The IET is carrying out some important updates between 17-30 April and all of our websites will be view only. For more information, read this Announcement

This discussion is locked.
You cannot post a reply to this discussion. If you have a question start a new discussion

2 electricity supplies to one building

Former Community Member
Former Community Member
Hello, I am a not an engineer but need some advice on uk wiring regulations please. 

A national utility company is fitting a 32A charger in my garage for an electric vehicle. 

The garage is detached from my house but there is an existing circuit from the house consumer unit to the garage for lighting and a power socket. The cable runs along a garden wall. 

The new charger will have its own cable run from the same consumer unit in the house down to the garage. 

My problem is that the engineer who came to do the installation refused to do it as he said the garage is a building in its own right and regulations do not allow 2 supplies to one building.

My question is: Do 2 wiring circuits from the same consumer unit constitute 2 supplies If the consumer unit is located in an adjacent building? 

I would have thought that this was still a single supply and to have 2 supplies you need 2 separate meters with 2 consumer units which is not the case here but then, as I said, I’m no engineer. 

Edit.....The engineer stated that the regulation related to avoiding the risk of a voltage between 2 different earths. To me this again only makes sense if you were talking about 2 totally different supplies from different meters and therefore possibly different sub stations etc.
Parents
  • It also depends on things like if there is a water supply to the garage, and if things get plugged in there that get used in the garden.

    But in any case, even if this is the case, converting the garage sockets and lights to use a local electrode would be easier than a rewire.

    I suspect this is a technician working from a play-book of standard solutions,  rather than designing properly for the situation.This is OK, 90% of the time, but

    there needs to be a proper process for handling non standard cases.

    Mike


Reply
  • It also depends on things like if there is a water supply to the garage, and if things get plugged in there that get used in the garden.

    But in any case, even if this is the case, converting the garage sockets and lights to use a local electrode would be easier than a rewire.

    I suspect this is a technician working from a play-book of standard solutions,  rather than designing properly for the situation.This is OK, 90% of the time, but

    there needs to be a proper process for handling non standard cases.

    Mike


Children
No Data