UK Monitoring Power to Commercial Premises

StanRagley · Mar 5, 2022

Hi there.
Ive been trying to help out a customer of mine. They’ve got a pretty busy distribution system in the cellar of a pub and hotel. It’s a bit of mess. They want to split the bill as it’s now shared ownership.
It’s in a cellar, so Wi-Fi isn’t great. Though we can get it there if necessary. It’s a 3 phase supply with a second 3 phase isolator and about another 7 sub boards/isolators coming off it.
I bought an emporia vue 2, but it wasn’t really right for the job.
Would be great if anyone would be able to give advice on how to split the bill or monitor it so they could calculate.
Thanks.

pc1966 · Mar 5, 2022

If it is for billing i think you are legally required to use MID approved meters that meet the trading standards for accuracy and tamper-resistance. Others probably know more about that aspect.

I suspect the only really satisfactory arrangement is going to be a re-work of that distribution system to have separate approved meters. As for remote access (the "smart" reading side of thing) I really don't know - I seriously doubt they would get a signal down there so you might need to search for MID meters that support wired network querying.

It won't be a cheap solution!

Rockingit · Mar 5, 2022

Yuk!! But seen worse. Given all the singles that link that all together you might find that you can put some CT coils over the relevant circuits without too much trauma and just fit some 1ph / 3ph meters as required. It will mean someone having to actually read them, though, like we used to do for decades....

Vortigern · Mar 5, 2022

I don't know if this is feasible but you can get din mounted meters. There are three phase and single phase versions. Maybe a combo of the two. Depends how the load is split between the owners, and if you have any room to mount where apt. They are mid approved as well. Otherwise you could fit a separate box with din mounted meter for each supply you wanted to monitor.

Avo Mk8 · Mar 5, 2022

OB737-CT-AK9 MID CT Operated IP65 Meter Kit

Owen Brothers Retrofit CT Metering Kits are designed for existing installations where complete disconnection of conductors is not possible, they allow safe, certified and simple installations. All products allow for data collection and include pulsed output & Modbus as standard with GSM/GPRS &...

owen-brothers.co.uk

They might be able to use a non-MID approved meter if they can come to a mutually agreeable legal arrangement with the tenant, but probably easier to just use something like the above (if you need polyphase)

pc1966 · Mar 5, 2022

I was wondering about DIN rail meters as well, might be an effective way to keep them neat and together.

Another basic option for remote reading is a PoE web camera pointing at the lot!

pc1966 · Mar 5, 2022

Just to add, the internal IR illumination of most cameras is not very good with LCD displays so you might need to put in some low power white LED lighting for that, maybe even on a time switch or similar.