meter box

[Newby2]

Happy new year everyone.

I have a quick question. My house was built in 1992 and the meter boxes are on the outside wall. I just noticed my electricity meter box has 2 pipes (of cables) coming from the ground, through the bottom of the box and connecting to the meter, while other houses in the neighbourhood have only one pipe from the ground.

why is that and what is the difference? thanks!

 

[westie101]

In the 70's a lot of the, now, DNO's used looped supplies for economic reasons (it was cheaper for the housing developers).
In this a service cable is jointed to a main in the footpath and taken to one house, a connection is made before the meter and another service cable taken to a second house.

Generally the higher costs on schemes were making the service cable to mains joints so this reduced the numbers of them so lowered the costs

 

[OwainDIYer]

photo of the service intake and meter connections please

In so recent an installation it's not likely your supply has been looped to a neighbour, but not impossible.

Or a metered supply to a separate CU in a garage etc?

 

[Newby2]

pictures attached View media item 54210 View media item 54211

 

[OwainDIYer]

your supply does loop through to a neighbours or other supply.

 

[Newby2]

sorry for my ignorance. what does it mean? How other houses in my neighbourhood don't have this?
thanks.

 

[westie101]

It will have been installed depending on layout and progress of how the site was being built.
It does not affect your supply in any way, you are NOT paying for someone else's electricity.

 

[dinopower]

i think it was sometime in the late 90's that wpd stopped looping house services although after hat they di continue to loop out to streetlights, doesn't make any difference to you as if looping to a house the cable from the mains will be larger (typically 35 al hybris) to allow for 2 houses.

 

[AndyPRK]

fuse not screwed to the back board, and not enough cable to do so

 

[westie101]

fuse not screwed to the back board, and not enough cable to do so

Look carefully the cut-out is screwed to an angled piece of board which is the approved method when the cable entry is surface fitted.

 

[AndyPRK]

didn't know that was approved

 

[RF Lighting]

I've never seen that before either!

The only trouble with looped supplies is when you want your cutout moving and next door are a set of morons

 

[Lectrician]

Very common with WPD, but I hate seeing it!

They don't like the service cables coming up the cavity either, so it's usually a face fitted entry. Although, recently, all the new cutouts have been fixed to the back board, and an ugly loop of service cable left in the cab instead!

Standards have dropped, cable clipping down buildings is usually a shocker!

 

[TheKeymeister]

The cutout screwed to the ramp is definitely OK, I remember seeing it in the STs somewhere

One thing I will give WPD though is they aren't as forceful as CN for having the meter box outside for a domestic supply

Did a job recently and there were 3 street lights, a bus shelter and a traffic controller looped together nicely, all good, but the supply from the main was in 4mm

 

[Guitarguy]

The cutout screwed to the ramp is definitely OK, I remember seeing it in the STs somewhere

One thing I will give WPD though is they aren't as forceful as CN for having the meter box outside for a domestic supply

Did a job recently and there were 3 street lights, a bus shelter and a traffic controller looped together nicely, all good, but the supply from the main was in 4mm

Is that all? I did a job and a bit of 4mm was going into an illuminated sign column, with two loops coming off, one feeding a kiosk. fed from the kiosk was 15ish streetlights (the tall ones) going off down the road quite far and off down the other way too. And a set of traffic lights too!