how to upgrade our power supply from 60 A - 100 A

[bonechina05]

Hi all,

Our one-bed flat has no gas and runs on electricity only. We would like to install an electric combi boiler to supply hot water and instant shower without using a hot water cylinder with immersion heater.

The electric boiler requires 12 KW, which is equivalent to 50 Amps, whilst the total power supply to our flat is 60 A, which will be insufficient when taking into account of all other appliances we will also need, e.g: oven, hob, possibly under floor heating etc. etc.

So we are looking into the idea of upgrading our electric supply from 60 A to 100 A. The building we are in has no spare capacity / fuse for us to use.

Anyone knows what we should do and who we should contact in this instance ? By the way we are in London.

[bonechina05]

Thank you !

[PigletJohn]

You can ask your electricity supplier (name on the bill) who will pass it on to the appropriate DNO.

As your are in a flat it will probably be impossible or very expensive.

There must be some reason why you want an electric instant HW boiler. What is it?

I'm not sure you mean a combi. Are you planning to have hot-water radiators heated by a central electric device?

Are you in the UK?

[PigletJohn]

btw a 12kW heater will give a very weedy shower, and in winter it will not be very hot.

[johnd2]

It might not be expensive, the Chap who changed our cutout put in a 60A because our tails were 16mm, but he said it could be upgraded cheaply in future. He said the old fuse was about 30A and very old

[bonechina05]

@Piglet John: Thank you for your response. Yes we are in the UK, London in fact. Our electricity supplier is EDF, I contacted their customer service and didn't get anywhere. Perhaps I should call a different department?

What does DNO stand for please?

We need to provide hot water (including for shower) and heating
(maybe underfloor, to save space). There is not really sufficient space for a hot water tank so a combi boiler that can heat water instantaneously for a shower and taps plus support under-floor heating would be ideal. Gas is not an option so we are left with electric

Agree, as we are in a flat, things might be complicated...

@johnd2: thank you for your information. Are you in a flat? in London?

Anyone has experience in Electric Combi Boiler?

[PigletJohn]

The call centres are not much good, but a letter will be passed along until it reaches someone who knows what to do. The Supplier who sends your electricity bill has a responsibility to deal with the customer and liaise with the other companies involved.

There are different companies involved in meter management, connections, road digging etc. so it might not be the one shown on the map

DNO

If you look at the bottom of your electricity bill it will say something like

Electricity


Distributor:
Bloggins Power Distribution, Electro House,
Cable Steet, Anyrown AN1 9TW
1YT. Call 0800 048 3516

[bonechina05]

@PigletJohn: yes, I found the distributor info. It is UK Power Network. Thank you for pointing me to the right direction.

[johnd2]

Mine is in london too, it was UKPN who are the DNO. I'm not in a flat, but the guy who came said he didn't see one that old for a while and had no idea what fuse it had. Apparently was a pitch filled boat. They basically spent the whole morning chopping the 3 phase lead covered cable coming in, and reconnected it to a new block. He said the incoming wire was very thin but because it's paper insulated it doesn't matter if it gets hot.
And I did indeed have to argue ages with the supplier and UKPN, actually I only wanted to cutout switch connected between the meter and my fuse box, that is the supplier's job, but they both said each other needed to do it. Eventually the supplier agreed to do it, but when the guy came (from G4S) he did it but said we should change the main cutout too, which UKPN then came and did (without being able to turn off the power!)

If your cutout looks old enough, you might be able to get them in to replace it for free and upgrade on the side. However if you know you're on 60A, yours is probably way newer than ours is so you might not get away with it.