Relocating electricity meter at edge of property

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Hello everyone,

Due to a major extension/rebuild and building of an annexe, I thought of getting a new electricity line right at the edge of my property. The electricity network have asked me to build a small kiosk to house their terminal and also the future electricity meter. From that kiosk there will be an underground cable run to the annexe (40 meters) and then to the house (another 30 meters).

Can you see a reason why NOT to have the electricity supply and meter at that kiosk at the edge of my plot?
 
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If the electricity network have agreed then there is no ( obvious ) legal reason why you cannot have the meter just inside your boundary.

My concern would be about people with mal-intent being able to access your meter and the main isolator to your supply. Perhaps a lockable kiosk with a small window to enable the meter to be read without a key.
 
Thank you. Like you, I did think of vandals (very unlikely over here) or a car crashing on it (equally unlikely unless my wife backs up on it) and the instructions do say "lockable and concealed door hinges".

But I have thought of one reason. My current supply fuse is 60A. I was told on Friday by UKPN that it is not 100A because there is a long run to my house and the cable would get too hot / burn. If I now place the meter at the edge of my plot, all this wasted energy will be paid for by me. Unless I choose a much beefier underground cable. What do you think?
 
I was told on Friday by UKPN that it is not 100A because there is a long run to my house and the cable would get too hot / burn.

If the long run that UKPN mentioned is from sub-station to your meter then it is losses ( heating ) in the UKPN cable that are the limiting factor.

These losses in the UKPN cable will cause a voltage drop at your meter and therefore in your house. The meter measures both voltage at the meter and current passing through the meter. From these it calculates how many watts are passing through the meter. You only pay for the power ( energy ) used between the meter and your house and the power used in the house..

If the cable from meter to house is small and heats up then you will be paying to heat that length of cable. The longer the cable the more you pay for that wasted heating. Unless the cable is very undersized it should not get hot enough to be be damaged or dangerous. The larger the cable the less wasted heat is generated

There is another reason for limiting the size of the UKPN fuse. If there is a fault in the installation that puts a dead short between Live and Neutral and is protected only by the UKPN fuse then the fault current is limited only by the resistance of the cables between substation and the fault. This resistance has to be low enough such the the fault current is high enough to ensure the fuse does blow and more important that it blows quickly enough to prevent the cables being heated to a dangerously high temperature before the fuse does eventually blow.
 
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Can you see a reason why NOT to have the electricity supply and meter at that kiosk at the edge of my plot?

Volt drop is calculated from the origin of the installation ie the meter. Earth impedance likewise. You'll have to pay for any heavier cables needed in the submain or the circuit cables in your house.

And 70 metres of submain cable may be a very limiting factor if in the future you need electric vehicle charging at the house.

Also I assume this is a fairly large and rural property. No mains gas? How are you intending to heat the place? 60A is only 4 storage heaters.

Is 3-phase an option?
 
We are not that rural and have gas, but we have a long driveway.

The new cable run will be around 70 meters. I would like to have the 100A option and I found a calculator "https://www.superlecdirect.com/" it can tell you what size cable you need for the expected load and acceptable voltage drop. I entered 70 metres and 4% voltage drop and got 50mm2.
 
Due to a major extension/rebuild and building of an annexe, I thought of getting a new electricity line right at the edge of my property. The electricity network have asked me to build a small kiosk to house their terminal and also the future electricity meter. From that kiosk there will be an underground cable run to the annexe (40 meters) and then to the house (another 30 meters).
I think there is more we need to understand.

Why do you want to do this? Forgetting the new annexe for a moment, the house presumably already has an electricity supply (with the meter in the house?), so that the adequacy of the cable from your boundary to the house (upstream of the meter) is 'the problem' of the DNO (and presumably is currently deemed to be adequate) - with the added advantage, as has been pointed out, that you will not be paying for the electricity being used to heat that 70 metres of cable.

A bit more explanation may be helpful.

Kind Regards, John
 
We are not that rural and have gas, but we have a long driveway.

The new cable run will be around 70 meters. I would like to have the 100A option and I found a calculator "https://www.superlecdirect.com/" it can tell you what size cable you need for the expected load and acceptable voltage drop. I entered 70 metres and 4% voltage drop and got 50mm2.

That presumably is calculating volts drop from the meter to the house consumer unit only. You need to ensure that volts drop is calculated from the meter to the end of your longest / highest resistance final circuit.
 
That presumably is calculating volts drop from the meter to the house consumer unit only. You need to ensure that volts drop is calculated from the meter to the end of your longest / highest resistance final circuit.
Indeed - as I've just written, I think we need to understand why the OP wants to do this since, at first sight, it would seem far more in his interests to have the meter in his house (which I'm presuming is probably where it currently is), leaving the issues of the adequacy of, the voltage drop in, and the cost of heating of, the 70m of cable as the DNO's 'problem'.

Kind Regards, John
 
The only real deciding factor is going to be cost vs benefit for the op to decide. VD and heat loss issues etc can easily be designed out by someone who actually understands what they are doing. Sadly not every domestic installer seems to possess this knowledge.
 
The only real deciding factor is going to be cost vs benefit for the op to decide.
Indeed - and, as I said, I have yet to learn anything about the potential 'benefits' (as perceived by OP). Assuming there is already a meter in the house, all I currently see are downsides (for the OP) of having it moved to 70m away.
VD and heat loss issues etc can easily be designed out by someone who actually understands what they are doing. Sadly not every domestic installer seems to possess this knowledge.
Again, indeed - but, as I said (not knowing what the counteracting 'benefits' to the OP might be), I would have thought it far better to leave the VD and heat loss issues as "the DNO's problem" (i.e. on their side of the cutout and meter)!

Kind Regards, John
 

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