Turning the electricity off at the outside meter box

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#2956153 18-Aug-2022 16:04

Tinkerisk:
I have never been able to understand why you install the electricity meters and house connections outside the buildings?

So they can be read (back when it was done manually), and so the fire service can cut the power if there's a fire.

raytaylor

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#2956158 18-Aug-2022 16:08

Anyhow my theory is it could have been an RCD that tripped. Appliances do this all the time.

Breakers dont often trip without you knowing exactly what caused it - because that appliance is also making a bang/smoke or if the appliance is still connected it will instantly trip again.

But an RCD is much more sensitive and random appliances like fridges etc can trip them but not always instantly after being reset.

I cant remember if the modern standard is to put the whole house on an RCD or groups of breakers but I do know they are required on new boards.

An RCD, also known as a GFCI, can protect multiple circuits/breakers. An RCBO is a overload breaker+RCD in one per circuit.

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elpenguino

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#2956160 18-Aug-2022 16:10

neb:
cyril7:

Hi, as Behodar says, if it was a breaker that tripped, that could happen without anyone accessing the meter box, ie an internal house overload could cause it to trip. But if it was an isolation switch, that would require someone to operate it. As suggested, put a lock on it.

You've also got to look at what's most likely. The OP mentioned it was a dark and stormy night (literally), what are the chances of a prowler wandering around in a storm at night and random turning people's power off?

That's prowler prime time in Wellington.

1 - everyone's tucked up at home = fewer witnesses

2 - doors and windows closed so less noise heard by neighbours

3 - much storm noise, thus entry noises are covered

On those stormy nights you tend to find street-side car breakins spike massively, especially on those streets where the houses are well above or below the road.

I presume crims tell each other this when they're passing time.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

elpenguino

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#2956162 18-Aug-2022 16:14

Behodar:

A switch, or a breaker? Just wondering whether there's a little communication breakdown between Vector > parents > you.

Almost certainly a switch.

Each installation by law needs a switch and house fuse. Where the circuit breakers are separated (indoors) from the energy meter, the former components must still be on the meter board (outdoors).

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

Bung

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#2956215 18-Aug-2022 16:34

raytaylor:
Anyhow my theory is it could have been an RCD that tripped. Appliances do this all the time.

OP said switchboard moved inside leaving only meter (& presumably main switch and fuse) outside.

Tinkerisk

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#2956280 18-Aug-2022 17:13

raytaylor:

Tinkerisk:

I have never been able to understand why you install the electricity meters and house connections outside the buildings?

Before electricity meters were connected to cellphone networks, a man used to come around to your house every two months to read the meter. If they were on the outside of the building he could do it during the week rather than coming back on a saturday morning and waking you up at 8am.

Here they are read by appointment once a year (manually) and otherwise for billing purposes when you move out. Recently, you can also enter the meter reading yourself via the internet (plausibility check is done automatically). You have to pay anyway (monthly a certain rate, fixed annually) and if you cheat, you get the bill afterwards. Readout via LORA-WAN is available for new installations (smoke detectors also run via this).

The fire brigade is an argument, but for individual rooms they simply point the fire hose at a socket and the prescribed RCD(s) fly immediately. In the case of basement flooding, the electricity supplier has to shut down the entire street centrally anyway. Otherwise, in the event of an evacuation, it is a good idea to flip the main switch before leaving the house/flat. In addition, there are now PV systems on the roofs, and it is the owner's responsibility to switch them off in the event of a fire.

In return, no one can get to your supply lines (applies equally to gas and water) and bleed out alarm systems days in advance.

Hmm, I guess everything has its advantages and disadvantages.

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Daynger

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#2956317 18-Aug-2022 18:49

neb: , and so the fire service can cut the power if there's a fire.

Have you met firemen on a job?

I have, and a padlock wont stop them, they are rough as guts and will destroy anything that stops them doing what they need to do.

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wired

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#2956429 18-Aug-2022 22:08

If it is a standalone house I expect it is a switch because a breaker would not have the discrimination with the pole fuse, that is, they will race each other to isolate the circuit.

These switches are also generally sealed with a fine wire joined by a lead seal (or similar). So turning them off would require breaking the seal and the meter readers looked for a broken seal as an indication that the meter had been tampered with.

Regarding RCDs, I was told that you can have a maximum of three circuits on a single RCD so that would prevent having the whole house on a single RCD.

Out of interest, I think was something about must have a minimum of two lighting circuits so the whole house does get blacked out if there is a fault in a circuit but I’m not sure how this relates to the introduction of mandatory RCDs in residential accomodation.

Bung

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#2956439 18-Aug-2022 23:40

wired:
These switches are also generally sealed with a fine wire joined by a lead seal (or similar). So turning them off would require breaking the seal and the meter readers looked for a broken seal as an indication that the meter had been tampered with.

Regarding RCDs, I was told that you can have a maximum of three circuits on a single RCD so that would prevent having the whole house on a single RCD.

Out of interest, I think was something about must have a minimum of two lighting circuits so the whole house does get blacked out if there is a fault in a circuit but I’m not sure how this relates to the introduction of mandatory RCDs in residential accomodation.

I believe the switch housing is sealed (probably because it is upstream of the meter) not the toggle. On ours the housing screws are covered in security tape.

