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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.
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  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    BOD,

    The main fuse, the meter, the henley block  and the consumer unit all say 100A on them.

    But I don’t think the supply is the issue here. I think the problem is, as mapj1 said, the earthing and the fact that the charger may need an earth rod while the other circuit in the garage uses the earth from the supply. As he also said the installer is set up to do “standard” installations and don’t seem to know what to do if they get a non standard one. 

    I just wanted to understand if the problem was real and if they knew what they were talking about or if it was a case like the proverbial car mechanic sucking in through his teeth while shaking his head. 

    Thanks for all the input everyone.
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  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    BOD,

    The main fuse, the meter, the henley block  and the consumer unit all say 100A on them.

    But I don’t think the supply is the issue here. I think the problem is, as mapj1 said, the earthing and the fact that the charger may need an earth rod while the other circuit in the garage uses the earth from the supply. As he also said the installer is set up to do “standard” installations and don’t seem to know what to do if they get a non standard one. 

    I just wanted to understand if the problem was real and if they knew what they were talking about or if it was a case like the proverbial car mechanic sucking in through his teeth while shaking his head. 

    Thanks for all the input everyone.
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