Joining the Renewable Heating Hub forums is completely free and only takes a minute. By registering you’ll be able to ask questions, join discussions, follow topics you’re interested in, bookmark useful threads and receive notifications when someone replies. Non-registered members also do not have access to our AI features. When choosing your username, please note that it cannot be changed later, so we recommend avoiding brand or product names. Before registering, please take a moment to read the Forum Rules & Terms of Use so we can keep the community helpful, respectful and informative for everyone. Thanks for joining!
Heat pump install overloads home fuse - 80A limitations
I've had the DNO application back and they've passed it.
Taking out the 40A electric shower made it ok.
When I say take out, I just mean out the equation not physically off the wall, not yet anyway till heat pump is so up and running then I won't need it anyway so it'll be removed permanently .They just want it down on paper.
Still got solar, induction hob, double oven microwave and soon to be installed heat pump so it'll still be way up there.
But chatting to electrician says 80A will easily take 100A for a few hours anyway.
@njtt Great news that you've had it back approved. I found the DNO (NG in my case) were more than reasonable and very helpful.
Samsung 12kW gen6 ASHP with 50L volumiser and large radiators. 7.2kWp solar (south facing), Tesla PW3 (13.5kW). Net Zero
Yes NG for me too.
They even rang me up 2 days after application was sent in to say
"I thought you like to know it was accepted"
That's 2 dealings I've had on the phone with NG with upgrade to fuse and the heat pump and both very pleasant and quickly sorted.
Posted by: @njtAn 100A fuse would have made my life much easier.
I just applied to the DNO for a fuse upgrade as octopus after their heat pump survey said I needed one.
Getting in contact with the DNO was easy and fuse upgraded within days for free but stated their policy will only allow up to 80A fuse.
As I've already mentioned they removed neighbours 100A fuse and replaced it with an 80A
I've just addressed this issue here in the topic DIY solar upgrade.
I've spoken with the senior NGED engineer who issues their operational specifications and represents their interest at the Electricity Networks Association.
He's friendly, helpful... and deeply knowledgeable.
When he says they need to downgrade to 80A Service Fuses, then he won't have done that lightly.
As others here have pointed out, a Service Fuse is a very long time-delay device!
You can draw 100A through it for maybe an hour before it gives out.
A high proportion of homes which need to draw more than 80A (19kW) have inefficiencies within them which really ought to be addressed!
Yes, an electric shower is a very high demand appliance... more so than an EV charger.
And there's a lot of them in houses which have had additional loft insulation installed by morons on top of the electrical supply cable!
Let's hope that the need to downgrade to an 80A Service Fuse will cause more home-owners to re-evaluate their 10kW electric shower !
Let me end with a photograph showing 'loft flooring' which has been done properly:
A shows the original ceiling joists.
The span length is 4.6m, so these old 3-inch deep timbers aren't capable of taking the new floor.
B are the new floor joists which have been placed alongside the ceiling joists.
That leaves plenty of space below the new chipboard floor (C) for insulation,
and the re-routing of power cables (2.5mm² and larger) above the insulation layer.
Save energy... recycle electrons!
@transparent A concern of mine regarding the ability of an 80A fuse to carry in excess of 100A for a significant time is that if this is done regularly the fuse could deteriorate over a period of time and eventually fail (you might say this wouldn't be a bad thing).
- 27 Forums
- 2,758 Topics
- 64.9 K Posts
- 1,353 Online
- 7,162 Members
Join Us!
Installer Finder
Degrees of Separation
Latest Posts
-
RE: Where heat loss surveys seem to go against practical reality
@cathoderay I started to record oil usage per month on ...
By ian33a , 2 hours ago
-
RE: Next steps on my ASHP journey: Radiators and Pipework
@bobflux The hydraulic simulator is very interesting...
By Rob of York , 5 hours ago
-
RE: 7kW EV Charger Options Advice
Thanks. Yes, we have patchy 4G. The only option we had ...
By Rusty , 10 hours ago
-
-
RE: Being screwed over by Volkswagen Audi Group
Thanks, @batpred. That integration is the one I have in...
By Majordennisbloodnok , 1 day ago
-
RE: How Accurate Is My DIY Heat Loss Calculation?
@batpred I suspect it will be more this year. I had 9 ...
By AndrewJ , 1 day ago
-
RE: Surface mount or bury primaries for heat pump installation?
@jamespa It's rusting 🙂
By tomasmcguinness , 1 day ago
-
RE: Glass lined Cylinder for private water supply
Thank you, once again, for your replies. Yes...
By ian33a , 1 day ago
-
It’s been out a few days and Amazon has already attache...
By Mars , 1 day ago
-
RE: Missing flow temperature in Heat Geek proposal
Yes, and this is another point I agree. We did find a f...
By Batpred , 1 day ago
-
RE: Problems with sizing a replacement for a Viessmann Vitocal 200-S
A very good point. In effect, the DHW pipework is an em...
By cathodeRay , 2 days ago
-
RE: Solar Power Output – Let’s Compare Generation Figures
@tim441 Here are those same three month periods for 202...
By Toodles , 3 days ago
-
RE: Adding additional Solar Panels to a DC coupled battery system
@transparent thank you for your reply above. As alway...
By Old_Scientist , 4 days ago
-
RE: Adventures in heat loss calculations
@rob-of-york — thanks for posting this, all very useful...
By cathodeRay , 6 days ago





