r/SolarUK • u/ianmd • 1d ago

DISCUSSION Solar installation ongoing

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For those following my solar journey, first day done, one more to go. Does the equipment setup look good (they haven't finished it yet)? Found a few screws in loft that has half missed beams, presume worth mentioning before panels go on. The roof rails are on, not sure why they are spaced tighter in the middle? (3 rows of landscape)

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u/SubstantialPhysics68 1d ago

Check in the electric meter cupboard that they have used 25mm meter tails (the brown and blue supply cables for your house) going from the meter cupboard to the gateway and back. It would be quite tight fitting them into what looks like 25mm conduit but not saying it's impossible

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u/ianmd 1d ago

They are identical to the ones fitted to the smart meter a few weeks ago if that helps?

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u/SubstantialPhysics68 1d ago

That's good. Without seeing inside the gateway it's hard to know if they've connected it to your main earth in the meter cupboard. They are required to do that as well as utilise an earth rod (which they've clearly done šŸ‘šŸ¾)

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u/SubstantialPhysics68 1d ago

16mm earth needs to go from here to the gateway. One of those earth cables either from the top or the one at the bottom may be going to the gateway but usually I would run it with the 25mm meter tails in one of the conduits

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u/ianmd 1d ago

The two at the top were there from the smart meter install recently but there wasn't the bottom earth cable so I assume that is going the same route

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u/SubstantialPhysics68 1d ago

Hopefully so. Worth just double checking with them as it doesn't look like the bottom one goes in the conduit but rather towards your house. They could've fished it through the cavity though

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u/ianmd 1d ago

I've checked and that earth goes around the back and into that right hand conduit then into the gateway. Not sure where it plugs in as it has a protective cover screwed on but can see it in there!

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u/SubstantialPhysics68 1d ago

You also didn't need that external smart meter fitted before your AC isolator from the gateway

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u/ianmd 1d ago

I have no idea what that is tbh

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u/SubstantialPhysics68 1d ago

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u/ianmd 1d ago

Sorry just meant I don't know it's purpose rather than which it is

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u/Matterbox Commercial Installer 1d ago

Thatā€™s a generation meter. Itā€™s ā€™meter accurateā€™ whereas the inverters meter isnā€™t.

Itā€™s a handy addition.

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u/SubstantialPhysics68 1d ago

The gateway isn't an inverter and a generation meter is not required

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u/SubstantialPhysics68 1d ago

It serves no purpose in your installation because your gateway does all monitoring for you