A look inside a British home electrical panel.
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- Опубликовано: 3 апр 2019
- Note that in this video the panel is new and has no external circuits connected yet. When wired in and active there is a lot of exposed live metalwork that poses a shock risk. Changing a consumer unit is not a simple DIY task due to the presence of a high current supply that poses a shock and burn hazard if touched or bridged.
In the UK we have a really simple electrical system. Just a three phase system with 240V between each phase and neutral and 415V between any two phases. (230V/400V under European tolerance standards.)
A typical home will get a single phase and neutral with the three phases spread amongst homes in a street, while a factory or commercial premises will usually get all three phases.
The higher voltage means lower current and the single phase means that our consumer units (home electrical distribution boards) are very compact and simple inside.
Traditionally they contained an isolator with a busbar that went along a horizontal row of breakers, but these days the breakers are often grouped in sections, each protected by its own main RCD/GFI. This allows the RCD/GFI to protect all the wiring in the circuit and also ensures that if a leakage fault does cause an RCD/GFI to trip, it only turns off a small number of circuits in the house. In some instances every single circuit may have its own RCBO (Residual Current Breaker with Over-current) which protects each circuit against overcurrent and fault leakage.
The use of a DIN rail for mounting the breakers means that the panel can accommodate other modules if desired. Commonly things like time switches and power supplies. Alternatively a consumer unit can be used purely as a handy housing for a row of DIN modules with the added advantage of integral power busbars.
A typical British home gets a 60A utility fuse these days, although for larger homes or applications like vehicle charging that can be upgraded to a higher value if the incoming cable is suitably rated.
Typical circuits in a consumer unit are:-
Lighting. A radial circuit protected by a 6A circuit breaker. Usually wired with 1mm or 1.5mm CSA cable. The circuit usually bounces from room to room passing through a ceiling rose connector that makes it a very versatile system for lighting.
Radial power. Often a 16A breaker feeding a special application like a heating boiler control system or immersion heater. Usually wired in 2.5mm CSA cable.
Radial circuits are also used for high current loads like cookers and showers with suitable cables and breakers.
Ring power circuit. An unusual approach to running lots of high current sockets with a loop of cable that starts and finishes at a 32A breaker. Usually wired with 2.5mm CSA cable. People make entire careers out of inventing new and pointless ways to test ring circuits. Sometimes called a ring main as the first circuits were based on power distribution ring mains that are used in the electrical utility industry. Now called ring final circuits, a new name invented by the department of paperwork.
Other components to follow in future videos.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
www.bigclive.com/coffee.htm
This also keeps the channel independent of RUclips's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty. 
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As an American electrician this panel not just being a box full of blatantly exposed death metal is mind blowing.
Hey here in America we like the freedom to arc ourselves to death if we want thank you
Indeed! I know both system. Easy to damage wire insulation and your skin too with these steel panels, conduits .... ! Plus bad contact with the busbars. The panel shown originated in Germany, it is modular, refered to as the DIN rail standard. Note that many US companies use it nowadays.
@@clitisswood7330 I've installed a lot of din rail in industrial settings. It's common in those settings to install breakers similar to these as well as terminal blocks, fuse holders, relays etc. I've never seen it in a residential setting, but it seems like a great system.
The other 2nd amendment the right to bare wires.
15 minutes can save you 15 % on car insurance 🦖
It is a pleasure to look at a DIN rail based British panel. I cry every time I look inside a Canadian panel. Thank you for keeping the Queen safe from shock.
this is not "brittish" this is the standard in the eu since 20x years ago.
There are advantage to both. Personally I'm not a fan of the ring circuit design in EU panels. Leviton has a very nice residential panel design, the largest issue with most North American panels is that the basic design hasn't changed since circuit breakers became standard.
@@shadowwolfmandan Ring is only a UK invention, rest of EU use radial circuits, also some homes (majority in my country Poland) gets 3x230/400V mains
Compared to the usual panel in the USA, that one is elegant and straightforward.
It's not that dissimilar. I'm sure it starts getting messy when you start running wires (though some of that depends on how much effort the electrician puts in).
Was just thinking the same thing. This one makes even the latest ones we use look sad.
Because there are so few wires
Also a ton less exposed mains. I always hate that if you don't have a US panel full of breakers, you have exposed mains. Just look at how many places there is exposed mains i.stack.imgur.com/Tcci3.jpg
As an Uk Electrician I love watching American electricians on RUclips, it's the best comedy on the net (no offence meant).
Nice bubble level to keep the electrons from falling out.
If you tilt it the right way, you get cheaper power because the electrons run towards the outlet aide faster.
I’ve been installing electrical panels in both Europe and USA. I really like how breakers just snap on without tools in American panels and bus bars are integrated. That makes an installation with 30-50 branches clean and easy. On other hand, I don’t remember having more than 10 breakers at once in an European panel. I think 220v system allows much more load per a branch. Also, European apartments are tiny - no need for many branches.
I have 16 breakers, three are in use.
Absolutely spot-on about accidently putting the bus-bar tag up behind the screw-clamp. I find that you have to hold the bus-bar up then tighten, say the right-most rcd screw. Then see if it is likely to fall down, but don’t actually let it fall. Then loosen the screw and move to the next screw, to the left, mcb screw, and tighten that, and see if the bus-bar is likely to fall. Then loosen that screw and move to the next mcb screw. Etc. Then, when you’re satisfied that all the tags on the bus-bar are in fact forward in the mcb and rcd clamps, actually tighten them all up. Bit of a pain doing this but, as you say, better safe than sorry. Couldn’t they be designed in such a way as to ensure that it isn’t possible to put the bus-bar tags in behind the clamp, do you think?
Nice videos, very helpful.
I'd like to see a comparison with a modern German distribution panel (3 phase). Always seemed like a good idea instead of single-phase distribution. I'd also like to see a discussion of the UK "ring mains" system.
TIL ring main are a thing. In theory it should let you get more power to the outlets/use less copper for the wiring. Also the UK uses 32A rings while Germany uses 16A radial distribution. However if a wire gets broken at some point in a radial system it will not work while in a ring system it can lead to a overload situation where the wiring could burn.
The second world war brought about ring mains in the UK. It was determined that there might've been the possibility of a copper shortage so using a ring was a measure designed to reduce the amount of copper a house needed for its wiring.
Huh, I didn't realize German homes had three phases, I thought only large buildings or industrial stuff got that. Though it does make sense that Germany of all places would build houses capable of running factory equipment :)
@@jayzo Interesting Germany didn't do that as there was even more stuff to rebuild.
@@GiddeonFox Yes. Every German building has 3-Phase. The stove is wired to all three phases, as are electric water heaters. If you have a garage it's not all unusual to have a 3-Phase outlet, one of the big red ones. Also rooms are normally running on different phases to distribute load.
Reading the comments takes longer than watching the video. You have a global and knowledgeable audience.
I been retired for several years now. I forgot how much I loved my careers. This is ELECTRICIAN Pr0n. Thanks so damn much.
These videos have been quite helpful for a fellow in the translation industry who has precious few contacts in the UK electrical field. Thank you, Clive!
This is a very interesting video. Reading the comments, I've seen a some of them that say that since the UK uses 240 volts, they get more power for their 60 or 100 amp electrical service than the US (or Canada) does for an equivalent size service. That is simply not true for single phase service.
So I thought a little information on how US/Canada split phase electric service works might be helpful for anyone who is interested.
