12kVA to 16kVA upgrade

feruta9

There was some other work (fairly straightforward work, new sockets and lights and running cable for EV charger and whatnot) mixed in so the exact figure for that work specifically isn't itemised. I'll go back check exactly what I paid him.

I recall seeing those docs alright when he was here going through it but I'll have to check my folder later to see if I retained a copy or just saw it on the counter.

But the cert and test record sheet was done and submitted to Safe Electric which I'm 100% certain about as the ESB asked me to remind the RECI to send it into Safe Electric, as without it they could not go ahead with the upgrade. Once the ESB got those docs from Safe Electric they gave me a date for the upgrade to the meter. So that part was definitely done and I assume I can get a copy from them if I don't have one.

drury..

That 80A isolator looks like a con tbh if i'm being sceptical

Stuck in there to give the appearance of 16kva to the customer

All the major sections of the installation supply side except ESBN look to be 12kva so it's out of place by the look of it

meercat

agree with previous knowledgeable posters here

It doesn’t look like 25mm mains cables

It doesn’t look like there’s a 16mm earth cable to earth rod

Should be a double pole main isolator

Distribution board incorrectly rated for 80amp

is there surge protection in your distribution board

can you post a photo of complete board

Can you post a photo of complete meter cabinet

It’s also a requirement that you receive the certificate and test records

micks_address

Sorry to drag up an old thread..I've a 12kva connection and looking to upgrade to 16kva. I'm wondering about my tails and earth rod..back in 2022 they were upgraded to meet the requirements of installation of EV charger. New wires ran from meter box to consumer board and new earth rod. Would this have been to the standard required for 16kva or would they need to be upgraded again?

JL spark

your tails will need a upgrade to 25sq and earth rod to 16sq , your fuseboard will need to be changed to a inhanced unit , 100amp main switch and 100amp rcd larger busbar and internal wiring , and a full test of the house ,

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124032797#Comment_124032797

Thanks confirmed tails are 16 sq.. earth might be as well?

Sleamhain

It's likely that your earth rod wiring is a 10mm sq.

What is it that's steering you towards the 16 kVA supply? A lot of cost involved in getting it in and it may not be worth the perceived benefit. A 12 kVA is more than adequate for most domestic properties?

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124035333#Comment_124035333

Thanks yes it's purely down to trying to maximise a three hour tariff window which might not be worth chasing as who knows when it might change. I'm charging house batteries, ev and in the future potentially a heat pump. At the moment if the car is charging I'm maxing out the 12kva connection and the car charger is load balancing down so only getting 15kwh into the car some nights. It's actually manageable as not doing huge driving. Obviously would just be nice to have the additional headroom

Sleamhain

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124035338#Comment_124035338

Yeah, you have got to think about how best to spend your money in my opinion. There is no point having a larger capacity if the payback in savings through kwh doesn't make sense! You would need to make back a couple of grand in savings to see the payoff

Lots of people I think nowadays are assuming they need 16 kVA if they have an EV - but its just not really the case. Its about understanding how much you actually need. As you mentioned, you just need to be able to top the car up enough to get the miles you need for the next day really - if that means running the car charger at a lower kw charge, then so be it.

If you have a 3hr window and 12 kVA, you could consume 36 kWh a night in that window. or 252kWh per week. Thats any EV fully charged, with 20+ kWh per day leftover to cover house consumption (How large is your battery capacity?). Its kind of like doing a budget - and looking at what you need over the longer period, rather than going hell for leather and drawing as much as possible every chance you get

(Also - You might not always be on a 3hr window either - thats your current supplier, they might change things, you might move to a different supplier with a longer window)

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124035384#Comment_124035384

yep the 3 hour window is not a given.. have 32kw battery storage.. so getting about 16 into that in the 3 hours.. which meets demand of the house for the day and any bit of solar helps top up the battery.. to much storage really but thats a different debate. with a longer tarrif window could get more into the battery at maybe a lower charge rate.. its all as you say budgeting. heat pumps dont seem to add a major load.. maybe 1kwh it seems in a lot of cases and maybe not even that when its milder

micks_address

Hi folks,

Was chatting about electrician about the tails and board upgrade..he said the bus bars and wiring on the board can be upgraded without fitting a new board?

