New Build: Location for Mains Meter and Isolation Switch

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Twincamr2

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#323978 11-Feb-2026 12:41

HI All,

Plans for our new house are largely complete and ready to be submitted for consent, but I noticed an insteresting thing: there's no provision for an external meter box. The architect said that the meter will be incorporated on the distribution board in the centre of the house. Although I don't have any reason to doubt them, I wasn't aware that this was an option and it seems odd that there's no easy way of isolating the entire house from the mains. I guess that the situations where this is absolutely necessary will mean getting someone from Vector to disconnect the house at the transformer. Also, won't that make the distribution box very big, especially when factoring in the extra solar PV gear?

Any thoughts about the pros/cons of external meter/isolating switch?

[edit: I did search the forum and the last time this was discussed was ~2013]

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#3460602 11-Feb-2026 12:53

This is probbaly standard. Our new build is like this too. Basically just what was outside is now inside and it reports its meter readings via cellular. There is still a mains switch that can be flipped off. IIRC it's a big switch next next to the smaller switches for the individual circuits -- same as what you'd find on external boards built for houses in the 80s 90s etc. Given there is no manual readings anymore no point putting it outside I guess.

Good point re PV gear. I'm considering solar so interested to see what others have to say about this type of set up and how it works for solar. My in-laws next door has their solar gear (or some of it at least) sitting outside in an external cabinet so I wonder if that is where it goes.

lxsw20

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#3460633 11-Feb-2026 13:56

Yeah its standard now, this is what we got in Dec 2025. Yes I wish I had told them to put a 3 row board in rather than the 2 they put in by default for future solar.

Since meter reading is mostly all done remotely now there isn't much point in an external board.

There is a pole fuse specific to your house at the street if the supply needs to be disconnected.

pdh

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#3460674 11-Feb-2026 15:41

I assumed (with my new build in 2020) that I would be fine, putting the meter on an inside wall in the attached garage.

It didn't work out well.

Somehow the idea of putting a small cellular antenna in a closed metal box (full of electrical fields) has never seemed to strike anyone as a problem - much less the planned death of 3G.

Meridian has tried two meters now - the first had 80% success sending monthly readings.
The replacement never has got through.

So I'm back to having random door-knocks with a Meridian meter-reader asking me where my meter is.
Very quaint.

Why they can't just put in a WiFi connection, I don't know.

KiwiSurfer

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#3460733 11-Feb-2026 16:19

Did you meter come with an external antenna? Current models use LTE so the 3G death is a non-issue to be fair.

tweake

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#3460747 11-Feb-2026 17:05

Twincamr2:

HI All,

Plans for our new house are largely complete and ready to be submitted for consent, but I noticed an insteresting thing: there's no provision for an external meter box. The architect said that the meter will be incorporated on the distribution board in the centre of the house. Although I don't have any reason to doubt them, I wasn't aware that this was an option and it seems odd that there's no easy way of isolating the entire house from the mains. I guess that the situations where this is absolutely necessary will mean getting someone from Vector to disconnect the house at the transformer. Also, won't that make the distribution box very big, especially when factoring in the extra solar PV gear?

Any thoughts about the pros/cons of external meter/isolating switch?

[edit: I did search the forum and the last time this was discussed was ~2013]

i would never put it inside.

one is simple convenience factor. if they want to change meters etc, you don't have to open up the house for them. they can do it anytime they like. also very handy for firefighters etc to be able to kill the power from outside.

Twincamr2

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#3460749 11-Feb-2026 17:08

KiwiSurfer:

Did you meter come with an external antenna? Current models use LTE so the 3G death is a non-issue to be fair.

... until the death of LTE :)

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Twincamr2

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#3460750 11-Feb-2026 17:12

tweake:

i would never put it inside.

one is simple convenience factor. if they want to change meters etc, you don't have to open up the house for them. they can do it anytime they like. also very handy for firefighters etc to be able to kill the power from outside.

Yeah, that's along the lines of what I was thinking. Even if you hit the isolation switch at the indoor panel, there's still a very spicy 240V snake running through your house to the panel.

lxsw20

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#3460776 11-Feb-2026 18:39

tweake:

i would never put it inside.

one is simple convenience factor. if they want to change meters etc, you don't have to open up the house for them. they can do it anytime they like. also very handy for firefighters etc to be able to kill the power from outside.

You're talking about a what once in 15 year inconvenience of them swapping the meter? Just because the meter is outside its not standard that i've ever seen to have a main switch there too.

Twincamr2

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#3460780 11-Feb-2026 18:52

lxsw20:

You're talking about a what once in 15 year inconvenience of them swapping the meter? Just because the meter is outside its not standard that i've ever seen to have a main switch there too.

Now you have!

Twincamr2

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#3460781 11-Feb-2026 19:00

lxsw20:
There is a pole fuse specific to your house at the street if the supply needs to be disconnected.

I keep hearing about pole fuses, but where exactly are they located? There aren't any poles in my street...

I assumed they'd be in the transformer enclosure across the road.

larknz

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#3460787 11-Feb-2026 19:28

There will be a small box outside your property, probably on the boundary with your neighbor. This will have an isolation fuse for your property. Each EDB seems to have a different name for the box.

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lxsw20

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#3460788 11-Feb-2026 19:59

Twincamr2:

lxsw20:

You're talking about a what once in 15 year inconvenience of them swapping the meter? Just because the meter is outside its not standard that i've ever seen to have a main switch there too.

Now you have!

are you sure that’s for the house and not just the hot water? Either way if you get your meter put outside I doubt they will install a cut off out there

thell be a box somewhere at the boundary the power connects to your house. Probably says vector on it somewhere.

tweake

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#3460789 11-Feb-2026 20:04

lxsw20:

You're talking about a what once in 15 year inconvenience of them swapping the meter? Just because the meter is outside its not standard that i've ever seen to have a main switch there too.

yes its rare event. but on the other side i've never seen meters inside a house before, despite working on/in houses for a decade.

the standard here is meters, ripple switch and main switch is outside. if any the most common thing needed access was to reset the ripple switch.

Twincamr2

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#3460791 11-Feb-2026 20:12

lxsw20:

are you sure that’s for the house and not just the hot water? Either way if you get your meter put outside I doubt they will install a cut off out there

thell be a box somewhere at the boundary the power connects to your house. Probably says vector on it somewhere.

I have to admit that was an assumption on my part. It could be for the hot water (although when we had a HWC, there was a switch for it on the distribution board inside). Is it not common to have an isolation switch directly after the meter?

PolicyGuy

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#3460793 11-Feb-2026 20:28

Twincamr2:

lxsw20:
There is a pole fuse specific to your house at the street if the supply needs to be disconnected.

I keep hearing about pole fuses, but where exactly are they located? There aren't any poles in my street...

I assumed they'd be in the transformer enclosure across the road.

On you road boundary, you will have a box that looks like this:

[Electra use green ones, so they come in at least two colours!]

Usually in suburban areas they are near the junction between two sections and the "pole fuse" for each of the two houses is in the box.

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