Rcd tripping with no switch on after smart meter installarion

Desikeera · Jul 29, 2021

Hi

I am.from uk
I had a gas top up meter and a electric smart meter installation

Thought to ask my energy supplier to fit me a gas smart meter aswell

Their enginner came and said we will have to install the electric meter aswell so they will combine the smart thing on the display

But after installing the new smart meters

My rcd been tripping time to time even with all switch down on the main board

It did trip 2 times while he was here - but then worked absolutly fine he did open the unit and check and tighten all connectio

In last 5 hourd have tripped 2 times
Can anybody advise?
Strange because i already had an electric smart meter installation and never had this issue so why now?
Thanks
Can anybody advise me?

Jonny1 · Jul 29, 2021

Desikeera · Aug 5, 2021

Pretty Mouth said:
I have come across this exact problem. All the tests came back fine, there was no indication of a fault on any of the circuits

Same brand RCD, old memera one. Have read online of others having the same problem, again same memera RCD. Basically the smart meter is interfering with the RCD, causing it to trip randomly.

In my client's case, the smart meter was immediately below the fuse board. (don't laugh!) I took a piece of cardboard, wrapped tinfoil around it, and placed it between the meter and fuseboard. It hasn't tripped since, I kid you not! Obviously, if you intend to do this, make absolutely sure that there are no exposed live parts that could make contact with the foil, or you'll be fried alive.

Hi everyone

I called an electrician twice , he charged me crazy money ?? however because of the tripping or during the installation he told me my electric shower has became a hazard, need to change it as it showing some fault in his reader...
He became crazy as he couldnt find any fault, and then asked me what time the tripping happen, and other questions, he came to the exact conclusion of pretty mouth that the unit memera one in the past for one of his client use to trip just after the installation of a smart meter

As pretty mouth said its exactly whats happening for me, as i mentionnet in my first post, eon came to replace the gas meter ( as i already had a smart electric and never had any issue) but decided he will need to put a new electric meter and synch both of them, the problem now is everytime.eon send a signal to the electric meter as it uses radio signal, which i guess are so strong it trip my rcd memera one

I haven read about your tricj regardent the foil but i am afraid of that as i have 2 kids at home

Can anybody advise me please? I already paid more than 200£ for the search of the problem.and now i have an electric shower to replace ????

I am going nuts and really dont know what to do
Could i call eon to come back and replace the meter ?? Or any other thing?

Thanks again for all readers and replies

suffolkspark · Aug 5, 2021

Desikeera said:
Hi everyone

I called an electrician twice , he charged me crazy money ?? however because of the tripping or during the installation he told me my electric shower has became a hazard, need to change it as it showing some fault in his reader...
He became crazy as he couldnt find any fault, and then asked me what time the tripping happen, and other questions, he came to the exact conclusion of pretty mouth that the unit memera one in the past for one of his client use to trip just after the installation of a smart meter

As pretty mouth said its exactly whats happening for me, as i mentionnet in my first post, eon came to replace the gas meter ( as i already had a smart electric and never had any issue) but decided he will need to put a new electric meter and synch both of them, the problem now is everytime.eon send a signal to the electric meter as it uses radio signal, which i guess are so strong it trip my rcd memera one

I haven read about your tricj regardent the foil but i am afraid of that as i have 2 kids at home

Can anybody advise me please? I already paid more than 200£ for the search of the problem.and now i have an electric shower to replace ????

I am going nuts and really dont know what to do
Could i call eon to come back and replace the meter ?? Or any other thing?

Thanks again for all readers and replies

Does the shower still work? Sounds like he's damaged the electric shower whilst carrying out insulation resistance tests? But would only really happen if it was one with electronics in.... who knows...

Just try the tinfoil wrapped cardboard trick first, the tinfoil isn't connecting to any electrics so no risk to yourself and kids.

Desikeera · Aug 5, 2021

suffolkspark said:
Does the shower still work? Sounds like he's damaged the electric shower whilst carrying out insulation resistance tests? But would only really happen if it was one with electronics in.... who knows...

Just try the tinfoil wrapped cardboard trick first, the tinfoil isn't connecting to any electrics so no risk to yourself and kids.

