Updated on 01/05/25 by Ben_OVO
Will the contactor still be required to switch the heating circuit on and off or will it be redundant and the new smart meter system do that job instead?
That depends a bit on the overall layout of your system. Some models of the smart meters currently being installed have a big contactor inside them which does the job of your current external one. Some have only a little switch which can energize an externa; contactor. I would suggest you take some photos of your system, then contact Support via webchat to ask for the photos to be attached to your account. With any luck, the meter engineer will see them beforehand so he knows what he’ll need on the day.
Photos to take:
- Close-ups of the meters and the teleswitch clear enough for their display and markings to be legible;
- Overall views of the backboards the meters, contactor and teleswitch are mounted on, showing the cabling to and from them, including the service head (the unit at the end of the big cable that comes into the property) and the consumer unit(s) (‘fuse boxes’);
- Close-ups of the consumer unit(s) with the lid propped open, clear enough for any labels on the individual breakers to be legible.
If the teleswitch is in a different location from the meters (e.g. inside the house while the meters are in a box on an external wall), please say so. A simple sketch showing where the various bits of equipment are located would help; you should also say if any of it isn’t reachable from floor level (e.g. above a doorway).
Armed with this information, the engineer‘s chances of being able to complete the meter exchange at the first attempt are much higher.
Further information can be found on our website here and in these Forum topics:
