I’m currently with SSE but hope I can get an answer here as they have been taken over by OVO. I have two separate electricity meters, one for standard rate, and one for storage heater and hot water, the latter being controlled by a clock which gives two separate charging periods. We don’t use the heater except for background (low rate is about 45% total usage) and I think Economy 7 would be cheaper. Is this possible to move to a single E7 meter (smart if poss) and would there be a charge? The whole system dates from the 1960s and so far as I know the only change has been two new meters a few years ago. Picture of distribution board attached.
Hey @johnlbrooks - that’s an “interesting” historical electricity fuse-board!
Your initial question is reasonably straightforward, although there are some alternatives to consider.
But the photo raises some other factors which are worthwhile considering… particularly around the area of safety.
We’ve got a great guide to help you figure out who’s responsible for each part of your set up and who to contact when you need to make changes:
2: Safety of the existing installation:
a; The larger silver isolator switch at top centre looks like the mains incomer. We wouldn’t fit that now. Your local Distributed Network Operator (DNO) needs to be asked if they could change this to the usual 100A Service Fuse.
If you don’t know who is your DNO, fill out your Forum Profile and I’ll work it out for you.
b; The green earthing wires are too small. They need replacing with 10mm² green/yellow wire and your earth connection (copper stake?) checked for compliancy. This requires a local electrician. I’m unsure if OVO would be prepared to change you to a Smart Meter unless you had adequate earthing.
c; Your only safety (earth-leakage) trip appears to be on the input to the fusebox feeding the storage radiators. There’s no RCD that I can see on your lighting/power circuits. As the house wiring is old, there’s an higher chance of faulty wiring which could cause damage, but fail to blow the fuse. Not good!
Personally I’d be asking a local electrician to quote for a new “split load” Consumer Unit. These come ready-built with two RCD (safety) trips and a range of MCB trips which replace the present set of fuses.
The Consumer Unit here has ten MCB trips of a mix of different Amp ratings. There is a wide range to choose from. This one I found on the website of the electrical wholesalers, TLC Direct.
For customers wanting to go from Single Rate to Economy 7
It’s a good idea to start by comparing Economy 7 prices, to get the best one for you. At OVO, we’ll be able to give you a price outline for Economy 7 – as part of your quote from us.
Once you have an Economy 7 meter installed, it can be set up with your chosen plan, to best suit your home and lifestyle. And if you need to switch between Economy 7 and a standard energy plan, you can even do this remotely once you have a smart meter.
You can get a smart meter that’s set up to work with an Economy 7 tariff. Once you do that, the rates will be displayed on your electricity smart meter and In-Home Display.
We offer the latest type of smart meter (called SMETS2), which will work with Economy 7 plans. Find out more about how to get a smart meter for your Economy 7 plan.
I have just inherited the problem of 2 SSE electricity meters have recently moved home. There is some useful information on here but i wasn’t clear how to go about moving to 1 meter - can i get SSE/Ovo to do this and install a smart meter or do i need to employ an electrician to convert the meters to 1 meter. Thanks
You won’t be able to get an electrician to do this, so it’ll have to be your supplier - most likely SSE unless OVO is listed as the active supplier. Could you show us some photos of your meters please? This will definitely help us figure out what you’ve got so that we can give better advice.
Thanks!
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Thanks for the reply and I’d be hugely grateful with help to resolve this. I attach a couple of photos which illustrate the set up which are located in the garage. One of the meters seems to have very low usage whereas the other one seems to be the main meter.
Yes, this looks like some kind of Economy 7 type setup, but it could be a different type of two meter arrangement as well. It’s not always easy to identify exactly what it happens to be. However, this helps me a lot.
SSE’s Electric Heating Team should be able to discuss this with you and hopefully figure out an upgrade path to a Smart Meter. There’s a dedicated number too which is 0345 071 7972.
It’s possible that an electrician may need to do a bit of rewiring afterwards, but you’ll be kept informed if that’s the case.
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What you currently have seems to be a complex meter setup and therefore you might have two MPANs (Meter Point Administration Numbers) which can result in you paying two Standing Charges at the moment. Upgrading to a Smart Meter would result in you going to just a single meter with one MPAN and guarantees only one Standing Charge in the future. It would also make it easier to switch suppliers later if you wanted to.
The other bit of good news is that SSE can take care of the admin and paperwork related to cleaning up the records on ECOES (the central electric meter database) to remove that second MPAN on your behalf if needed as part of the service.
Feel free to keep us posted with how you get on. If you need a hand again with anything, we’ll be happy to help.
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That site has two separate 100A Service Fuses. It is likely that they are connected to different phases by the Distribution Network Operator (DNO) for your area (SSEN).
That’s why they serve two separate single-phase consumer units.
Read our existing illustrated tutorial topic on Who owns what? This will help you to contact the right company about the right bits of the installation.
In actual fact, I just noticed a possible fault here as well. It seems like there might be exposed copper just above the service fuse on the right right where that black cable feeds into it. Please don’t touch any part of that or you’ll be in for a nasty shock.
In fact, it seems as if there might be missing tamper seals on those service fuses as well. That’s definitely not right and could be a pretty serious safety issue.
This may need to be reported as an emergency repair job with your DNO.
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I agree @Blastoise186 - there are several Fault Codes to be reported here.
@Ray780 the orange arrow below points to the bare copper which Blastoise refers to
I’ve circled the missing security seals on both fuses. These are typically absent when the DNO has removed their fuses for an electrician to install new consumer units, but then failed to return later to check the installation. (Or possibly the electrician forget to tell them it was completed!)
I’ve labelled the two fuses as L1 and L2, although I don’t actually know which phases have been fed to the property.
That would mean the central position with the bare copper showing is the Neutral. Although theoretically this should be the same voltage as earth, there are circumstances in which it can ‘float high’ and cause a shock. Do not touch it!
The presence of a Neutral on a Cut-Out like this is usually indicative of a TT mains connection. If that is so, then you should have your own earthing stake outside and close to the meter position. Check for this.
When the consumer units were installed the electrician should have supplied a Site Test Document. The Earth Path Resistance will have been measured and must be less than 200 ohms. You should also have received a separate certificate by post declaring that the installation complies with Building Regulations Part-P.
Fault code A07 is Exposed Live Conductor. There is no separate code for an ‘exposed neutral’.
This needs reporting to SSEN who would normally attend site within 24 hours.
I am not a qualified electrician. It is possible that the Forum Moderators may pass this dialogue to an in-house expert for checking. If so, please ensure you keep reading below as there may be additional comment/advice given.
