I am installing an electric shower and am wondering about the total house electrical load. If we turn on all possible appliances at once it will come to about 26kW.
The main fuse is only 80Amp so I guess I need the electricity board to put in a bigger one (125 Amp?). What I'm wondering is whether this will be possible with the existing electrical supply cable, which doesn't look very big - it is only about 15mm diameter where it comes out of the ground and into the house. If it needs upgrading, how much does it tend to cost?
On 8 Apr 2007 04:13:24 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com mused:
Just because you've only seen 100A doesn't ean that it is the biggest.
Totally unneccesary, if you don't actually know anything about electrics then don't reply, or qualify your answer with a line that says you know nothing.
The OP seems to be forgetting about diversity. Basically, how likely is it that you will actually have absolutely everything switched on full blast at once? If I measured al the appliances in this house I'd get to about 300A or so IIRC.
Unless your shower is a 20kW model then I doubt you'll see any problems.
Yes, but you're very unlikely to turn on all the possible appliances at once.
I think 100A is the maximum for ordinary installations.
If it needs a new cable from the street mains, loadsamoney. On the other hand, they might just need to change the fuse.
You probably don't need to, unless you seriously are expecting a high continuous load, if your existing supply is 80A. If it were an old supply at 60A I would be a bit more thoughtful.
I can't argue with that. Perhaps you could let us all know which local distribution company installs fuses >100A?
I beg your pardon!! I will reply to whomever I choose, you cheeky little sod!
So far we have learned that just because I haven't seen a main fuse
phase is totally unnecessary. I'll admit the 3-phase quip at the end was meant more as an opportunity for ammusement tinged with a hint of innevitability. As domestic demand increases, it's an economically viable possibility. It would also mean that 60amp per phase would be enough.
It depends where you are. If you really need a lot of power, and you have to pay for a "reconnection" as I have, then getting 3-phase supply would certainly future-poof your investment. You don't have to use all the phases!
Sorry I missed the bit where the OP said absolutely everything would be switched on. When the OP referred to appliances I assumed that is what was meant. You claim to have >70kW of appliances!!! No wonder the earth is warming! As you are the expert and I know nothing, perhaps you could suggest what diversity the OP should apply? I'd be interested in your expert opinion.
On the other hand, the chances are that unless the OP has a very old supply, a phonecall to the local distributer could quickly get his meter tails upgraded to 25mm if necessary and a 100Amp main fuse fitted. Then he could switch almost all of his appliances on, and maybe even turn on some lights.
Two words. "Diversity factor" where although the total load could seem to exceed the rating of the supply, the chance of them all being on simultaneously for a prolonged length of time is so low that there is no problem.
If you do find that the electricity boards mains fuse fails repeatedly then I'm sure they will take the appropriate action to upgrade your supply.
The rule (at least used to be) 100A max for a single phase supply. After that, you had to go to 3-phase supply. If 3 x 100A was not enough, then obviously a 3-phase supply could be more than 100A per phase.
This rule seems to be very similar across much of EU, except the single phase supply limit varies. In some countries it's as low as
Thanks for the tip! In Feb. I phoned up to say that the delay had gone beyond a joke, and asked if as a temporary measure they could relocate my meter/supply so I could proceed with some building works. In March I contacted the contractor they use, and he claimed to know nothing about the job. I'll phone again on Tuesday....
Don't forget to check if you should also be getting additional=20 compensation because *they failed to tell you* you were due some in=20 the first place...
I'm not sure if this applies to missed appointments, but I only have=20 old Guaranteed Standards documentation to hand (from 2003) here:
formatting link
date was when I last downloaded a copy - I think it's gotten=20 harder to find this particular doc since)
On Mon, 9 Apr 2007 10:36:19 +0100, Colin Wilson mused:
If you Google for central networks "Guaranteed Standards", you get various guaranteed standards and associated documents, and all of the ones I read mentioned the £20 for missed appointments, some generic, some explicitly mentioning Central Networks.
Andrew Gabriel said the following on 08/04/2007 21:51:
Just a thought, but seeing as both of the UK manufacturers of house service cut-outs and suppliers of BS1361 fuses only provide product up to 100A rating, it would seem that you would not normally get a single phase domestic supply in excess of 100A.
A few months ago my supplier (meter operator) arranged with me for a meter change by the DNO (NEDL)(well, CE Electric, I suppose). Why do they always have to have complicated company ownership arrangements?
When confirming the date of change I asked them (well in advance) if they would take the opportunity to arrange to fit an isolator (there's loads of room in the Permali box to fit it), but they totally ignored my request.
Since then, I've changed my supplier (not really for that reason!)
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