US/Canadian electrical services are also 240 volts. But in the US the transformer has a center tap, which also provides 120 volts from the center tap (which is called the neutral and is grounded/earthed) to either of the 'hot' legs that are on each side of this center tap. This is called a split phase service. It is NOT a 2 phase service!
But a house with 3 phase service in the EU with a 60 or 100 amp service will get 173 percent of the power than a house with a similar size single phase service. So a house in the EU with 100 amp 3 phase service will have about 40,000 watts available, almost the same amount of power that a US house with a 200 amp single phase service will have.
In the US higher loads like electric stoves, ovens, air conditioning, electric heating, water heaters, clothes dryers, etc., usually run on 240 volt circuits. But I have a newer Miele heat pump dryer that runs on 120 volts.
What IS true, is that lighting circuits and circuits for receptacles for things that "plug in" are usually 120 volts. These have only 1/2 the power for the same number of amps, therefore the 120 volt branch circuits require thicker copper wire for the same amount of power, and these circuits are usually either 15 amps 14 AWG (1.63 mm) and 20 amps 12 AWG (2.06 mm) size wire.
The key to understanding how split phase electrical service works requires one to understand that all the 120 volt loads on leg A are essentially in series with all the 120 volt circuits on leg B, and are therefore wired across the 240 volt output of the transformer and that only the difference current between the loads on leg A and leg B flows back to the transformer on the neutral. On a well balanced installation, very little current flows back on the neutral.
US houses usually have larger electrical services than in the UK because homes tend to be bigger in the US, as well most of the US is hotter than Europe, so air conditioning is used a lot more. Where I live in SE FL we run the air conditioning most of the year, only have a few weeks, usually in January, where we don't use it.
The common household service for most houses in the US is usually 200 amps, with some smaller houses wired for 150 amps. Older houses that have not been upgraded can have 60 or 100 amp service.
In the US the "consumer unit", called a breaker panel in the US, tend to have a lot more circuit breakers. A typical 2000 s.f. house in the US will have 240 volt breakers (which take two positions) for the range, water heater, air conditioner/heat pump, air handler/electric heat, clothes dryer, and possibly other things like a hot tub, pool pump, separate oven, etc. 120 volt breakers are required for circuits to the kitchen counters (2 20 amp circuits required for the counter(s)), dishwasher, microwave oven, refrigerator, garage, bathroom(s), and 10 or more circuits for lighting and receptacles around the house. Larger houses can have many more circuits. Therefore in the US breaker panels tend to have from 30 to 40 positions for an average size house.
200 amps at 240 volts is capable of delivering 48,000 watts. Larger houses have 400 amp services, and I have seen 7,500 s.f. houses with 600 and even larger houses with 800 amp services, almost always single phase. Usually a service larger than 200 amps will be split into multiple 200 amp panels -- for example a house with a 600 amp service will have the service split into 3 200 amp breaker panels, often with sub-panels connected to them.
I have only seen a few mansions that have 3 phase service in the US.
Electricity is cheaper in the US than in the UK and EU. Where I live, the cost is about $0.14 to $0.15 (US$) per KWH including taxes and fees. Probably soon to go higher considering the current situation.
Another interesting thing about US electrical service: there are no power company provided fuses for the service to a house. The transformer contains a fuse, but that fuse is only there in case of catestrophic failure. Normally it does not protect the wiring to or in a house, even if the circuit is severely overloaded. But the transformer fuse will usually blow if there is a bolted fault. If it doesn't, the wire between the transformer and bolted failure will quickly melt.
There is a main fuse or more often a main circuit breaker that is part of the electrical equipment that is installed by whoever wires the house. This can be contained in the breaker panel or be a breaker that is separate from the breaker panel. The latest US electrical code requires a main disconnect (which can also be the main over current protection device) to be located on the outside of a single family house to enable fire fighters to easily disconnect the electricity.
In the EU and UK, almost all distribution transformers provide ~400/230 volt 3 phase power, so each transformer can serve a much larger area. For the same load and size/type of wire, a three phase distribution circuit can be more than 5 times longer than in the US with the same percentage of voltage drop.
For example, after only 300 feet, 48,000 watts of power at 240 volt single phase, will have a 5% voltage drop with 4/0 AL wire. The same amount of power at 400 volts three phase can run for 1,660 feet (5% voltage drop). These calculations assume a power factor of 100. In the US the size of the wire used in overhead low voltage distribution is based on voltage drop, not the National Electric Code. You may see a #2 AL overhead wire connected to a 4/0 CU wire where it connects to a home's lead in wire.
It is common in the US that a single phase distribution transformer serve from just a single house in a rural area to several houses in suburban areas to perhaps 10 or more single family houses in an urban area. Common sizes of distribution transformers used for single family house residential areas in the US range from 10 kva to 100 kva, with the most common sizes being 25, 37.5 and 50 kva.
Some believe the US system is safer because the highest potential to ground from any residential circuit is 120 volts.
If you have any questions this video explains split phase electrical service perfectly:
ruclips.net/video/fJeRabV5hNU/видео.html
Incorrect on one point. USA residential services are called single phase, not split phase. The characteristics within the dwelling are split phase, but the name of the service is single phase.
I love this series, i'm just beginning to get my head around the likes of ring circuits and fused spurs.....it's such a different electrical distribution design than in the US. you and Thomas Nagy are amperage ambassadors. keep teaching us.
A condo or apartment complex is usually wired in a 'ring' circuit on the 7200V lines for the pedestal transformers. But this is kinda dumb for home interior wiring.
Check out DSES for the technical bits.
Of course your on a TT system - it's the Isle of Man :)
Well played, sir, well played.
That's what makes it so easy to remember.
Terra Terra Terrable joke :-)
What does TT mean. Yes, i know its also a motorcycle race on the isle of man. What does TT mean in an _electrical_ context. What do the 2 T's stand for?
@@simontay4851
Terra terra.
Which is Latin for "google it."
:P
In re fireproof enclosures: when this house was rewired in the 1960s they installed a 3-phase system to drive the storage heaters and water heater via a timer using off-peak electricity. A few years ago this failed, and when the electricians opened the switch box they found that the switch gear had caught fire - but it was so well contained in the metal box that nobody knew about it while it was closed.
Scary.
Dodged a fairly large-caliber bullet there, you did. Maybe they should spec smoke detectors and/or temperature sensors in the panels?
@@mrz80 or perhaps a thermal fuse to actually stop the problem? I suspect most mechanical switching gear is designed to contain a failure with arc, certainly look for something in a steel enclosurer if you're buying something like that.
I look forward to the continuance of this series on wiring and household circuitry. I don't understand it much now, but from this video (and previous) I am sure it will help. I have recently added solar panels, storage and an electric vehicle. So it is important for me to understand this better. Many thanks for a great channel.
Strangely in Australia, although we are generally more nanny state regulated than even the UK we don't have a standardised home electric panel, there are stendard breakers that have to be there but there's no standard configuration & no off the shelf modular system, it's just a steel (sometimes even wooden) fabricated box with a false panel on the inside with the meter & the required standard breakers & then behind that is any number of fuses. My house has two electrical boxes for some reason, both quite large, only one has the meter & beakers in it.
In Spain we still use plastic boxes. Normally it is used 40A General braker, 10A lighting, 16A for sockets, 32A for the oven and 20A if there are higher loads like washing machines, water heaters and drying machines. The norm is a bit old because in the past we used fuses in every outlet and light switch so maybe the 20A circuit could make sense to have more power in one circuit, but nowadays sockets with fuses are not available since everything is Schuko and common Schukos allow 16A maximum so the 20A braker is not suitable to protect a circuit with schukos.
