Old Council Controlled Central Heating Contactor

Shep65 · Dec 17, 2017

Hi, a friend of mine has moved to what once was a council house, and has a contactor that was apparently used by the council to control the heating. He wants to change over to an economy 7 type meter. The DNO won’t do anything until the contactor is gone, but won’t touch it themselves. It’s not clear how it’s wired. So, does anyone know how this type of arrangement is connected, to save a lot of “belling out” please? Pics have been uploaded. Thanks.

[ElectriciansForums.net] Old Council Controlled Central Heating Contactor

buzzlightyear · Dec 17, 2017

are you a spark ?

PEG · Dec 17, 2017

Hi dude,you need to be absolutely clear,about how it is wired up,before fronts are pulled,for photos

Basically,the |DNO ,depending on breed,will probably want to fire a 5 lead smart meter at you. Remove the "smart" part,and,after testing of the RHT emitters,and selection of a suitable isolator and fusing,they can fit a RHT meter,and everything inbetween,can be skipped.

The "belling out" that would be required,on a set-up,such as this,would be very straightforward.

A brief explanation of what your involvement is,and whether the system is in use,would bring more assistance.

Deleted member 26818 · Dec 18, 2017

Black fuse holder is for the heating, grey for the power and lighting.
Need to pull the black fuse, disconnect the cables on the load side (not the red cable at the bottom or the black cable to the key meter) seal the cable entry holes and replace the fuse.
Then remove the rest of the junk.
Not sure where the SWA to the FCU under the contactor is fed from?

davesparks · Dec 18, 2017

The SWA is most likely the control signal which is fed from elsewhere and is common to a number of properties.

Deleted member 26818 · Dec 18, 2017

davesparks said:
The SWA is most likely the control signal which is fed from elsewhere and is common to a number of properties.

That could be a problem if other properties are still using the Council heating.

davesparks · Dec 18, 2017

spinlondon said:
That could be a problem if other properties are still using the Council heating.

It shouldn’t be a problem as the connection to the contractor can be disconnected from the fused spur leaving the control circuit intact for the other properties.

Deleted member 26818 · Dec 18, 2017

I would probably just disconnect the load side of the FCU.
Problem I’m seeing, is that there could be live conductors running through the property which the House holder has no control over.

davesparks · Dec 18, 2017

spinlondon said:
I would probably just disconnect the load side of the FCU.
Problem I’m seeing, is that there could be live conductors running through the property which the House holder has no control over.

Yes there are the SWA’s in that second meterbox which will be live, and the correct thing to do in a perfect world is dig them up outside the property and joint them there.
However that will require the co-operation of the council who previously owned the property and presumably still operate the heating control circuit.

Deleted member 26818 · Dec 18, 2017

I hope no one’s thinking ‘free heating’.

davesparks · Dec 18, 2017

spinlondon said:
I hope no one’s thinking ‘free heating’.

I’m not entirely sure what the previous setup was, that’s only a single rate meter in the picture with provision for metering the power used for heating.
Could it be that the council had an unmetered connection which they paid the DNO an agreed price for which they controlled remotely via the contactor?

Deleted member 26818 · Dec 18, 2017

davesparks said:
I’m not entirely sure what the previous setup was, that’s only a single rate meter in the picture with provision for metering the power used for heating.
Could it be that the council had an unmetered connection which they paid the DNO an agreed price for which they controlled remotely via the contactor?

Yes that’s generally how it’s done, same as with street lighting.

Shep65 · Dec 19, 2017

Thanks Guys, all good input. I’ll try to trace the armoured cables 1st. The contactor isn’t in use, so I figure that the whole system throughout the houses is no longer used. I understand that it functioned in an era when heating was inclusive of the rent.