Electrician advice required regarding Fuse Box?

Question

"If your electricity supply is on a two or three phase system you will need to purchase extra sensors"

Regarding the above statement, how do I identify whether or not that applies to my box?

Answer 1

You do not need sensors. what you need is an RCD fuse box that will detect earth flow  irregulars. 2or 3 phase is used in factories. the rcd applies to everything except heating,. your meter g tells you how much you are using. You will pay whatever your supplier charges,

Answer 2

In a nutshell, your house will be on a 240volt single phase supply ( just one meter )

Jayktee 9's answer was spot on, you only need the one clip on sensor that came with your Owl Monitoring Unit.

The OWL Wireless Energy Monitor comes with a monitor and display unit (compact, about the size of a small alarm clock), wireless transmitter, 6 batteries, a clip on meter sensor, and installation and usage instruction manual.







The OWL Wireless Energy Monitor is an electricity usage monitor which shows you how much electricity you use at home, how much it costs you, and the level of harmful C02 emissions you are contributing to the environment through your electricity usage – a valuable tool providing you and your family with the information you need to reduce electricity consumption saving you up to 25% on your electricity bill while doing your bit for the environment.

Key features of the OWL include:

    * Easy to install and programme in 5 minutes

    * No need to change your existing meter - sensors clip directly onto your existing electricity meter's cabling

    * Portable, easily moved from room to room

    * Simple to use by all members of the family – push-button menus and easy to read, large LCD display

    * Programmable to current and/or individual electricity tariffs

    * Instant information about how much electricity you are your family are using, how much it is costing and how much is potentially wasted

    * The monitor shows the level of greenhouse gases that are being generated by your current electricity usage

    * 12 months warranty (excludes batteries)

    * The monitor displays temperature and humidity levels to show the comfort level inside your home or office

    * Audible alarm can be set to notify of excessive electricity usage

    * Monitor can display £, $ and Euro

    * Monitor can be used as a safety check to see if any electrical appliance has been unnecessarily left on before leaving your home or workplace

    * The OWL Wireless Energy Monitor can be taken with you when you move house or sold as a feature of your existing home

Answer 3

if it is a domestic supply you are talking about then it is almost certainly a single phase, this can also be determined by the colour code on the supply side of the meter,

Answer 4

You should be ok on a single phase system.Check this link

http://uk.wrs.yahoo.com/_ylt=A1f4cfcN1a1...

Answer 5

the voltages usually identify the system.....i have never heard of 2-phase.... if you are in a residential house and you have 120v or 240v you are on a single phase system..... usually only industrial complexes use 3-phase power, i.e. if your lighting operated on 208v or 277v then you are using one leg of a 3-phase system..... if its 480v then you are using all 3 legs of a 3-phase system...

just read what you added to your question.... it sounds like it a clamp-on ammeter that reads the amount of current flowing through your wires.... if you want a reading of your whole house then you will need a sensor on each hot leg of your main electrical panel... otherwise you are only reading one side.....  if you just want to read one appliance that runs on 120v then it's fine.... if it is a clamp-on ammeter then you cannot clamp around the hot and neutral at the same time, they will cancel eachother out and you will not get a reading

Answer 6

I've never heard of a house power with two or three phase power (U.S).  Single phase is almost universally used for residential electrical services.  The safest way to find out sure is to contact your power company and ask.  

I haven't ever seen a two phase service.  Three phase services are common in commercial and industrial buildings where there are many motors or air conditioning units in operation.  Bigger motors run more efficiently on multiphase electricity than on single phase electricity.  Those same bigger motors are just not used in the home.

Answer 7

As usual, many wrong answers, I know what an Owl monitor is and also what the clip on sensors are. If you are a domestic consumer you will 99% have a single phase supply and just need the one current sensor. If you are a large commercial/industrial unit you will certainly have a 3 phase supply. If you look at your meter and it has 4 cables  (2 in and 2 out) you have single phase.   If it has 8 (occasionally 6) cables then you have 3 phase and will require the two additional sensors. If it's a very old installation you could have 3 phases on three separate single phase meters, but this is unlikely. (You are very unlikely to have a two phase supply, this is common in Europe, not UK.)

Answer 8

if your living in a normal size house you will only be on a single phase supply , the sender to your monitor just clips around the live cable coming from your electric meter , it's usualy the cable on the right hand side of the meter , you only need extra sensors if you have a 3 phase supply, you will notice on the box the sender plugs into you have room for 3 plugs, if your single phase just plug it into anyone you like

God!!!  some of those answers are rubbish

Answer 9

You MUST contact an electrician if for no other reason than you may void both your home insurance & morgage

Answer 10

Count your meters. You will have a meter for each phase...

Answer 11

Sensors? What do you mean sensors?

If you have a single phase supply, like in your house, you'll probably just have mcb's, if it in a newish house you might have an rcd on the ring main (dont think they put them on lighting circuits because of nuicance tripping). The same applys for 3 phase systems, you have protection devices fitted.

Im assuming you meant protection devices when you said sensors.