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Changing meterd Phases

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george65:

* Thank you in advance for any and all replies but please let me pre empt some predictable responses and say I am after TECHNICAL/ factual answers rather than moral ones which won't be appropriate anyway*

I'm looking at buying a new home. I checked out the meter box and it has 3 phase power.
One phase which I think is the "Main" one has a smart meter. The other 2 have the analouge spinny meters.  The Smart meter also controls the off peak hot water.  It has a boost Button which will kick in the water heater on the standard full tilt rate.

The ducted AC is 3 phase so I'd need that to go through the smart meter but what I would like to know is if it is possible to simply move the feed for everything else being the light and power for the house and the shed along with the water heater to a phase the spinny meters are on?
I can generate and back feed my own power, but everything I have read about the smart meter model on this place says any back feed will actually register as useage on the thing which I'll get billed for. 

I'm thinking that all the single phase circuits must come off one phase which is probably the smart metered one so realistically and factually, can the connections for those not simply be taken off a phase the analogue meters are on and just leave the 1 leg of the AC on the electronic meter?

I'm not sure why the smart meter is there . There is no Time of use metering there and far as I can tell, it does not send signals of the usage and even if it did, the other meters would have to be physically read anyway. All the tariffs for all 3 phases are the same.

I'd really like to have the smart meter done away with but can't see that happening. I'd probably end up with 3 of the bastards if I said anything.
The whole BS about saving you money has now been proven wrong in a Gubbermint commissioned report and the health concerns are too strong in my book to completely ignore.

OperaHouse:
I've never heard of a setup like that.  My first thought is that they are dummy meters.  Oh they spin, but under them there are current transformers that feed into the smart meter and those meters are no longer looked at. One of the main points of a smart meter is no one has to go to the house to read it anymore.  In your part of the world nothing is conventional so I don't really know local customs.

mab:
I too wouldn't expect 3 separate meters unless each phase was supplying a different user and each received their own bill - you'd normally have a single meter.

But given what you've described, as long as all the phases are 'equal' (i.e. same size cable and supply fuse) and you are paying the bill ( or all three bills), I can't see why you couldn't move the house onto a different phase - although you might be well advised to seek local advice as to local rules.

the only other caution I could give is to move all the household single phase circuit together, as 'here' there are rules about all single phase circuits in a room being on the same phase (just an additional safety thing so your table lamp and your 'scope' won't have 415v between their lives).

george65:

Smart meter is definitely Single phase. Probably can't read it on the pic being downsized but I can read it on the originals.
The AC is 3 phase, Can't see anything else that is but that alone would need all 3 legs. Each of the service Fuses ( from the pole) is 100A).
 I think the main reason for the smart meter is the Ripple control for the water heater. I also know for a period of time they were installing smart meters but there weren't enough to go around. I suspect they put the SM on the main phase so they could do time of use in the future.

This may be confusing to people in the US as I know your power system is very Different and just as confusing to us. :0)

Most places I looked at had 4 analogue meters. One for each phase and an off peak meter which is standard here. Old style homes like I'm in now have 2 meters, one for the single phase and one for the off peak.   

eigenmorph:
You've probably resolved the issue by now, but a couple of thoughts crossed my mind. The photograph seems to show a fairly straightforward looking domestic installation, so are the two other phases in current use at all? As far as backfeeding is concerned, I'm sure the Utility Company has encountered people with similar queries before. Customer services will probably be no use, but there will be a technical specialist at the Utility company who will assist. It would seem that a third standard meter alongside the smart meter may be all that is required. A smart meter which can handle the backfeed may be a readily available substitute from the Utility. In the UK & Ireland, the consumer is responsible for everything beyond the meter. For local knowledge, have a word with a local electrician.

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