High Level Metering

[HLMProject]

Currently working on a project regarding work with electrical meters at heights
I'm investigating solutions for reading and working on electric meters in local businesses and homes where the meters are too physically high to be read by the utility engineers
If possible I would like detail on:
Electrical safety regulations at heights
The number of competent engineers who should be present when work is going on at height (can it be done alone?)
What are the ranges of heights for which a stepladder is a viable option and what would be a viable range for a leaning ladder?
Would there be any health and safety precautions to consider if using an extensible pole to reach up and read meters?
Any idea regarding possible solutions or solutions you know of that are being trialed by utilities

For example, a selfie stick could work for single rate meters just out of reach but isn't suitable for telemeters (Economy 7 etc)

Thank you in advance for any detail or graphics you could provide that I could include in my project to present at a local university where I may be applying next year.
Barry

 

[littlespark]

I think the question we all want to know is why you’re wanting meters out of reach?

Meter readers like things to be simple; eye level, doesn’t want to bend down or stretch up. In an outside box so they don’t have to gain entry to a premises.

I worked on a caravan site where meter boxes would end up under the decking. Bad design from day 1, should have been at the rear....
One decking had a hinged hatch, tied with pulleys and rope which lifted just enough to let light in to read the numbers from the edge of the decking.

There are meters on the market that can be read remotely, but I couldn’t say how accurate they would be.

 

[HLMProject]

Thanks for the reply, I never even considered meters under caravan decking.
I'm doing a research placement with a local utility and I've been assigned a high level metering project so I'm just trying to gather information on what options are available.
If you don't mind me asking, how did you read the meters hidden in the decking and where there any times where you just had to move on without taking a reading/ resealing a cutout etc because the conditions were intuitively unsafe?
The way my project is progressing it seems there will be a large emphasis on both H&S as well as the cost-benefit analysis of different solutions

 

[rapparee]

I have to do this in our place.

Previously I would have used a MEWP.

But now we are using remote monitoring. The crowd I am using are Episensor from Limerick.

Home

Global leaders in sustainable energy transition, we provide wireless energy monitoring & demand response to deploy faster and more easily.

episensor.com

 

[The Ghost]

H&S wise ladders are an issue that needs to be addressed and are governed by the Working at Height Regulations and require a Risk assessment and Method Statement. Ladders also require an induction course on how to use maintain and inspect them with a chart kept on the ladder to show regular safety inspections have taken place. At this point most firms just ditch the ladder and say you can't use them. Each point of use and type of ladder would be subject to WAHR making a very intensive record keeping exercise, so that is understandable. Ladders very often may not provide the answer on top of that as the point you have to read is not accessible to a ladder due to position and obstacles around the meter.
As to electrical regulations they are governed my MOCOPA and ESQCR and do not relate to electricians on the "installation" side of an installation as we are bound by (among many others!) BS7671 18th ed. Which has little to do with the supply side from the DNO/Energy supplier. As you may know smart meters are being "introduced" to points of use and of course you might imagine that this would do away with the problem of meter reading as they can be read remotely. Still no doubt, as the uptake is very sporadic, there will be the problem meters reading wise. I think the fault may lie in the installers not thinking out the implications of the locations they place them in.

 

[littlespark]

The caravan meters were our own, so it was up to us to read them. They were all inside an IP rated box with a flap to reset the rcd/mcb and a window for reading the meter through.
The majority were accessible, just behind a panel, or outwith the decking completely.
The awkward ones were within crawling distance, but we only read the meters 2-3 times a year so it wasn’t a huge problem.

So called smart meters could be used that are read remotely, but you need a good signal to transfer the data.
Wi-fi, radio or whatever.
I had a quick calculation at the time for Wi-fi of £400 per pitch, with me doing all the installing.... but with 200 pitches it was cost prohibitive

 

[HLMProject]

Good stuff. Yes I think I'll definitely include a section on "smart meters" and the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI).
Remote solutions seem to be the way forward as long as cyber security concerns are taken into consideration.
Part of the problem is the fact that the meters are the utility's own, which were installed decades ago without planning ahead leading to the current day problem of replacing a meter 20m high
In light of the responses I think I'll give a quick mention not only to high level meters but those in other ways obstructed aswell

 

[Devonchris]

20m ? I think you need a drone.

 

[HLMProject]

20m could be exaggerated a bit but would be the likes of barns or churches I suppose. Jokes aside I think I may mention drones in the paper somewhere in passing, thanks

 

[rapparee]

Good stuff. Yes I think I'll definitely include a section on "smart meters" and the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI).
Remote solutions seem to be the way forward as long as cyber security concerns are taken into consideration.
Part of the problem is the fact that the meters are the utility's own, which were installed decades ago without planning ahead leading to the current day problem of replacing a meter 20m high
In light of the responses I think I'll give a quick mention not only to high level meters but those in other ways obstructed aswell

You know you could leave the utility provider's meters in place and install your own electric meter with CTs they then pulse back to a chatterbox, which in turn communicates with a gateway and then you can read it at any time. As long as you synchronise your new meter to the utilities you will be fine.

 

[Devonchris]

I wasn't joking it's all the rage
See link

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