@Mike Eastridge Those will be the really old ones. My grandma house was like that until this year that I updated it, but it still need more work done. There were no earth, and the water heater is electric, hopefully there was one diferrential. Now I'm updating it with earth, fusebox, new protections and outlets also coming soon.
A wonderful description in the tone of reading a Haynes manual for a consumer unit. The BS7671 wizards are not gonna like you calling it 'Live' instead of 'Line' but hey..your soothing voice will trick them.
Excellent, informative video. Looking forward to the entire series on domestic wiring. Thanks Clive.
Great stuff. Watched a lot of stuff on this, this is best by far. Looking forward to the rest of the series
It’s a really strange system to us - here in NL we do everything with double poles, because it is required to isolate both sides of the circuit when you turn it off. So the RCDs are basically the same, but you get double busbars coming out of them (L+N) going through breakers with two inputs and to two outputs. Often these days, you get like plastic thingies that include both busbars in a single unit, or you get a busbar unit that’s integrated in the din rail, and the breakers have plugs on them that just plug into the proprietary rail (the rail then has wires coming out that you can wire into the output of the RCD).
UK RCD's are double pole.
@@Loobo2012but mcb's are single pole
I live in western NC in the US way out in the sticks, my wife (of 31 years) owns a couple of horses, (she owns everything of value ;-), and she put up a 40x40 barn about 450' from her home. I ran 450' of #2 aluminum wire down (4' U/G, she also owns a tractor with a back hoe attachment), to it and installed a 40 amp box at the barn (in case she ever makes me move out I'll be able to watch Clive ;-) Interesting to see how you folks "across the pond" do things :-) Not sure I'm in favor of that ring circuit, way to many incompetent electricians over here for that!!! Interesting video, thank you Mr Clive :-)
I do mostly house bashing nowa days and to have big Clive explain it all is great fun for me and at the end of these videos anything I didn't know about domestic electrics will be filled in.... thank you clive
learnt more from this video than college has taught me in 2 years, thank you
A Good informative video, especially with the info about making sure the breakers are correctly fitted on to the busbar.
The *one* thing the United States breaker box system *might* do better ... clip onto the busbar vs screwed on. Better when the clips in the breaker are good anyways. 😂🤣
Just started watching the Thomas Nagy channel and noticed that you also replied a few times there as well. Love the videos with this kind of stuff in there!!!
Thomas is a sensible guy. His content is relaxing to view. The comments sections a bit less so. That NICEIC logo on his shirt triggers me though.
Nice to see the wires nicely terminated in correct bootlaces ferrules. I have come across so many where stranded wire is clamped directly by the pinch screw. Know it's a bit OCD but it really pleases me to have the wiring super neat and tidy in the boxes, does not do anything to alter functionality but it looks good and inspires confidence in my customers, they know you have given a shit about the standard and quality of your workmanship?
The wires are going to a bus bar so you not gaining much in the way of protection. You can get half insulated and colour coded ferrules if that is deemed necessary?
With the ferrule you have better current carrying capacity as all the individual strands are secured by the pinch screw. Without the ferrule and assuming you have not soldered the wire end then only a few conductor strands are secured,the remainder are floating. This is a reduction in the current carrying cross sectional area. I have viewed bare conductors,soldered and ferrule fitted wire under maximum load conditions through my thermal imager camera and there is a discernible difference in the junction temperature. I continue to be a firm advocate for the use of ferrules and soldering as a backstop but nothing else.
The most helpful video of its kind, thank you Clive!
everybody in the comments seem to know what he's talking about, I'm just here because the video was in my recommended at 3AM
Ah, the Covid19 version of RUclips strikes again!
I only have a passing idea of what is going on
Yep me too
Me too mate.
@@sachinkainth9508 The Covid19 RUclips Recommendations are now so bad, they are recommending my own videos to me!
BTW:
The sprit level is to stop the electrical amps from rolling too one side or another.
Being in the US, I had to mentally double most of the amperages. My furnace and water heater are each on a 50A breaker. The main one is 200A.
Ditto
50 amp??in italy we have 17amp max load in a normal house with a 3kw contract.
Had a 50A circuit for an electric stove in our old house which we de-installed - we put in a gas stove and I needed panel space for more circuits in the kitchen and bathrooms. Dryers in both houses are on 30A circuits, and AC compressors are 30A or 40A. Those are the only high-current loads we've got. Water heater and furnace are both gas.
Fantastic idea for a mini series, nice one Clive x
Thats really a trip seeing how different the deployment is vs here in the US.
Capacity is pretty much in line with US consumer panels, in that common electrical services are 240V (line to line)/120V (line to neutral) at either 100A (smaller houses) or more typically 200A. Most panels (except for empty breaker positions) are designed with the two line bus bars behind occupied breaker positions so they're not completely exposed in the open. Neutral and ground bars are both connected to the metal housing via the tabs that hold the bars in the panel and the ground bar being positively connected to the housing via a bolt or lug. Biggest differences are that most US panels have space for typically 30-40 circuits and are sized so that they can be mounted cover flush with the wall in an available framing cavity or mounted on the surface and that the main breaker is only used when used as a main panel, with sub panels being protected by the sub-feed breaker at the main panel.
The other difference it that the panels are basically shipped void of breakers, except for the mains breaker. Also, no ground fault interrupt, although individual breakers can be bought that are.
@@JDfromWitness Panels can be ordered from a supply house fully populated, but usually the cost is only justified with you are working on a commercial or industrial application. Most residential style panels it is often cheaper to purchase the breakers ad-hoc, and it saves an immense amount of time to just buy one off the shelf at the local home store. Not only that, the panel is often cheaper to purchase from your box store than to purchase as a non account holder at an electrical supplier. Its a lot easier to add breakers later to a residential panel in the USA as long as you haven't used up the available spaces.
I was going to pretty much say the same thing. Thanks, you saved me a lot of typing.
You can still get 20 space panels for 100 amp service and I believe that is usually the typical size panel used in most homes. Also some panels you buy do sometimes come with a handful of breakers, usually 15 amp which don't always get used unless there are circuits that are only lighting. Something else to keep in mind when discussing breaker panels is that in many older homes the entrance cable coming from the meter going into the main breaker is usually only rated for about 60 or 70 amps because they were designed to be used with Fuse Panels and are typically left in place as long as they are functional. You will also occasionally find homes that are still using Fuse panels because they were never updated. As far as GFCI protection, your average person typically will use the outlets that provide that protection so they can decide where it's needed. Of course once you do a complete rewire or want to bring your electrical up to date, there are a few places where GFCI outlets are required. Last but not least, don't forget newly installed panels or panels being replaced are required to have two grounding points, the ground rod outside near the meter and then to the water main. Plus I believe new installs for electric stoves and dryers are supposed to be 4-wire outlets instead of the old 3-wire outlets, which basically gives you a second ground.
@@the1andonlyfirebug I think these days most new build homes in the US are 200 amp, and 400 for some of the larger ones. Put two or three heat pumps, and electric hot water heater, an electric stove, a hot tub, a workshop, and a couple of EV chargers on a 100 amp panel and you'll risk overloading it. A 100 amp panel can only supply 24kw ... not that much considering potential peak loads for the average new house (~2700 sqft / ~250m^2). Now that I think about it, the load I described above would even be pushing it for 200 amp service.
