DNO question, new supply

[wcavanagh]

So I have bought a derelict cottage, no power on site. Looking around there are HV lines on the access road, with a pole mounted tranny, going to three vertical lines to the farm. The farm is the only place connected to tranny. I would guess it's about 500m to the cottage from the last pole at the farm.

Looking at Scottish hydro website, they say to quote for a supply I need to provide drawings showing cable runs, locations of poles, and no clutter on plans.

Where do I start, please help.

Guess I may need a deep pocket to get power too.

Untitled

• wcavanagh
• 25 Nov 2013
• 1

 

[bernardgreen]

You need to contact the Distribution Network Operator for your area. This is the compnay that install and maintain the electricity supply network. This is not the company you would be paying the electricity bill to.

http://www.energynetworks.org/info/faqs/electricity-distribution-map.html

Probably SP Energy Networks or SSE Power Distribution.

Some of the work you can do yourself to reduce the costs to you.

 

[wcavanagh]

Ooo ok, cool, will have a read up.

Never done anything like this before

 

[Warleyboy]

Hiya buddy,

Just a few pointers.
Looking at the photo, looks like that is a single phase pole transformer.
So I would think that is either a 25kva/50kva pt.

If your property is 500m from that pt, you should start looking for another lv circuit which may be in the area, if not, your going to need to extend the hv circuit at the nearest point to your home.
You need to be at least 200-250m from pt, due to voltage drop, and poor resistance which will cause fault current not to blow fuses quickly enough.
Then depending on what load your requiring, ie, single phase 15kva or a 3 phase 45kva, or even greater, this will require you to have a new pt installed, so a single phase 25kva for a bog standard home would suffice, or even pay for a 50 kva and take an agreed supply capacity so that you have an extra amount on the pt that no one else could use, if you think you may need more juice.
Cost wise, it's not going to be cheap, from the hv, your going to need poles every 70-100m to support the hv, tranny will be between 1500 and 2000 grand, then your hv cables, earthing fir pt, lv cables, lv pole termination, possible service joint, cut out and isolator.
Definitely worth your while carrying out all excavation yourself, will save you a fortune.
Give your dno a call and request a quote, it will be carried out via desktop design, but will give you your offer cost.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but unless there is not a closer lv circuit, you could be looking at an expensive cost.
Good luck
Wayne

 

[wcavanagh]

Thank you for the detailed reply. Very useful. I can confirm no other LV close the farm is at the last point on that HV line, in the photo is the tranny connected to the farm main house, and a small cottage on the same location.

Up at the place I'm buying looking around there is another HV line maybe 3 fields away, so maybe 700m a long way. It is truly remote, only service on site is mains water at the moment.

I own an excavator and am friendly with the farmer who owns the land around so any work I can do myself is good.

I will check on google maps tomorrow, and apply for a quote to see what the ball park is.

My plans are a large 3 bed house, oil heating, electric shower and induction cooker will be the biggest load I need.

 

[bernardgreen]

Have a look at ground source heat pumps for your heating. If you have plenty of land and an excavator then the low cost of a DIY laid ground coil can make it a viable option for electric heating. You would need to notify the DNO that you would be using motors greater than 1 kW for the compressors in the heat pump(s). The reason is the start up currents in the motors will be several times the normal running current and this has to be taken into account when sizing the supply cables. ( they have to take short duration overloads ).

 

[Warleyboy]

Yes Bernard green makes a good point, ground source heat pumps could be the way forward for you.
Just bear in mind, that most pumps require a 3 phase supply, not all, but most.
They don't tend to have a massive start up current, but do require a 3 phase supply.
But if your doing the excavation, it gonna save you the bucks.

 

[wcavanagh]

What exactly does the pump do? Sorry to sound stupid. Would I be able to get 3 phone from the HV line, as it only has 2 cables?

Lots to consider, I plan this to be the house I stay for the rest of my life, so this is my chance to get things right

 

[bernardgreen]

Grounf source heat pumps are explained here

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk...renewable-technology/Ground-source-heat-pumps

http://www.which.co.uk/energy/creat...me/guides/ground-source-heat-pumps-explained/

Depending on conditions 1kW of electrical power can pull 2kW out of the ground thus putting 3 kW of heat into the house. That is a COP of 3 ( Co-eficient of Performance )

Beware comercial claims of higher COP as they ae only achieved in ideal situations and as the ground is cooled the COP will drop.

 

[wcavanagh]

Very interesting. I will have a look into this.

Will contact DNO today to see if they can get me a ball park figure for supply.

 

[wcavanagh]

Just to add, here is a google view of what I have.

The cottage is in the black circle.

Red line is the HV line with 2 cables

Blue line is LV line with 3 cables, you can see this ends at the farm.

Intersection is where the transformer from above is.

Untitled

• wcavanagh
• 26 Nov 2013
• 1

 

[aesmith]

Around here, rural Aberdeenshire, transformers like that typically only serve a single property.

 

[bernardgreen]

If you did all the trenching and laid in a duct at least one metre below ground level to the location of the transformer then your cost from the DNO may not be very high.

You would need to get a legally established way leave across all the land that you do not own to ensure you ( and later owners ) can access the duct if or when repairs are need. Lay in a second duct for telephone cables / fibres while the trench is open. In view of the long run and possible difficulty in pulling in that lenght of cable the DNO may supply the cable for you to lay into the trench without ducting it. The phone duct would benefit from an access chamber mid way ( just to make pulling in easier ).

I assume you do have planning permission to live in the cottage. Some isolated cottages can only be occupied by agricultural workers employed on local farms. It is not un-known for some derelict cottages to have their residential status removed.

 

[wcavanagh]

Many Thanks.

I have no issues digging myself, and sure I can sort with farmer, will need to find out what I need from a legal point.

Like the idea of a 2nd duct for telephone etc, almost forgot about them, the BY poles finish at the same point as the HV pole down the other side of the farm.

Yes I have full PP to covert into 3 bed house, for full time accom, etc.

 

[bernardgreen]

I have no issues digging myself, and sure I can sort with farmer, will need to find out what I need from a legal point.

Even though you are good friends the arrangements between you and the farmer must be in legally binding format, friendships can end and ownerships can change. I know a couple of houses that no longer have vehicle access to their garages because the right of way was set up "between friends" and then could not be enforced when new owners bought the house on the street and closed off the access. Another thing to look out for are ransom strips.

http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/project-tips/planning-permission/ransom-strip