Can an electrician swap my MCBs for RCBOs?

[Murdochcat]

If you want a single specific item in BS7671 that states 'do not connect solar to multiple circuits' then no, there isn't.
If that type of thinking was continued, BS7671 would be thousands of pages of specific entries attempting to cover every situation possible.
Fortunately standards are not written like that.

Quite so

Very few people in the general population install solar. Those that do install solar certainly should have it.

Hum

There is no requirement to update older installations to the current version of BS7671.

Precisely

However the original enquiry was about installing RCBOs instead of what was there, so the choice of updating has already been made. Whatever is installed as the replacement should comply with BS7671 and other relevant standards.

Which is a completely different conversation

As I previously wrote why didn’t the muppets simply state EV and PV circuits must be dedicated AND where appropriate have a dedicated double pole RCD

 

[ericmark]

I find the whole debate about plug in solar a bit pointless. We already have plug in solar, we already have grid tie solar, and we already have balcony solar, but they are not permitted to back feed into the grid, the inverter/battery pack often has provision to fit solar panels, it grid-ties, so battery only used when unplugged, or switched off, and acts very much like a UPS. There is a warning that there is around a 40 mS delay between feed through and battery power, so not suitable for some UPS applications.

To back feed to the grid, we need a MPAN number, or we get no pay for it. And to adjust output to match the demand, we need a CT coil on the main tails, plus a battery to store energy when we are not using it. We do have the likes of iboost+ but that only kicks in once exporting over 100 watt, which is great with a 6 kW array, but bit pointless with an 800 watt array.

So answer to question is yes, but with a proviso note, that there would be little gain, to ensure we do not get spikes tripping the RCBO we want a SPD and it would also need all new buss bars, so the extra work fitting a whole new consumer unit rather than upgrade the old one is minimal. So no real point, may as well fit a new consumer unit.

 

[Risteard]

As I've been saying for a long time, that would be good, but I have to say that I've never seen any of the devices usually used in domestic installations that has such an indicator - which brands did you have in mind?

Hager do.

 

[JohnW2]

Hager do.

Interesting. Seemingly very surprisingly, they must be very 'secretive' about that feature, since it does not appear to be mentioned in any of the documentation I've seen!

 

[Risteard]

Interesting. Seemingly very surprisingly, they must be very 'secretive' about that feature, since it does not appear to be mentioned in any of the documentation I've seen!

They have a box/window with "Earth fault indicator" written above it.

 

[JohnW2]

They have a box/window with "Earth fault indicator" written above it.

What is that (2-module-wide) device you have illustrated? I'm only familiar with the 'standard' single-module width Hager RCBOs, and they certainly don't have any indicator.

 

[SUNRAY]

What is that (2-module-wide) device you have illustrated? I'm only familiar with the 'standard' single-module width Hager RCBOs, and they certainly don't have any indicator.

That's confused me, I thought those were 2 pole MCB and RCD but the symbol on the device seems to indicate only single pole OCP

 

[securespark]

Change a consumer unit every 10 years? Mmmm dunno...

My parents had the same wylex rewirable comsumer unit for 40 odd years until recently no trouble.

According to the Technical fella that worked at Wylex in Wythenshawe, the Standard consumer unit was introduced in 1956.

Fitting then that the year I retired, I replaced one from 1956....56 years later!

 

[Risteard]

What is that (2-module-wide) device you have illustrated? I'm only familiar with the 'standard' single-module width Hager RCBOs, and they certainly don't have any indicator.

It's an RCBO - B10A in this instance.

 

[JohnW2]

That's confused me, I thought those were 2 pole MCB and RCD but the symbol on the device seems to indicate only single pole OCP

Quite so.

 

[JohnW2]

It's an RCBO - B10A in this instance.

Needless to say, since I can read and understand diagrams, I obviously know that much without your having to tell me.

However, I'm still not sure 'what it is' (in terms of the Hager range) since current (and as far back as I can remember) Hager SP RCBOs seem to be single-width and without any 'indicator' such as in the double-width one you illustrate.

 

[Ragnar_AT]

A quick web search indicates that this model is produced for the Republic of Ireland. Hager has product lines for almost every European country.

 

[JohnW2]

A quick web search indicates that this model is produced for the Republic of Ireland. Hager has product lines for almost every European country.

Interesting. It's obviously good for the Irish that their version has an 'earth fault indicator'. I wonder if the provision of that is the reason for it being 2-modules wide, or whether there is some other reason why RCBOs have to be twice as wide in ROI?

 

[Echo the husky]

The regulations seem quite different there, such as T+E cables having a CPC the same CSA as the live conductors, it is also fully insulated. Useful in some applications but wasteful of copper in almost all others. The main switch on consumer units being single pole HRC fuse holders and so on.

 

[ebee]

I did see an unusual one in the past - a rcbo that had indication by Half Up = One state and full up = other state but can not remember which was which RCD/MCB but once it had been reset you had no idea which off state it had been trying to inform you, so if the customer reset it themselves you had no idea what trip(s) it was indicating unless you repeated the result for yourself.

Might have been some advantage at some times I suppose.