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From: Martin Brown <'''newspam'''@nonad.co.uk>
Newsgroups: sci.electronics.design
Subject: Re: energy in UK
Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2025 09:19:54 +0100
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On 18/04/2025 01:26, Carlos E.R. wrote:
> On 2025-04-17 23:11, Don Y wrote:
>> On 4/17/2025 1:44 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
>>> Probably all of Spain has smart meters now. But the reason was, 
>>> AFAIK, that here the contract limits the current you can draw. For 
>>> instance, a contract can say that you can draw 15A (3450W). The meter 
>>> has the ability to switch off when you try to draw 16A for a time.
>>
>> Wow!  Now THAT is interesting.  Here, the size of your service (ampacity)
>> effectively determines what you can use -- that, and your wallet.
> 
> I think that is an Spanish only feature.

ISTR Italy and to some extent Japan have similar rules. When I lived in 
Japan only the aircon had a really juicy 240v supply. The domestic ring 
main 100v could not support for example a 3kW kettle. They had special 
slow electric kettles come thermos flasks to have boiling water on tap.

You also had to be careful not to run the aircon at full pelt and the 
washing machine at the same time or the circuit breaker would trip.
> 
> They charge us for the watts we actually take, and also a fixed monthly 
> amount for the size of the pipe. Meaning, if we contract for a maximum 
> of 15A, we pay for that, €/month. If we contract 30A, we pay double 
> fixed amount per month. And the smart meter controls that we don't 
> contract 20 and take 21.

In the UK it is done by size of fuse into the home. You can overload the 
circuit a fair bit without blowing the fuse but it is expensive if you 
do since the electricity company has to come out and do the bonded 
repair. There are lead seals on the fuse connecting to incoming mains.

A few homes last rewired in the 1950's are still on 40A, most are on 60A 
or now 100A circuits. You pay for what you use. A few tariffs have a 
higher price for going beyond a certain amount for high use premises.

Local mains supply here had to be reinforced a couple of years back to 
support then PM Rishi Sunak's luxury heated swimming pool (he paid for 
the network upgrade himself). Wife is fabulously rich.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/12/rishi-sunak-has-electricity-grid-upgraded-to-heat-his-private-pool

Where I live in a rural backwater the mains is actually more like US 
style two phase and neutral rather than normal UK 3 phase. This is a 
sore point with businesses that would like to use 3 phase equipment. 
Each village is across one pair of the 3 phase distribution line with a 
transformer ratio to give 240v output.

> So people try to contract the minimum they actually need.
> 
>>> Previously, al houses had a limiter switch with a lead seal. People 
>>> managed to bypass that switch. By passing the meter is harder, I have 
>>> not seen it done.

Traditional way in the UK is a copper nail through the cables on the 
wrong side of the meter. A method beloved of illegal cannabis farms.

-- 
Martin Brown