I know that you know what you're doing. I was raised to believe that (electricity wise) if it's shiny, don't touch. You got me all creeped out, touching everything. :)
yea, I think it wasn't connected and just sitting on his alter/bench
I need to watch the video still, so I dont know for sure, but there is probably a main breaker, possible the red swtich on the right, that disconnects power to everything else. I know we have them in the US and I would assume the same for the UK
@@BlauNate Yes. Also it was a box siting on his bench.
@@BlauNate He flips the red switch back and forth a few times just to make sure it's dangerous
(it's not actually connected, it's just on his bench)
A good rule of thumb if you don't understand electricity. However I have seen copper overheated or old enough to no longer appear shiny. Actually takes on an orange plastic look. You would not want to touch that when energized, not only will it shock you, it gets really hot in that state.
Clive, great idea for a series, please do!
I'm in the US. I'm jealous. I know you can't say it responsibly, but it's a pretty straightforward system. Provided a consumer has some electrical/electronic background and reference materials handy, it doesn't seem all that difficult a system to install.
Our home wiring is logical and straightforward. I'll be covering other aspects in videos.
"Now called ring final circuits, a new name invented by the department of paperwork." Yes Clive, I once heard the 17th Edition Regs. described as "the domestic electricians guide to insanity". So, frustratingly true!!!
In the U.S., breaker boxes are oriented in two vertical rows, with the breakers turned on their side.
Canadian boxes are same general design, but their code allows horizontal mounting, provided you do not use what is now the top row. That is because the breaker mechanisms would be forced to work against gravity and that is prohibited. (Learned that from watching Mike Holmes)
You can get consumer units in both horizontal and vertical orientation, but in domestic use they are typically horizontal. Vertical tends to be 3 phase
Timothy Barney I loved Holmes on Homes
The industrial panels in the UK are mounted vertically
@@timothybarney7257 Interesting idea.
I think that might be why code here (probably in all of Europe, but I didn't looked at all the codes for the 50 or so countries of Europe :p ) breakers must always be mounted in the sense in which you can read the writing. And all breakers are designed so that the open/off postion is down, so ours actually have to fight gravity to stay closed/on.
Granted, given how strong the springs are in those things, gravity is probably very neglictible. If your breakers fall open because of gravity, it's time to change them :o
I'm really excited for this series!
Thank you. Looming forward to this series
Clive, would be awesome to show us the double cutter technique! It’s a great trick which I use myself, though I’m guessing not everyone would know about it...
ruclips.net/video/9t9wnEQ_888/видео.html
Not so much for distribution boards. More for fitting larger downlights for example.
Heh... I got a plastic one.
Figured it's fire resistant pvc. Joke on me, it's 100% polystirene. Tested burning a punch-out piece and just started laughing and crying at the same time...
Oh crap!!!!
@@godfreypoon5148 Maybe it is supposed to melt and enclose the fire in some.... blazing fireball, ehm, theory did not exactly work out
Ours is brown Bakelite!
@@David8n that just might outlast your gandchildren.
Polystyrene? As in the cheapskate bulk plastic they use to cushion large electronics in boxes?
I remember my grandmothers old control box, back when it was all putting bits of fuse wire into slots, she only got a full RCD fuse box in the very late 90s.
concise and informative video, thanks, incredible that the tails gland requires drilled rather than providing a correct sized KO!
my theory on the increase of consumer unit fires is the increase to a min of 25mm in tails. some of the old plastic boards were made to be asthetically pleasing, slimline , not enough room for the tails be shaped and enter the DP switch terminals without being over bent and stressing the terminal connections
We moved into a house a few weeks ago and had a burning smell from the consumer unit. Our electrician found three breakers not tightly attached to the buss bar just as you described!
you probably also smelled the ozone
That design is really stupid.
It's a thing with these copper busbars ...
It's so common it's mad.
I'm wondering whether they work-harden when repeatedly removed and refitted and whether annealing them would make them safer or more dangerous? Probably cheap enough just to replace, but I dislike throwing things away.
I have a friend who had a new consumer unit fitted (similar to the one in this video). I'm fairly sure the installer turned out to to be cowboy installer as he'd wired some of the old circuits in incorrectly as well as other gaffes which I later corrected. Over time, the sensitivity of the new CU forced the house wiring to be improved and in the meantime it seems everyone in the family had a fiddle with that consumer unit which was reconfigured several times. Then my friend's uncle managed to do something that apparently broke an RCD and the unit had to be dismantled yet again.
A few months later, my friend invited me to Christmas dinner. Good move on his part. He was cooking and the lights went out. By now I was familiar with that CU and it was like an old friend so I went to pay my regards. Expecting yet another short on the 1930s rubber-cabled house wiring but this time it turned out that the MCB supplying the cooker, though it seemed to fitted and tightened correctly, was making poor contact with the busbar. This generated heat (possibly arcing too) and pushed the MCB into an overheat trip mode although it had not actually been overloaded. I cleaned up the contact, reassembled, and it saved the day, but I was never quite sure why the contact had failed in that way.
You panels always look so nice and easy, our panels here in the states with our goofy 110v split phase system is such a pain in the ass. I have been wiring yachts for years and the worst is trying to set them up for US and Canada electricity. 230/240v 50hz is so much easier....
:D And I just thought this one doesn't look that nice and easy compared to ours.
@@mrkv4k I thought the same. I put a new 200 amp panel in my workshop and it seemed really simple and straightforward compared to this.
@@relishgargler And in the UK most homes only have 30 or 60 amps which is kind of pathetic. Even if you take into account the fact that 240v means the current can be usually halfed.
@@mrkv4k Yeah. Power comes in the top, breakers snap into the bus bars, and loads go out the sides. Cinch! :D Oh yeah, and don't bond the neutral in subpanels. :D
@@baileyharrison1030 63A is generally the minimum you will find in UK.
I do like that spirit level. Just the ticket for ensuring the base of the enclosure is level so you don't get current leakage out one end.
Yup...it keeps the bills manageable.
That is very well built and organized, especially compared to my US domestic panel installed in the '70s.
You're right about your comments about the poor certification regime. We needed to rewire my house last year, and could not find a good electrician for love nor money. Finally, my builder found one.
Well, he said he was an electrician and he knew how to put a channel in a wall and pull some cables through. It was the small things that let him down. For start, he was so inexperienced that he grossly underquoted for the work.
He didn't remove all the old wiring (worth quite bit for scrap) so we have tens of kilos of unnecessary weight on the floor joists. Some of the back boxes were not properly bedded in (granite block walls) and the consumer unit rather vaguely labelled. Pairs of switches and sockets were not lined up. The consumer unit was flapping in the breeze (only two screws at only one end).
My husband and I rewired our house together years ago (before regulations stopped that); we'd done our research and knew a little. Neither of us are really comfortable with the job this guy did. It's all quite safe, but some of the things he did are strange. (Strange is OK on something that's grown organically over the years, but not on a new installation.) Since he's been I've had to have repairs done (flooring nails through cables) and the (enormously expensive) real electrician I hired to sort this out has been seen scratching his head at times.
honestly electicity in my house is not something I trust anyone else but myself to do. I never hired an electrician and never will. If anythings goes wrong best case senario you louse your house (worst case you die). you have to be bat shit crazy to trust some guy with this ( thats how crappie panels like this ends up conceded to the main!
