Might as well include an isolator switch too, to save DNOs coming out to install one, if asked.

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Hi There.

I asked a meter reader about smart meters. They told me that they were terrible things, that they have had terrible trouble with them, and that until very recently, they had to go out and read them as normal, as the things were so unreliable. I could go on and on about the reasons you do NOT want one, but i think you get the idea!!

john..

Hmmmm.........     As with everything there are varying levels of reliability over a range of equivalent products installed..

e.g

Not all LED lamps last a long time, some shorter some longer than average, 

Some cars are less reliable than other cars of the same make & model...

So no double some smart meters will be better or worse than the average...

BUT.. we have had smart gas & electric meters since June 2008..

Never had a problem..

We have had one routine manual check during that time..

but certainly don't get meters readers coming to read as normal?????????

Consumption figures KWh  Not £'s & P;s  charged are proportional to the consumption before the smart meters were fitted..

So reasonably confident about the accuracy...

(I have a spread sheet been doing for donkeys years for our household budget....

food, car , bills etc...  and power Inc Units & KWh not just monetary value of bill)

So I know what the Average Gas and electric consumption per year is from before smart meters were fitted and since...

Personally I would not change back to traditional meters..

more than happy with the accuracy of my smart meters.....

Once again, as with 99.999999% of things....

it is generally those who are unhappy who write and complain to press & media and nowadays social media...

The satisfied and happy customers generally don't say anything...

Which is why a lot of posts found will be complaints rather than praise.

Guinness

 

[binky]

Never had earth supplied I think.

So would have been TT system - DNO are not obliged to supply an earth.

Now changing my supplier every year.

Does this mean I should not get a  SMeter?

I wouldn't, it will just delay changing suppliers.

Once again, as with 99.999999% of things....

it is generally those who are unhappy who write and complain to press & media and nowadays social media...

The satisfied and happy customers generally don't say anything...

Which is why a lot of posts found will be complaints rather than praise.

Guinness

 This is very true, but I still wouldn't have a smart meter until they are all reliable and the companies use the same software, so changing suppliers will be much easier.

 

[Andrew Scott]

Never had earth supplied I think.

Theory. Original supply would have been earthed via mains water pipe.

Lead water pipes would have been  replaced by plastic therefore very poor earth.

Scott. Power coming tomorrow to replace main cable from Street to meter.

 

[Andy™]

it would still have been TT even if earthed by the water pipe, so if the DNO didnt supply an earth in the first place they have no obligation to maintain one or provide one now. If they are going to replace the cable from the street and give you an earth FOC then you are lucky, you would normally be charged for it, or told they didnt provide an earth, its upto you to get your sparky to do it