Can you or somebody advise in the picture where should i put it? Thanks

[ElectriciansForums.net] Rcd tripping with no switch on after smart meter installarion

Pretty Mouth · Aug 5, 2021

I would tape it to the underside of your consumer unit (fusebox):

Desikeera · Aug 5, 2021

Pretty Mouth said:
I would tape it to the underside of your consumer unit (fusebox):

View attachment 88366

Thanks for your reply

Right i will try that and make sure to call to send an engineer to repace or put back the old one

Already because of the trip last night had to throw food from fridge and freezer having 2 kids at home it was such a bad situation this morning...

timhoward · Aug 5, 2021

I’m sorry to hear this has turned into a right saga.
I’d hold fire on the shower change - as above does it work?
Hopefully the card and foil shield will solve the problem short term.
(I’m wondering if there any forum members on east side of Manchester? )

Mikegh · Aug 5, 2021

Seems a stretch doesn't it, the meter tripping the rcd ?

Anythings possible I guess

Pretty Mouth · Aug 5, 2021

Desikeera said:
Thanks for your reply

Right i will try that and make sure to call to send an engineer to repace or put back the old one

Already because of the trip last night had to throw food from fridge and freezer having 2 kids at home it was such a bad situation this morning...

I hope this works for you, and please do update us with how things work out. I'm interested to hear if your supplier will take any responsibility for the problem.

suffolkspark · Aug 5, 2021

I've seem similar threads on here with exactly the same circumstances before... odd, but lets see, hopefully we get an update

Desikeera · Aug 5, 2021

timhoward said:
I’m sorry to hear this has turned into a right saga.
I’d hold fire on the shower change - as above does it work?
Hopefully the card and foil shield will solve the problem short term.
(I’m wondering if there any forum members on east side of Manchester? )

The electric shower works but the electrician told me it has become a hazard, with some equipment he showed me that its showing somr fault on the reader ( by putting 2 wires on 2 electric point inside the shower) so he told me hes cutting it off and has put tape on wires and asked me to replace
Not only that the constant tripping has blown 4 bulbs in the house and my front flood light, i had to replace them all which cost me aswell today, i really do believe something bad happened during the meter installation but wont accuse the engineer as i have no proof

Regarding the foil trick i have put it under the unit as advised, fingercross no trip happens now , i will call eon in the morning to send out an engineer or to give me back my old meter
Will keep updating as it can help someone in the future

Mikegh · Aug 5, 2021

I presuy the electrician is saying there's a low IR reading on the shower heater tank

When they go the reading is usually low enough to trip the RCD ime, maybe it's higher than that

RCDs are unpredictable at the best of times and I've seen some strange things happen, so definitely wouldn't be amazed if this was caused by the meter

James · Aug 5, 2021

Mikegh said:
Seems a stretch doesn't it, the meter tripping the rcd ?

Anythings possible I guess

It would seem that some rcd’s mounted close to some smart meters can in some circumstances cause the rcd to trip.
presumabley when they are transmitting data back to base.

when you think about it, an rcd is infact basically 2 coils of wire, wrapped round the conductors.
the rcd compres the current flow by measuring the current in the coils of wire.
strong radio waves could upset the balance.

it is not the first time we have heard this type of thing happen and although it seems far fetched, I believe it is a genuine problem for some people.
it is also something the suppliers are unlikley to spend much time investigating or admitting to.

Mikegh · Aug 5, 2021

James said:
It would seem that some rcd’s mounted close to some smart meters can in some circumstances cause the rcd to trip.
presumabley when they are transmitting data back to base.

when you think about it, an rcd is infact basically 2 coils of wire, wrapped round the conductors.
the rcd compres the current flow by measuring the current in the coils of wire.
strong radio waves could upset the balance.

it is not the first time we have heard this type of thing happen and although it seems far fetched, I believe it is a genuine problem for some people.
it is also something the suppliers are unlikley to spend much time investigating or admitting to.

Seen a fluorescent on a non RCD protected way tripping an RCD

The capacitor apparently was causing it

Definitely unpredictable devices

Strima · Aug 5, 2021

The smart meter uses the mobile network to contact the supplier for monitoring etc, in poor reception areas this software jacks up the transmit power to try and get a better signal, this in turn can have a negative effect on RCDs.

One option is for the supplier to fit an external antenna which should sort this out.