Interestingly neither the building nor wiring regulations (despite what various 'trade bodies' will tell you) disallow DIY. What they require is proper testing and certification. Which is available (allegedly) from your local building control. Or if you COULD find a decent electrician, he or she would likely be happy to inspect a couple of times (after first fix and during second fix) and then test and sign off. We do this but only if we trust the customer not to bodge it. :)
Poor certification? I couldn't imagine. Living in Canada you can't even work as an electrician unless a company takes you on as registered apprentice. We still get dumb people, though.. Can't avoid that.
Regulation preventing DIY work? I never heard of that.
Code is stringent here (France) for new installations, but very lax/permissive on old ones. Because they consider (thankfully) that new laws on electricity doesn't apply on existing installations (else you'd be rewiring everything every 10 years of so) so as long as there was an existing wiring before, you can do almost anything, you'll just get a big "Not up to code" after inspection.
As for new installations they don't care who made it, as long as it up to code, you could have got it done by your 7 years old nephew for all they care.
What changes is that if your electric wiring cause a fire, responsibility is on whoever installed it, so if you are renovating or building your house, it's the point where you want someone else to be responsible :)
After dealing with a number of British builders, plumbers and electricians both at home and my work building I can honestly say this "that'll do mate" attitude is widely prevalent in this county.
One more item of note - This box is NOT connected to the mains ;-)
Yet!
😅😄😃🤣
and should never be!
Should be obvious, but such things do need to be said, unfortunately. I think most people watching this already know but don't go poking around in your service panel if you don't really know what you're doing.
A woman I knew went down the hall to her box when the electric frying pan stopped working. I went behind her and saw her poking and prying things in her distribution box with a long screwdriver. She said that usually got the power back. I told her to move and let me look. She said, "Aren't you afraid of electricity?" I told her, "Yes. I'm terrified of electricity. That's why I should be in there instead of you."
It's not like a distribution box will bite you because you took the cover off, it's not a lady you just met in the grocery store. DIN-rail equipment goes through such ridiculous certifications as that screw terminal is deep enough and hole small enough so you can't touch it with your finger (yes, there's EU norm for that).
Perfect desciption Clive big man, Thanks very much x
Oh the aggravating rising clamp terminal. We have hundreds of them where I work. They are fun getting stranded wire in the proper place inside a cramped control panel. We do have some breakers with shields that stop you from putting wire in wrong but the brand name escapes me right now. Great video. Always interesting to learn how stuff is done in different places. ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️
It’s a siemens 5SY4318-7
3 phase we don’t have any single phase in this brand but it’s interesting that it clamps on either side you put wire in. Hard to miss when you have two shots at hitting terminal. I like 👍
interessting. In germany we usually get 3 phases 63A. And in new Instalations our distribution boards are way bigger. At least 5 rows of 12 division units each(one standard breaker is one division unit).
We usually use B16 amp breakers for normal use and B10 amp breakers für lighting circuits. Each room should be on its own fuse. lights and electrical sockets on seperate rcds. Common component brands are hager and ABB. Bipolar breakers are very uncommon. I personally have never seen one installed or even for sale here.
The main isolator is an SLS (selective Circuit breaker). It is installed in front of the consumption meter which is also installed in the distribution cabinet. The enclousure is made of metal but the covers are plastic.
Of course older installations can be quite different.
oh, and no ring circuits in germany.
@@user-vn7ky2xr1x yup, typically electric stoves and other big loads (>3.6kW) in germany are connected to the 3 phases if possible.
You will therefore only rarely find any circuit breakers for more than 16A.
2.5mm² cable for B16A and 1.5mm² for B10A now?
Sorry if it was not clear. Thats what i meant when saying when i wrote lights and sockets on differnet rcds. English is not my first language.
@pmailkeey in my experience there are often even multiple rooms on one breaker- overall it doesn't even matter because I never have seen a single breaker tripping- it is always the RCBO that goes off first
@@CyberlightFG In new installations usually yes. But we have a kind of "loophole" in our electrical rules. Most other countries calculate the diameter with the conductor resistance at 30°C ambient temperature. But our codes allow us to calculate at 25°C which allows us to use B16A with 1.5mm² for shorter distances. But it also depends on the way the cable is mounted. So in new installations the electricians usually dont bother to calculate and use 2.5mm² everywhere because the price difference is negligible.
I work with industrial automation, and so I am familiar with DIN equipment despite being on the US West Coast, but boy, when I wire a house, give me a giant clunky metal 40/80 space buss bar panel!
I like home runs, I like seperate circuits per room, multiple per room to be specific, (you never know which bedroom you will want to run a table saw and a microwave in at the same time! Lol), and I like being able to choose what breakers I use.
I also don't like having to wire each breaker to the power, as opposed to just popping it on the buss bar, and I like having per circuit AFCI/GFCI protection!
I am thinking that one of the reasons that you are allowed to wire and install like you are is because of all the old stone and brick buildings your ancient and not earthquake prone country has, and recognizing the need to be able to surface mount and snake cables around stuff, and also not have lots of home runs, but be able to fit more on a single 220 cable.
And while I have often wished that I could get a DIN breaker for Home Depot prices for special applications, (they are pretty expensive over here, because they are only used in control systems and such), I think our panels and wiring methods work a lot better for our culture and way of doing things, kind of like how US Customary Units work better than Metric for us lol
Holy smokes, it's so much more organized than my breaker box. Wish mine was this nice.
Same here.... I don't live in the UK and it's something I miss, it's the secure electrics you find in modern housing now..... My box looks like someone threw a bowl of spaghetti at it and slammed the door!
Looks quite nice. Same breakers as in industrial panels. Nice to work with IMO.
Nice vid, i use a dentist mirror to check if the bus bar is properly in :)
Mirror encased in plastic one would hope! (I have a stainless steel one!)
ring mains! Australia and Aotearoa use star or chain distribution rather than ring. Ring seems weird.
Also, some numpty wired the distro board in my house upside down. It has confused everyone. But it is a *very* old board, from the days whena sheet of asbestos board and a wooden box was all you needed. Complete with old school cast iron main fuse... well, until I got solar and the guys had a fit because those were supposed to be replaced years ago due to their slight tendency to catch fire.
60A is low... Australia seems to be 80 or 100 in most places, more where McMansions have 30kW aircon units to go with their black tile roofs.
Ring final circuits were introduced in the UK after WW2 to cut down on the cost of the cables in properties. Not a brilliant idea as if there is a break in the circuit it becomes two radials fed from one 32A breaker/fuse and the cables are not large enough to have a 32A capacity. That's the main reason that UK plugs are fused (13A max).
Have seen the cast iron main fuse units here recently. The DNO (distribution network operator, formerly the electricity board) couldn't have cared less... 'but did you die?'
@@wwsxa39 Cost and availability of copper for wire from what I've heard.
@@TheChipmunk2008 Aye, but those guys dice with death every day. 240V is nothing to them, when they play with 11KV and 33KV. And use 6 inch nails to fix fuses. :D I remember fitting CCTV in a substation, and we had an escort guy with us at all times for safety. One camera we fitted was on a building ~ 30ft from a 275KV line (the big scaffolding pole looking types you get in substations). We had 6 inch sparks jumping between the camera and the pole, as we lowered it in place, from the pickup. We got shocks off the nuts and bolts as we were fitting them. Scottish power guys reaction? "He he hehe! Are ye gettin' a wee tickle from that?" (imagine it in an east coast scottish accent) Fun times.
