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Help with installation / diagram

Former Community Member
Former Community Member
Hi,


I am after some help with a heated windows installation / diagram - grateful for any input.

Unfortunately, the company supplying the installion went bust and I have been left with a system that doesn't  work (incorrectly designed).

We had a local electrician do the first fix wiring based on the diagrams but he says what has been sent won't work in it's current state and he doesn't have the relevant expertise to adjust it.

We live in a rural area and electricians are not that common especially for something as complex as this.

Rather than post up the diagrams and go into too much detail initially, I just wanted to know if this is a place to ask for advice and if not could anyone point me in the right direction. e.g contact details for an electrical engineer.


Thanks.
  • 0
    The SSR will be 'solid state relay' and looks like their enable signal (would be a coil in the old days) is driven by the 230V thermostat, but the actual window heaters are transformer isolated. The fact the windows are all weird and wonderful voltages is presumably a feature of their area and aspect ratio (long thin/short and fat), and appear to have been grouped into 4 voltage bands  57, 76 , 89, and 150. (no wet noses on the glass then ! )


    Total power (sammelstellung) of a touch under 10kw suggests that the overall cable needs to be man enough for about 40 to 45A, and the transformer needs to be set for 230V single phase input, not 400V 3 phases.


    The Germans commonly have 3 phases to the house, so 3 phases at 16a each (2.5mm 3 phase radial) is probably the maker's original expectation - such a thing is a common sight for a cooker supply or an instant water heater.


    I think a photo of the transformer may help, and late, assuming it can be set for 1 phase then perhaps carefully powering it on and looking at the output voltage on the secondary terminals with a meter before connecting any windows.

  • 0
    I presume the two windows on the stairs wired directly to the mains in series will work at 115 volts each.


    Andy B.
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Hi,


    Thanks to everyone who is taking a look.

    As I mentioned the company involved went bust so I have no idea if they have sent everything - I was 'apperently' lucky to actually receive the windows.

    The only consumer unit I have for the windows is the one I sent pictures for where all the wires from the windows connect at the bottom.

    At present it is not wired to the main consumer unit althought there is an mcb (B40) labelled windows which I assume the original electrician used to check the connections in some way?

    I've attached a pic of the transformer that was sent - never been wired up. Hope it is of some help.


    Ian.
  • 0
    Can you post a picture of the electric suppliers main fuses and meter along with a picture of the consumer unit your electrician has installed?


    Andy B


  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Hi,


    Pic of consumer unit and meter / fuses as requested.

    Consumer unit was installed before regs changed to metal so will need to be upgraded once complete.

    The breaker to the right which is off is the one labelled for windows with nothing connected at present.


    Ian.
    attachments.zip
  • 0
    I spotted a couple of points here No1 a circuit labelled lights is a B16 is that right? I think not. Secondly there's an RCD in the feed from the meter and RCDs in the board again definitely not right  sorry to be picky but thought ide better point it out
  • 0

    Kelly Marie:

    I spotted a couple of points here No1 a circuit labelled lights is a B16 is that right? I think not. Secondly there's an RCD in the feed from the meter and RCDs in the board again definitely not right  sorry to be picky but thought ide better point it out




    I can see:


    Meter tails from the service head to the ancient meter - apparently 1984.

    Line consumer tail to SP switch. Why?

    Line consumer tail from switch going south somewhere - exposed primary insulation.

    Neutral consumer tail to "Henley" block. This continues off south and once again the primary insulation is exposed.

    A pair of 4 mm2? cables entering the top of the RCD.

    A T&E cable? exiting the bottom of the RCD.

    An earthing "Henley" block which appears to have the bare wires from a PILC? entering bottom right (the E does not emerge from the service head).

    An earthing conductor going off west and another protective conductor whose purpose is unclear.


    I had thought from the drawings and the picture of the transformer that the installation was in Belgium, but clearly not. (0032 dialling code for Belgium, "relais" French for "relay".)


     

  • 0

    Line consumer tail to SP switch. Why?



    It does seem odd to use just one pole of a DP switch - but the sticker on the bottom does seem to suggest that the arrangement is official. I've seen pictures of E7 systems where one pole of the switch is used for the 24h supply and the other for the off-peak supply - so perhaps this is a continuation of the same logic.


    Otherwise it seems a fairly normal, if messy, setup. The old Wylex RCD seems to supply something else (via T&E) and then tails to (presumably) the main CU. Not sure if the 'something else' has any overcurrent protection though...


       - Andy.
  • 0
    Seems to be an awful lot of 40A and 32A breakers hanging off a <= 100A supply.
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Hi all,


    Just to try and clear a few things up on the pics.

    I am in the UK - it is a church conversion I have been doing for quite a while - the electrics where installed some time ago (hence plastic units).

    The meter and everything else in the pic where already installed when I bought the building as a wreck - it had apparently been installed around 1992 (ish).

    As far as I am aware the only additional items added by the electrician was the RCD which goes directly to 2 double sockets (this allowed us to have power on site) - it doesn't then continue to the consumer unit as far as I can tell. The meter etc are under a set of stone stairs so the tails run along to the left and through into another stone room where the consumer unit etc are housed. 

    We had a major upgrade to the external power here lin June last year as we were suffering quite a few outages when the weather was bad - they had to enter the property and isolate the power. I asked the guy doing it if the setup was OK - he said it was fine so I never really thought anymore about it.

    The whole building is wired up and we never have anything trip so I've never really thought there was an issue with the consumer unit - it is just a matter of trying to get the windows working (only really bothered about getting upstairs working as in hindsight it is not needed downstairs).

    I was always under the impression I was dealing with a UK firm and a UK product but it transpired the company (Finnglass) where only acting as an agent for a company in Belgium (IQ Glass) - both have gone to the wall and I've been left with what I've got and just trying to see if there is anything I can do with it.


    I really appreciate all the time you are taking to look at it for me.


    Ian.

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