At the house where this happened the switchboard has been relocated inside. I doubt that any breakers or RCDs are in the meter box.

Tinkerisk

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#2956442 19-Aug-2022 00:35

I don't know your electrical regulations or codes, but here in Germany it is compulsory to install a separate RCD with 30mA (for circuits up to 20A) for the kitchen and the bathroom. Furthermore, separately for each additional kitchen/bathroom. Then separately for everything that goes outside (e.g. terrace, balcony, electric lawn mower, garage, etc.). So, that's normally 3 pieces (as I said, mandatory). Now there is at least one more for the inhouse socket circuits (now four RCDs).

I have a separate one for the makerspace, because I sometimes fiddle around with mains voltage there - via an isolating transformer, but you never know if something might be defective (five RCDs).

Wheelbarrow01

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#2956444 19-Aug-2022 01:24

raytaylor:

Before electricity meters were connected to cellphone networks, a man used to come around to your house every two months to read the meter. If they were on the outside of the building he could do it during the week rather than coming back on a saturday morning and waking you up at 8am.

The meter for our bach is indoors. It isn't connected by cellphone. We still have a meter man who has his own key to the house and he lets himself in once a month to get the reading. He's only ever turned up once while we've actually been staying there. Nice chap. Carries a big bunch of keys for most of the baches in town.

North Otago - keeping it old school since ages ago lol

tripper1000

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#2956611 19-Aug-2022 16:05

There may be no criminal intent behind someone manually turning off the power.

Ask a question: Do your parents have a security light (or another electrical device) that could be annoying the neighbours? My security lights go bananas in a storm so I have to turn them off to prevent them from bothering the neighbourhood. If I was un-neighbourly and didn't turn them off, my (slightly odd) neighbour would likely turn off my mains switch.

When the electrician reports back you will know the answer and end the speculation.

If you parents place is the same as mine, it was manually switched off. No faults within the house can trigger it. At my house there is no RCD or CB in the meter box. Just a mains switch that breaks the main power feed and also breaks the pilot wire feed into the house (and I'm about 90% sure this is standard in modern houses).

(There is also a fuse on the pilot circuit (which would be a CB in a more modern installation) but tripping that only takes out the hot water so not relevant in this case).

There will not be a big main RCD in the meter box being tripped by a bung appliance. Lighting circuits are split between 2x RCD's minimum. They don't have one RCD controlling the whole house, otherwise you loose your all your lights when the RCD trips which is a dumb and unnecessary safety issue. With multiple RCD circuits you loose only 50% of your lights (at the most), which is much more manageable.

Handle9

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#2956612 19-Aug-2022 16:09

Tinkerisk:
I don't know your electrical regulations or codes, but here in Germany it is compulsory to install a separate RCD with 30mA (for circuits up to 20A) for the kitchen and the bathroom. Furthermore, separately for each additional kitchen/bathroom. Then separately for everything that goes outside (e.g. terrace, balcony, electric lawn mower, garage, etc.). So, that's normally 3 pieces (as I said, mandatory). Now there is at least one more for the inhouse socket circuits (now four RCDs).

I have a separate one for the makerspace, because I sometimes fiddle around with mains voltage there - via an isolating transformer, but you never know if something might be defective (five RCDs).

It’s way OT but all new circuits are required to have RCD protection.

Daynger

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#2956778 19-Aug-2022 20:04

wired:

If it is a standalone house I expect it is a switch because a breaker would not have the discrimination with the pole fuse, that is, they will race each other to isolate the circuit.

These switches are also generally sealed with a fine wire joined by a lead seal (or similar). So turning them off would require breaking the seal and the meter readers looked for a broken seal as an indication that the meter had been tampered with.

Regarding RCDs, I was told that you can have a maximum of three circuits on a single RCD so that would prevent having the whole house on a single RCD.

Out of interest, I think was something about must have a minimum of two lighting circuits so the whole house does get blacked out if there is a fault in a circuit but I’m not sure how this relates to the introduction of mandatory RCDs in residential accomodation.

There is so much wrong in this post where do we start.......

Discrimination between a breaker and a pole fuse is huge, the breaker will always trip first by a large margin, there may be some fault conditions where both will go, but if everything is in good condition the breaker will always go first, this is why we have moved from fuses to breakers.

The main switch in the meterbox is sealed by an inspector with the lead or plastic seals, but this is to stop access to the terminals of the switch, not to stop the operation of the switch, no point having a switch that cant be operated.

RCDs, the current rules cover that you can only have three subcircuits off one RCD, but there was a time where the rule was everything needed to be on an RCD. So there are still plenty of houses out there where there is one RCD on the switchboard that turns off almost everything in the house.

There is a rule about having more than one lighting circuit and they shall be on different RCDs, it came along at the same time as the rules about having only three subcircuits off one RCD.

wellygary

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#2956787 19-Aug-2022 21:03

Wheelbarrow01:

The meter for our bach is indoors. It isn't connected by cellphone. We still have a meter man who has his own key to the house and he lets himself in once a month to get the reading. He's only ever turned up once while we've actually been staying there. Nice chap. Carries a big bunch of keys for most of the baches in town.

North Otago - keeping it old school since ages ago lol

No mobile reception area?

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