Re: energy in UK

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