Storage heater question.

[Patrick Griffin]

Hi everyone,

I have posted a few threads lately on odd things i am unsure of and greatly apprreciated the replies.

In ireland as far as i know we have a timeclock beside a dual tariff meter. This is the supply authority's timeclock which they have a feed at from the meter. A second feed from the cu is brought through two contacts (n/o i am guessing) on the timeclock and then to the contactor coil.

When the change over from day to night rate happens at 11pm the contactor is energised.

My question is about the supply authorities timeclock, would i be correct in saying that the permanent feed from the meter is to power the clock itselft and at 11 pm or whatever preset time the the time clock closes the n/o contacts?

Btw way never did any work with storage heaters or timeclocks so i am very green in this area.

If this is correct is this also how storage heaters operate in the uk??

Thanks in advance!!

 

[telectrix]

it's more common to have a dual tariff meter, so all the electricity used by anything in the house after the 11pm or 12 midnight is charged at the lower rate.

 

[Patrick Griffin]

So dual tariff meters dont use timeclocks??

 

[malcolmsanford]

What Tel was replying to about dual meters are how the modern systems are now installed. The old type of dual tariff ststem did incorporate a time clocks but normally there would be 1 main fuse header and 2 meters. One for normal daytime and another for your low rate. Is there 2 meters

 

[Patrick Griffin]

Thanks for the reply malcolm. This is all hypothetical. Is the way i mentioned in my first post the correct way the old meter plus timeclock method would work?

 

[telectrix]

bloody 'ell malcolm. back from the dead or what?

 

[Richard Burns]

The description you have given is correct for the arrangement you have described.
There are a variety of ways to do this and for England the most common ways that used to be in place (and are still in use in many cases) are to have the arrangement you have described or to have a time clock that also contains the contactor in one unit.
The time clock can also (if there are not two meters but a dual meter) send a signal to the meter to change the recording meter.

Though the modern way is to have an integrated time control that simply changes the recording signal from one data logger to another within the meter itself (the dual tariff meter).

 

[Patrick Griffin]

Thanks richard!!

Just to clarify what you said, in older sysems the timeclock made the change over from day tariff to night tariff and the new dual tariff meters have an integrated time control that makes the need for an external time clock redundant?

 

[7029 dave]

Thanks richard!!

Just to clarify what you said, in older sysems the timeclock made the change over from day tariff to night tariff and the new dual tariff meters have an integrated time control that makes the need for an external time clock redundant?

Integral E7 E10 meters are the way forward, still a lot of mechanical time clocks out there, also teli switches are still very much in, (so the separate meter "clock" still exist)

 

[Richard Burns]

Thanks richard!!

Just to clarify what you said, in older systems the time clock made the change over from day tariff to night tariff and the new dual tariff meters have an integrated time control that makes the need for an external time clock redundant?

Yes, correct.

 

[Patrick Griffin]

Since the old clock method incorporated the option to run a control circuit through it to a contactor how would the new method without a clock allow this option ? Im guessing it wouldnt, so what would be the alternatives?? Cheers everyone

 

[Richard Burns]

New method requires timer control on things like storage heaters so they only come on during the E7 times, can be fun when the suppliers keep changing their times.