No electric after tripping RCD

[scoobasteve]

Hi,

My mate has a flat which has a solar PV install - he's tripped the RCD today changing a light fitting and now there is no electric at all to the flat after the RCDs have been switched back on.

The meter itself has no electricity to it at all either.

The SunnyBoy inverter has a fault light flashing and says 'disturbance' - after a quick google I see these things will shut down in these circumstances to stop power being fed into the grid/house but do they shut off the mains supply also?

He has a spark coming round soon but I'm just interested, seems wrong for the install to shut off all electric anytime a fuse is tripped?

If not is it a problem at the meter itself?

 

[phatboy]

If the meter is off, sounds like the supplier main fuse has blown next to the meter.

You say "seems wrong for the install to shut off all electric anytime a fuse is tripped?" - so are you saying this has happened to him numerous times? If so he definitely needs an electrician, as there is something seriously wrong causing a major current surge!

If however it has happened just this once, I think your point is invalid?

 

[scoobasteve]

Sorry - I meant it seems wrong that the PV inverter shutting down (which I know should happen) would also shut off all mains power to the flat as well?

That's really the answer I'm looking for - there's a meter outside the property also which is still getting power so the main 100amp fuse has not gone.

 

[scoobasteve]

Sorry just thought about that - the meter inside near the CU must be a generation meter linked to the PV install.

So can the PV shutdown also 'switch off' the incoming feed from the grid?

 

[Gavin77]

Your PV system is fine. No it can't switch off the main supply (Well not unless it has a major fault anyway) Dont worry about the PV system, it will come back to life once you restore power.

You say your friend was changing a light fitting. So either.

1. He isolated the power, but during the change, probably touched neutral to earth, tripping the rcd. A simple reset of the RCD should bring everything back to life (assuming new fitting is correctly wired). Remember that RCD's usually have to be moved to the OFF position, before moving to the ON to get them to reset.

OR

2. He attempted the change with the power still on, has shorted/touched something, and the RCD has potentially just saved his life. Again try to reset as above, but if he caused a short, he could well have fried the RCD. Probably time to get a sparky in.

I really hope it was scenario 1 that happened.

 

[securespark]

Not usual to cause damage to RCD by shorting out, unless RCD is on last legs anyhow.

 

[RF Lighting]

Maybe there's another RCD upstream of the CU in the flat which has also tripped?

 

[scoobasteve]

Cheers all - there was another RCD in between the service fuse/meter and the flat itself, the flat is above a shop and Spark said it was due to the length of cable between the meter and the flat itself that it needed another RCD?

Seems to just be confusing in scenarios like this as mate didn't know there was another RCD elsewhere.