On the fiddle ______________

mainline · Jun 26, 2023

mainline said:
Thats what I thought but was more concerned with using a single conductor to combine N and Cpc I would have thought could upset an rcd.

Residual current devices (RCD) rely on detecting currents flowing in the earthing conductor by measuring the out of balance currents between phase and neutral conductors. In a TN-C installation, the neutral and earthing conductor are combined, thus making the detection of residual current impossible.

You cannot tell what is a legitimate neutral current, and what is an earth fault current using the PEN, as the earth and neutral combined.

timhoward · Jun 26, 2023

mainline said:
In a TN-C installation, the neutral and earthing conductor are combined, thus making the detection of residual current impossible.

I don't think it's helpful to label this installation as a TN-C. I understand that in some ways that is correct, but it is causing confusion.
In a true TN-C system there wouldn't be an N or a CPC for any of the loads, just a PEN. In a true TN-C setup earth faults are indeed impossible to detect using an RCD.

[ElectriciansForums.net] On the fiddle ______________

In this installation, the neutral and earthing of loads are separated. The loads have N connected to the RCD and the CPC connected to the CPC bar. In turn, the CPC bar is connected to the N incomer on the main switch.
Therefore any current flowing through the CPC will not pass back through the RCD and the RCD will trip due to the imbalance.

Apart from the colour of the wire, I maintain that it is electrically exactly the same as this:

Discuss!

Other_Tucker · Jun 28, 2023

I cant find a ~100a version of the crossover switch in the picture, one that will link straight through L-R and then when turned join L green to R blue as well as L blue to R green. It's easy enough to do in electronics but I guess no-one makes an electric sized version. Sorry for the floppy CAD, turns out windows paint 3D is ----

newfutile · Jun 28, 2023

In a meter the neutral plays no part in the measurement unless its used to power (with the line) any electronics present in the meter .
i have taken single phase meters apart and there is always a solid neutral link with the live sent though a current shunt , the volt drop is then measured over the shunt to calculate amps

mainline · Jun 28, 2023

Other_Tucker said:
I cant find a ~100a version of the crossover switch in the picture, one that will link straight through L-R and then when turned join L green to R blue as well as L blue to R green. It's easy enough to do in electronics but I guess no-one makes an electric sized version. Sorry for the floppy CAD, turns out windows paint 3D is ----

A generator cross over switch or a contactor would do what you want.

I don't know how you would switch a 100amp mains using electronics cheaply.

I don't know what you are trying to achieve in your pic, The OPs had his N supply to the meter disconnected, so the meter electronics wouldn't work, as already said a number of times.

Apart from switching colours and Csa it won't do anything to thwart the meter reading.

littlespark · Jun 28, 2023

If it was as easy as disconnecting the neutral from the supply of the mainswitch…. And using earth as the return… basically not having anything connected to neutral out of the meter… to stop the meter running…. Everyone would be doing it.

The meters don’t need the neutral to operate… even the old mechanical ones.

Someone comes to read my meter 2 or 3 times a year, even though I fill it in online when asked to.
I’m sure these guys are trained to notice bypasses, strange boxes, smoking nails hammered into the tails….