@Matt Quinn :D Aye, those transmission line guys are crazy, a bit like racers/ speed testers, test pilots and base jumpers. They all seem to have that bit missing in their brain. I'd argue that its not even radiation off EHT, I think they already go in with nae fear. A kinda, "if I die, I won't know about it" mentality. :-)
I remember a long while back replacing a wooden consumer unit which had re-wire fuses. It was also obvious that some fuses had popped in their time by the black scorch marks on the ceramic holders, and there were little melted balls of copper in the base. Fire risk or what! It’s great that standards have improved.😀
I remember the old rewireable fuses at my parents house (all replaced now). Was a great time trying to manually rewire a fuse when the lights blew in the middle of the night with the weak ass torch light you had available at the time. Assuming you could also find good batteries of course! 😂
I had an electrician quoting me for a new 18th edition unit to replace my self wiring fuse board very recently. This helped explain a few details he talked about so I'm glad I know he wasn't just baffling me with bs, it makes more sense now.
Most companies will quote a ridiculous price for the job, all in all it's a quick job usually (couple of hours tops), as long as there's long enough cables in your current fuse box to get them to reach the breakers. Once they're done, have a look inside for thru crimes or terminal blocks used to extend the cables...).
Biggest problem of moving from an old fuse box to a modern consumer unit after the length of the wires inside is more problematic and potentially quite expensive to fix however. The RCDs will find faults your old box didn't care about and you could end up with the RCDs tripping constantly due to poor insulation on the fixed wiring or indeed, if you have an older electric cooker, kettle or shower, they often have a small amount of leakage to earth. This often results in companies either suggesting a rewire of your whole house to start off with or if they do just change the box, a rewire in the near future when the constant trips drive you round the twist.
@@1973retrorabbit tripping RCDs was my concern. The wiring is nearly 50 years old but is pvc coated, interestingly he didn't think rewiring was necessary when others have said that, however there are numerous historical modifications and damp problems in areas that might cause a problem. He explained how to address that if it occurs bypassing the RCD which I can now see how that's done having watched this video.
Bypassing the RCD is not the best option. It's rare that even on an old PVC installation that the insulation is breaking down. It's more likely to be dampness in boxes bugs in joint boxes or failing wiring or heating elements in appliances. None of those are big issues as you can usually narrow things down and fix them properly.
@@bigclivedotcom indeed, I don't think he meant it as a permanent solution and having better protection is the major reason I want to upgrade it so it defeats the point bypassing big parts of it but there will be a fair bit of rewiring while I'm renovating the rooms over the next few years so as a temporary solution it might get us by until we work out where the problems are like you say
any chance of a tear down of a meter? always wanted to see the insides of one.
Totally different from the US, thanks for sharing!
The UK has the best electrical standards.
If you like 32 amp circuits for general usage.
i love the little built in spirit level
One phase solutions are rare here in Sweden as well in new constructions. Most cooking ranges are 3-phase. I upgraded from the classic fuses to the RCDO (as you state) several years ago and it was really worth it - only breaks a limited section instead of the whole apartment.
The fact that they are three phase does not mean they will not work with just one. However, one is limited on the power but who has all the plate at full power anyway.
Clive would you like an American “Breaker Box” I have several 100 amp panels i could send you one?
old or new? i want to see clive play around with the old fuse boxes that use edison screw base fuses, people would have them burn out and stick a coin under the fuse to bypass it, current american breakers are on a din rail but the old 1s were fun, i still got a few screw im circuit breakers!
Hell yeah! I want to see him take one to bits! :)
@@frogz My house has both. Evidently it had a 100A fuse box and when that wasn't enough, they added another 100A supply via a breaker box. At least it's not still using the ceramic knobs that there is still evidence of.
Would love to see a world tour of electrical systems. Preferably with region appropriate snacks.
And to think my 200 amp panel with 38 breaker spaces never seems enough lol
Your Scottish brogue kept me watching the full 18 minutes even though I live in a country with a completely different electrical system.
That looks so much better than even most of the new units in Australia it is Interesting how different they are considering we work on the same voltages etc.
My home one is a bunch of what used to be fencing wire “fuses” (I think the electrician who replaced them referred to them as 600 amp slow blow) now circuit breaking RCDs screwed into some chipboard, wires stuck in directly and the whole thing stuck on the outside of the house
Nice! Was wanting to look at one of those.
In Malaysia , we are using British wiring standards and plug.
I had our house updated to all RCBO type breakers for minimal disruption and easy fault finding if a fault occurs. I've not noticed any significant heat from them.
Same her, no current consumption from the devices themselves. and very little heat. One thing I did notice (a small design error) is that with Contactum, the RCBOs protrude a little further and the smoked plastic lid (the board is pre- amendment 3) stops the toggles flipping all the way down on a trip. Of course this has no effect on the actual operation but to prevent problems if the toggle mechanism gets jammed together with the internal mechanism, i've removed the lid. It's inside a metal meter cabinet anyway so no issues.
I think people are reading the spec sheets figure for maximum dissipation in the RCBOs and assuming it is steady. I think most of the discussion is related to load and is in proportion to the square of the load current. So a breaker using say 1.2W at its rated 32A will only be dissipating maybe 20mW with a more typical average 4A load on it.
Also, take a look at MCBOs - they have similar dissipation figures on their spec sheets.
Intresting! Looks quite similar to the ones we have in Sweden - except that we use to have 3 phase to all houses and even most apartments. Quite cool to see those thick cables as well as 32 and 40 A fuses in an "home panel". That's not very usual here. But that's because there is only one phase but still distributes the same power. Things like stoves and water heaters, electrical central heating and big heat pumps uses 3 phase here - most common is 3 x 16 A or 3 x 10 A.
Common main fuses are 3 x 20 A (wich gives the same power as 60 A single phase). Usually most houses (except for a few old ones) can get up to 3 x 25 A without any rewiring (wich is like having 75 A single phase).
Nice to see you folks have come to your senses and switched back to metal enclosures.
It is a good result. I can recall being a bit perplexed when the plastic ones first became common.
Your system seems to be wired by task whereas here in the US the breakers are usually wired by room except for the really big high power devices like the dryer, stove, etc, which get their own breaker.
Problem we run into here is if the contractor went on-the-cheap when the house was built, then you could get branch circuits with no real relation to floor plan or function; the goal was to wire the bare minimum the code required with the fewest breakers and the shortest runs of wire (copper is expensive; homeowner frustration is cheap! :D ).
I've got a mixed system part is still on fuses with the kitchen and bathroom on rcd and circuit breakers. I should really get it consolidated into a new consumer unit.
Is there any benefit to actually changing it though. Aside from having everything RCD protected are there any real benefits in upgrading it assuming it works fine and is safe? My sister is in the same boat, I told her shes better off just holding off and having it done when she needs a rewire but I may well be wrong.
I’m currently teaching new electricians and I used to build test stands for large HVAC equipment that was shipped around the world. I’ve always been interested systems i. Other countries. Thanks for the good explanation. I was in London a few years ago and enjoyed rummaging through the electrical equipment in the apartment we rented. I think the small wiring is very efficient. It’s probably not quite large enough for he average American home, HVAC and expandability. Now we’re adding arc fault circuit interrupters and surge protection, so it’s a bit more complicated... very good video. I’m going to add it to the video list for my class. I think it’s important for students to understand systems in other countries, especially those who may work in manufacturing where we install equipment from around the world. This would be a great idea for a new RUclips channel...
Very informative, thanks Clive.
Being an electrician in the US that looks very strange. However I've worked on industrial machinery from all over Europe so it' s very familiar.
