EPS connection Yorkshire

Eh up,

We're looking to get the EPS connected. Our original installers will only do it to a socket, but we're wanting it to the whole house with manual changeover. We're aware of the load limitations and we have specific reasons for requiring whole house backup in the event of a power cut. We know we'll need a separate earth and we have the Giv instructions on how to wire it in.

What we're lacking is an Angry Pixie Herder (electrician) who can perform the appropriate Pixie choreography (wire it up). I have a hammer and enthusiasm, but my wife objects. I think she's tired of taking me to hospital with a broken thumb.

Does anyone know of any suitably qualified people in Yorkshire who could do this? I've emailed several promising looking companies but to no avail. My original installers say they don't know anyone who will wire in whole house backup and just stick to the RCD socket.

Good luck it's a complex technical thing to do and outside skill set of most sparkies as they have enough simple / normal day to day jobs to not have to bother with this.

Have a read of this blog written by a chap called Trevor who runs a company that does this work.

https://tanjent-energy.com/blog/power-cut-backup-options-with-battery-storage/

He is a good chap and his company might travel that far?

Even just adding a double socket is not straight forward as you need to ensure the house is earthed properly when power is cut from the mains.

PhilS There are quite a lot of threads relating to EPS; just search EPS in the Search Forum box at the top of the screen.

Connecting the whole house to EPS is feasible and could be safe but the problem comes when someone who does not understand that a combined load in excess of 2.5/3.6kW could damage the inverter, kill your EPS and invalidate your warranty. Even if people in the house do understand the restrictions on power use, they won't necessarily know what the load currently is when they switch on an appliance. If you had a watt-meter and switched on appliances keeping the load below 2.5kW, when the freezer decides it needs to chill, it could take you over the limit. I think this is the reason why sparkies don't want to do this work. They will wire the EPS to a socket or to a consumer unit feeding combined loads of less than 2.5/3.6kW, but not connect it to a potentially damaging load.

Just because a dinghy floats, it isn't a reason to sail it across the Atlantic.

Tim

Cheers, will have a gander.

I did have a look on the forums for "EPS" but couldn't find anything relating to a list of people to do it. Just a load of reasons why not to do it. Those risks I totally get if you have kids, a family who doesn't have any comprehension of electrical loads or things like immersion heaters which just switch on and are hard to isolate. We do not have those risks and the other risks are human error for which I have several protections in mind.

As for the concerns, I fully understand them and the risks. We also have tested the peak loads on our appliances and would be going for manual changeover and other risk mitigations for large loads. We require a total output of <1kW (more like 500W) but rewiring the house to provide that on one easily connected circuit that just isn't doable without insane cost. As a last line of protection, I'd intend to protect the inverter as per the instructions with a breaker somewhat lower than the max output.

We have specific high loads, such as the ovens, microwave and kettle on other circuits.

I can understand why they don't want to do it but putting in just a socket isn't going to stop the unwary, who will just get a widowmaker cable and use that socket to energise the main ring thinking they're being clever.... which is substantially worse.

M_J

Cheers, I'll send them a message and see what happens.

Where are you specifically Phil in Yorkshire?