Browse Forums Renovation + Home Improvement 1 Jul 06, 2011 1:28 pm Hi All (especially sparkies), Currently planning some renovations to our NSW brick cottage. We need to move the power box (meter,c/b's etc). The wall it is on will be demolished. Are there any requirements for the location of the powerbox that might be advantageous to know before submitting the DA? For example, on a weather exposed side wall with no eve and a lot of salt laden air. Hope this is enough info, thanks. Graham Re: Power Box / Electrical Box 2Jul 20, 2011 12:57 pm No "real" requirements like you talk about... There are the obvious ones that I'd look for... Try and keep it out of sight... It must have 2ft of clearance past it, when the doors are open... Meter boxes are relatively weather proof, and the gear going in them even more so... Having said that, best to keep it out of severe conditions... Electrical Engineer... Don't hold that against me... And keen owner builder... Mainly the building part!! Re: Power Box / Electrical Box 3Jul 20, 2011 5:30 pm Its best to place the meter box in a position where it won't get any rain on it, if possible. Sods Law says "The time you need an electrician to work on the meter box is the day its raining hard and the wind is blowing the rain into the open meter box" The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Power Box / Electrical Box 5Jul 21, 2011 3:25 pm Sorry for the delay in responding. I've been flat out for the last week. Thanks for all the comments. Better off I have some input before the interaction with the Electrician. I think under an awning would be worthwhile. Somewhat related... I've noticed some negativity towards 'Smart' meters. I think we will go with in-slab floor heating and my research suggests smart meter may be the way to go. Are there any issues with smart meters a typical consumer may not be aware of? Thanks again. Re: Power Box / Electrical Box 6Jul 23, 2011 9:10 pm Hi Graham, The negativity I read about the smart meters is the fact that they will be networked to the power companies and they will be able to monitor power usage at different times of the day. This is considered an invasion of privacy by some. They will, of course, also be able to tariff the different times so they can make the most amount of money when people use power the most. That's the bug bear most people have. Unfortunately, if you ever want to add solar power to your house, the smart meter will be necessary because they are the ones that can measure your output to the grid as well as your consumption to calculate your rebate. If you're clever, you can use them to move some of your high usage activities to the lower rate times. Building Standards; Getting It Right! 1. optional, you can but normally just use the earth from the main switch board 2. should be enough but the distance determines voltage drop - sparky should work it… 1 28814 Would also like an opinion from anyone that has used xcem over hebel for floors. Thanks 1 14231 2 15465 |