You made no sense
@@mikemc8495 Yes he did, his phrasing was just taken from quantum electrical engineering, to state that something is both familiar and strange is to say that it is neither of those things and yet both of those things. This consumer unit is in a state of superposition.
@@krashd That is possibly the most beautiful thing I've read all weekend. :D
Hi from BC.
Big different from Canada's power panel's, cool vid.
Canada is very similar to the US except I believe lots of people use complete home GFCI and Surge protection in the breaker panels instead of individual surge and GFCI protection.
@@the1andonlyfirebug I'm in Canada My home was built in 2007. I don't have compete GFCI protection. GFCI protects the kitchen, bathrooms, and outside outlets. Bedroom sockets are protected by AFCI (arc fault circuit interrupter). Not sure what happens in the US.
Residential gets 2 of 3 phases to make 220v possible for stoves and dryers. Commercial and industrial get all 3 for a potential of 330v. (The McDonald's I used to work at used 330v for their grills)
@@the1andonlyfirebug The surge and whole home GFI setups are becoming popular across North America as far as I'm aware, and isn't really a "Canadian thing" other than we might get a few more rebates or something up here. They were highlighted in a few of the home reno shows up here awhile back, so I think that might have artificially inflated their popularity above what the US market has.
But we seem to use most of the same suppliers and standards as far as I'm aware. Saves on having to pay someone to make standards that are different from the neighbours I guess?
@@GaryCameron780 Our latest version of the NFPA/NEC is more or less in line with this now. The biggest problem is that the standards are left up to the individual states and either county or city to set and enforce.
Would love to see a series of UK components like this as I'm just starting out in electrical engineering and I'd appreciate your views/wisdom on these kinda things!
John Ward does some good videos too, as point of reference this type of consumer unit is now obsolete, the new 18th edition consumer units must have strain relief on the incomming tails and now as well as a surge protection device.
not have only UK, have same parts used ALL europe. and north europe. this is standard anywere. same new houses at asian have same standard boz,fuses,wiring.
Wow. This seems quite minimalist when compared to panels used here in the USA. My home panel has approximately two dozen breakers, and the main breakers. But, it has no RCD. We use GFCI wall plates in water prone areas. I also use them around my repair bench, and at the metal lathe and bench grinder.
As a German electrician I would say this is a really cheap panel.
The neutral and earth busbars are screwterminals, In Germany you only get (at least from all brands) ones that are isolated and instead of screwing, they have a system working similar to the Wago terminals for solidcore copper wires. So you can connect up to 4° wire to that neutral or earth busbar without screwing. Only the main 10° has to be screwed in.
Also for the metal housing, here you can get only ones made out of plastic. even the old ones are made out of plastic or bakelit.
Only control cabinets and main distribution boards are made out of metal.
The main busbars in Germany are 3 phase, isolated (only saw unisolated ones in a really old board, 40 years +) and they have an O cutout, because they get screwed in directly behind the claming screw from the breaker. The company Hager has even a system, where you only have to push in the busbar and thats it.
I was wondering about that DRCBO that you showed, with only 1TE with and that neutral pigtail. In Germany you only get ones with 2TE (like the 2 ones in the Panel) without a pigtail and such
For the RCDs, I was wondering why the DRCBO would consume power ?
there is no active electronics in it. Only if you have an AFDD (arc fault detection device) or an F ,B or B+ type RCD they consume power, because they use active electronics.
The F, B and B+ Type RCDS are really good if you have problems with lightning tripping your normal RCD.
The F, B and B+ won´t trip, because they actively looking for faultcurrents, even ones where a normal RCD won´t trip. Like DC or high frequency faults.
Momentarly they only get used for inverters and frequency controllers (like motordrivers and solar systems) because they really expencive (about 15 times the cost of a normal 4 pole RCD).
Are you allowed to wire up a circuit without an RCD ?
In Germany you have to use an RCD with 0.03mA trippingcurrent in a household application, also B- caractaristic breakers.
The C caractaristic breakers only get used in industry applications or for big motors.
The caractaristic is about the times x the holding current, the moment when the breaker instanly trips due to overcurrent.
So a type B breaker trips about 3-5 times the holding current, a B 16 breaker trips instanly due to overcurrent at 80 Amps.
a Type C breaker trips really late, at about 10-15 times the holdcurrent, so for a C 16 breaker that makes 240 Amps.
But anyway, great video Clive. And maybe we see a comparison to other panels from other countrys ?
Most RCBOs Ive seen do contain active electronics. How else would they operate?
You say RCD tripping current is 0.03mA? Perhaps you mean 30mA?
@@Graham_Wideman sorry I meant 0.03A so 30mA yes.
@@Chuckiele No, they work completly without active electronic. They re a simple circuit breaker and a standart type A 2 pole RCD in one case. The RCD only consumes a tiny ammount of power if there is a leakage current/fault . (at least the 2TE ones, that we use in Germany)
Screw connectors or push in connectors doe not mean cheap or high quality. (I have seen panels from east Germany also) There are zillion screw terminals in use around the world. Regards.
I thought that any sealing on latest Consumer unit/ 18th regs, had to be a intumescent?, Ref stop fire spreading, cavity wall?.
Nice explanation, and video. Can I print my sustificate now! (Black Country for certificate).
Thanks for sharing.
ideally it would be. But that would require the work to be done by people who give a shit.
So much more elegant then the North American solution. I like the italian way where they divide load into two main breakers: critical power (i.e. refrigerators) and phantom power with the meter incorporated. Usually located at your front door so easy to switch off phantom loads when you leave your home. Also nice to have the GFIs at the box end. I also like that you have three phase coming into your standard house - makes wiring the lathe in your kitchen so much simpler. Thanks Clive - great content
Really like the little spirit level, helps you keep the panel evenly balanced. ;-)
It was way off!
I love this setup. In canada, you're lucky if they installed a GFI in the kitchens and bathrooms. Love the regional GFI setup in that panel. Much smarter than the North American style of "Let's *maybe* protect areas where it REALLY needs it".
Maybe? It legally has to have GFCIs if its within a certain distance of a water source or drain
At least in the US, NEC now mandates AF (Arc Fault protection devices) in specific locations like bedrooms and the like with existing installations grandfathered in (likely until changes are made at which point you lose grandfathered status). Being that some work is permitted by homeowners (depending on municipality and not in a commercial setting anywhere that I'm aware of), adherence may be iffy in a lot of cases. Not sure what Canadian code requires now but I'd suspect it may be equal or more stringent).
P.s. is that power cable stranded?
P.p.s. 420th view...
@@jamess3417 Oh, I'm aware. I have an electrician's certificate. I also know that almost every apartment I've been in has not had GFIs anywhere required by code (and have forced several apartment complexes to fix the situation). My next project in this place is to get GFIs in the kitchen (there are two outlets above the kitchen counter, both within 36" of the sink...).
we don't have any sockets in bathrooms in the uk not allowed apart from a shaver socket but they are not comman and in a kitchen they have to be out of touching range from a sink not sure of the exact distance but that's the rule of thumb
DIN = Deutsches Institut für Normung = German Institute for Standardization
Add a T and I get your GIST
Murphy deffa Everything digital will trip, are you sure?
Luckily in the U.K. domestic vacuum cleaners have limited power rating due to the EU, 😂
@Murphy deffa B-characteristic circuit breakers actually do _not_ trip when you turn on a vacuum or switching power supplies. In fact, living in out flat for 20 years, equipped with these type of breakers, we never had any problems, even when turning on three switching PSUs at once (PC, monitor, subwoofer). For household use, B characteristic is fine.