Mikegh · Aug 5, 2021

Uses 2G to transmit data if I recall correctly

Strima · Aug 6, 2021

Mikegh said:
Uses 2G to transmit data if I recall correctly

Yup, they use Multi-network SIM cards so are not restricted to one mobile provider. 2G is still the best technology for this type of use as it easily penetrated structures and has a good range, but still can suffer from poor reception in some areas.

Desikeera · Aug 6, 2021

Pretty Mouth said:
I would tape it to the underside of your consumer unit (fusebox):

View attachment 88366

Unfortunatly this tripis not working for me its still tripping ?

But sorry i just read properly, i have attached foil underneath as you advised, but just saw you said cardboard wrapped in tinfoil? Is it necessary to have cardboard with foil?
Because clearly only foil not working for me

Mikegh · Aug 6, 2021

I assume the cardboard is just to give it a bit of strength

littlespark · Aug 6, 2021

Does the shower have an isolation switch? It will be double pole, so if its turned off, the shower itself will not affect the rcd.

can we have a wider photograph showing the consumer unit, not just the bottom edge. There may be something else in view that someone might suggest is the problem.

Pretty Mouth · Aug 6, 2021

Desikeera said:
Unfortunatly this tripis not working for me its still tripping ?

But sorry i just read properly, i have attached foil underneath as you advised, but just saw you said cardboard wrapped in tinfoil? Is it necessary to have cardboard with foil?
Because clearly only foil not working for me

I'm sorry to hear this didn't work for you. The idea of the cardboard was just to give it some rigidity.

Maybe try 2 or 3 layers of foil, and this time try shielding the smart meter rather than the consumer unit? like in the picture:

freddo · Aug 6, 2021

I can't assist with the issue, (though you could have the consumer unit replaced, an expensive solution!) but I'm going to point out the screw missing from the earth terminal as no one else has mentioned it yet and I can't stop looking at it.

Gavin John Hyde · Aug 7, 2021

I have had a customer contact me last year with a similar issue, Split load board tripping after Morris fitted smart meters. 1 RCD was awful on the ramp test and put that down to age and just bad luck as it hadnt been operated for ages until meter guy turned off all loads and switches etc.. the other rcd had just a few sockets, and lights on it...
Disconnected all loads overnight and it still tripped... by chance he had found online the thoughts that it could be the meter causing an inbalance in the rcd... He actually set up a camera on record to show when it tripped, time and the meter.. sounds crazy but the tripping coincided with a series of flashes on the smart meter... I thought he was a bit bonkers at first but there is clearly something amiss with the proximity of rcds and smart meters. we created a barrier using a small piece of metal and it actually prevented further tripping... much like keys in a foil pouch - a faraday cage... not sure if his meter still sent out the readings mind!

I upgraded his board for him as part of an ev charger install and now his board is metal there has been no tripping, albeit he now has rcbos...

brianmoooore · Aug 7, 2021

There are three reasons why a RCD might switch itself off.
1) It's doing its job, working as it should and responding to an imbalance in the live conductors.
2) The RCD is faulty, and needs replacing.
3) It's being affected by a newly installed "smart" meter, mounted very close to it.

Have 1 and 2 been definitely excluded as the cause? We know there's a condemned shower connected to it. Is this definitely DP isolated when the tripping occurs?
If 1 and 2 have been excluded as the cause, then maybe the camera is the way to go. It would show a correlation that the energy supplier would struggle to dismiss.

Mikegh · Aug 7, 2021

Gavin John Hyde said:
I have had a customer contact me last year with a similar issue, Split load board tripping after Morris fitted smart meters. 1 RCD was awful on the ramp test and put that down to age and just bad luck as it hadnt been operated for ages until meter guy turned off all loads and switches etc.. the other rcd had just a few sockets, and lights on it...
Disconnected all loads overnight and it still tripped... by chance he had found online the thoughts that it could be the meter causing an inbalance in the rcd... He actually set up a camera on record to show when it tripped, time and the meter.. sounds crazy but the tripping coincided with a series of flashes on the smart meter... I thought he was a bit bonkers at first but there is clearly something amiss with the proximity of rcds and smart meters. we created a barrier using a small piece of metal and it actually prevented further tripping... much like keys in a foil pouch - a faraday cage... not sure if his meter still sent out the readings mind!

I upgraded his board for him as part of an ev charger install and now his board is metal there has been no tripping, albeit he now has rcbos...

Solid evidence there re: the smart meters and RCD trips