Also I just wanted to ask. How is the change of the consumer board fuse managed? When is the 63 amp fuse changed to an 80? Before or after networks do their side of the upgrade?

I'm wondering when do the esb network's need to change their wiring into the meter box? It's strong enough to support 16 or 20kva? House was built in 1978

Thanks

Mick

micks_address

Also the earth is ok at 16mm2? Looking at some 25mm2 kits like this one from Screwfix the earth is 16?

Its just the brown and blue needs changing?

https://www.screwfix.ie/p/prysmian-6181y-6491x-grey-green-yellow-1-core-25mm-meter-tails-cable-3m-coil-3-pack/92086

Electrician was saying he'd change all 3 to 25s

meercat

you’ve a looped supply there(with next door)at the minute. Probably just 8kva connection not 12 kva as you suggested you have

How easy is it for esbn to replace their cable to the mini pillar

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124050244#Comment_124050244

What's the mini pillar?

meercat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124050255#Comment_124050255

where all the houses are connected to. Somewhere on the street.

Sleamhain

Yeah could be a looped service, but could be a separate phase and neutral conductor either. You won't know until ESB come out to do their work. (One of them is marked P - could be for Phase!)

By that stage your electrician will have done all the work, sent in the cert, and charged you their fee.

At that stage if it's a looped service, it needs unlooping - not an easy process.

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124050281#Comment_124050281

I'm pretty sure its a looped service as when we had our meter replacement earlier in the year they had to cut the power to the neighbours as well

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124050263#Comment_124050263

I think that's at the entrance to the estate, we are a good bit away from that, probably 700 meters at least.. is there a chance they can't upgrade the connection?

Sleamhain

That's not good so, you can't upgrade without getting that resolved. And that means having your neighbours involved - it's their side that needs the upgrade as they need to be served separately

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124050305#Comment_124050305

It's possibly not going to be feasible so? I don't really need it to be honest

micks_address

Probably best not doing anything with the tails until esb network's have a look?

JL spark

how old is that install ,

meercat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124050302#Comment_124050302

it’s unlikely that your house is connected from 700mts away. There’s generally a smaller box on each road that the service is connected to. The fact there’s a looped service will make this an awkward job especially if there’s no ductwork. It’ll be your responsibility to put ductwork in place if esbn are upgrading (unless it’s an overhead which doesn’t seem likely here)

I’d also say it’s unlikely that you have a 12kva supply atm

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124050333#Comment_124050333

The meter box and meter was replaced in the summer

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124050389#Comment_124050389

This is what ESB networks site shows but maybe that's not accurate?

Sleamhain

Might not be accurate if you're on a looped service

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124051349#Comment_124051349

Esb network's did the meter replacement and we talked about connection limit and contract for 12kva but who knows. I guess it's best to get them out to take a look before doing anything with the tails. Their wires are heavier than my existing 16s tails so may e they are 25s?

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124050389#Comment_124050389

i can see theres a mini pillar box across the road from ours so not far away. Assumed there would be one our side of the road to? it looks like its built into the front wall across the road.

meercat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124052158#Comment_124052158

that’s it so. Esbn will need to get a new cable from your meter cabinet to this to upgrade your service. They’ll also need to feed a new cable to next door.
if ducting is in place they’ll try utilise that,otherwise you could be in trouble

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124052322#Comment_124052322

trying to get esbn to talk to me.. i put in an application almost a month ago and they still havent even responded to it.. any time i query it they just forward it to someone else. i'm unlikely to do the upgrade but i would like to find out what might be involved if i ever go down the road in the future.