But hey, I’m glad you had the brain to post bullshit.
v8s i actually had to separate my mac pro with two displays and two monitor speakers to two power strips as it sometimes tripped the breaker when i switched the all-in strip on... so kind of yes.
@@mx0r What you did there is called the "all the capacitors"-setup, wich you should not do in the first place.
honestly this looks much better than the one for our house which when the panel is removed looks like hell.
i get no other wires have been hooked up to go from the box to the rest of the house but it looks a lot nicer than any box i've seen here at the houses i have lived in.
Great explanation Clive. I’ve always wanted to know how to connect one up. I use an intumescent sealant to fill the void left in the rear of the knockouts. Very interesting going to ring hilti to find out about the toxic fumes given off when curing.
I think the Hilti intumescent sealant is water based. I'm not convinced that many people actually use the correct thing. Particularly when they happen to have lots of kitchen sealant handy.
Hey Clive, I got my 18th Edition a few months ago and I couldn't have done it without your help. Your videos are awesome and genuinely enjoyable.
I'm a pump engineer and can get my hands on some pretty interesting industrial kit. If you'd like some old pumps, control panels, transducers, float switches etc, let me know your email and I'd be happy to help out the channel.
All the best 👍
Good to hear you qualified. I've been holding off on updating to 18th until they've finished fixing them.
I was at an Airbnb in the UK where a breaker had obviously tripped when we arrived, and it took me hours to find this damn thing cause it was a) white plastic, and b) inside the cupboard where they kept the board games and books?? Even just the fact that it was on the ground floor in a house that had a basement was completely foreign to me.
In the UK there seems to be no standardisation on where the consumer unit is located
When i lived in Lincolnshire, the house there had an outdoor cupboard, which we used as a pantry, and the consumer unit/fuse box for that house was in that cupboard
My grans house had it in a cupboard by the front door
When we moved to market weighton, the house there had it in a cupboard in the kitchen
And the house that I currently live in has it over the staircase on the side wall, near the bottom (although it is high up on the wall)
Very interesting video from the perspective of an electrician from another country (Sweden)👍🏻
I installed 30 of these in a building, I found these BG consumer units to be easy to work on and quite sturdy
It's not the most luxurious, but it seems very functional and spacious inside.
@@bigclivedotcom One good improvement they done over time is to remove the crimps from the tails that link the RCDs as seen on these photos:
i.imgur.com/gFEjfkN.jpg
i.imgur.com/evOGZgG.jpg
It was too much unsheathed metal showing to my liking even after trimming the excess copper.
Keep up the good work sir, I have learned a lot from your videos!
Interesting to see how other contryes do their main distribution boxes. However i´m personally not keen on your use of single poled breakers. Here in Denmark it is by many electricians (including my self) considered kind of bad workmanship, allthough not illigal to use. The reason You explained yourself around 12'30 on finding the fault by turning the breakers on one by one. Let´s say the fault occurs on the neutral line, the RCD could trip on any of the breaker. The faulty current could potentially run from breaker one, through the load and back via the neutral to the cabinet, and then out throug the next neutral line to the fault point. There by splitting the "return current" between the incomming neutral and the ground fault, tripping the RCD.
In Denmark we usually have 3-fased supply from the grid, through a 4-poled RCD and then 1 live and 1 neutral for lighting circuits. We use mainly 10A C-rated breakers (13A is allowed in privat homes), and 3-fased (4-poled) 16A breakers for heavier loads like heating and appliances. And ring connections is banned. Due to new EU legislations, it´s now mandatory to mount at least 2 RCDS in an installation.
And i highly agree with You, that 5 days of training is way too little to be allowed to mess around with potentionally lethal things like this.
It's the same in France, unipolar breakers are no longer allowed in new installations, only in replacement for older installations which had fuses.
All circuits use bipolar breakers. Installing a main breaker isn't usual tho it's done when the main breaker (provided by the electricity company) is located far away.
Three-phase is available to everyone but very rarely used, most households have everything on single-phase.
Yeah, becoming an electrician is a 4 and a half years of college here in Denmark.
It's mostly the same in Norway, 3 phase supply with bipolar curcuit breakers and a RCD, or combined RCBO breakers.
Most installations have 230V 3 phase (IT) supply, with no neutral and 230V 2-phase distributed to the appliances. Both 13A and 16A C-type fuses are common, with 20A fuses for the kitchen stove. Only in recent years it has been more normal to use 3- phase 400V TN with 230V 1-phase distributed with the neutral.
3-phase IT distribution with 230V seems to be quite rare in Europe, from what I've heard from others.
Do you have that in Denmark or is it all 400V TN?
Btw in Norway it is required to have 2 years of vocational education + 2,5 years as an apprentice at an installer (total 4,5 years) After that you are allowed to take a final exam, before being allowed to get the installer certificate.
@@nilsjarle We use 3-fased 400V TT
3 times 230V (L-N) along vith N is distributet from the grid into the home. Every household have to ram a spear into the ground for protection (earthwire or protective wire). Only in rare occasions a TN-system is allowed, usually in the old city centers, where ramming a stick into the ground would be extremely difficult.
@@jaras1969 Interesting to know!
For TN we use TN-C-S, with the N (more correctly PEN) distributed from the grid, and then separted as both neutral and protective ground it the intake panel. But then due to safety it's required to use RCBOs on all circuits.
At College.
Brand new set of plastic consumer units.
Day 1, Student puts a hammer through it.
We need more of these.
Downside of retro fitting these split boards in older installations is that the landing lighting circuit generally gets its live switched supply from the downstairs lighting circuit but uses the neutral from the upstairs lighting circuit meaning that in the case of a fault that both RCBs will trip instead of just one.
Earth leakage circuit breaker invented in South Africa by C. J. Fuchs Pty. Ltd. Mr. Fuchs was of course a registered plumber and drainlayer :)
He probably got shocked s few times breaking apart pipes and finding one end live.
I'm sure he must have attained higher education as he holds the title of Dr.?
@@rztrzt Two honorary Doctorates. Qualified plumber and drainlayer though.
@@andrewallen9993 Thanks!
11:26 - "...money has won over common sense." Gee...what a surprise. ;)
In fact, I'm very surprised. In Germany one should not mess around with electrical installations, because otherwise you will get problems (if something goes wrong..) eg. with any insurance. Also, normal contracts with the electricity companies also include a passus where you agree to only let skilled and approved people make any work etc., it's heavily regulated (IMHO to an insane degree, but well..). Same with domestic gas and several other crafts.
@@hermannschaefer4777 yeah but Germany is a shit hole run by Brussels. Germany the land of shamed and apologists
nein! we must not look down upon hwat gas has done for us in ze past. feel the warmth, cook up your favourites! don't leave Clive hungry.
I am surprised half the country is not burned down.
You might as well pin this Clive. I was going to say the same thing. Money always wins. Haven't you ever heard of the golden rule? Whoever has the gold, makes the rules.
Double trip, what a great idea. I would love to separate my fridge and other units heating etc. from the house 30mA trip designed to trip when the iron is turned on at the wrong time of day. It is nice to know the trip works, but it can be a bit over cautious at times.
Looks so different than fuse panels uses in Poland, we use also 3x230/400 Volts for many residential, our boxes are always 4x DIN for 16 breakers in some houses and usually few RCDs for light circuits, socket circuits and high power circuit three phase or single phases for washing machines, stoves etc.
Our panels usually are fire retardant plastic