Posted By: WillInAberdeenHi again Borpin, you are the guru on all things home automation!

What is the present view on controlling switches over the home wi-fi rather than using 433mhz radio remote control switches?

I have some WiFi controlled devices (kid's multicolour lighting) which are a pain whenever I change ISP and get a new router (despite doing my best to make the new WiFi network look and feel identical) and I think some will stop being supported long before they physically wear out. Whereas the 433mhz stuff just seems to keep working.

Probably best in another thread, but it is a little horses for courses although Zigbee is the preferred alternative to Wi-Fi. I hate Zigbee. I have a few legacy devices but they always seem to lose connection to the hub. They will go over time.

Best sockets are the Tasmota or ESPHome flashed Athom ones from AliExpress as they are totally local and no Cloud service required.

Personally, I have my own main Router/firewall (currently a GL.iNet GL-AX1800(Flint)) which I connect to with a cable to the ISP router. I then turn off everything on the supplied router and just use mine. Change of ISP is simply unplug their router from mine and plug it into the new one. Job done.

In addition I have a specific router for all my IOT stuff.

You might find old devices need a lesser authentication standard. You might find you can set up another Wi-Fi network with specific settings to connect old devices too. The other thing is those devices may not cope well with the same SSID serving both 5G and 2.4G networks.

Posted By: djhRe the IPC connectors. Why would anybody want to connect an EVSE to the meter tails? Why not connect it, as ours is, through a CU. It does have a separate RCD and MCB.

My thoughts would be convenience costs materials but good reasons give here plus explaining DNO take. Does not mention IPC 's though but does mention piggy backing meter tails.

https://www.efixx.co.uk/ev-charger-installation

Piggy back onto tails is 1min 29 secs into the video. The main issue from what I can make out in addition to not using meter box as a space for installation is the use of the IPC on the meter tails. Wonder if not covered in the video is because it problem has only raised its head recently. 1st I was aware of such devices was in a magazine a couple of months ago which featured problems electrician had come across in doing their work. One was a IPC in a meter box where the bare end of the cable being attached was poking through the fitting and end not insulated, and was therefore a shock hazard.

There are maybe a dozen videos featured on that page. Is everyone looking at the same one?

One of them is titled "Insulation Piercing Connectors on Meter Tails", here is the direct link
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qFDoZCvSzlU

Edit - interesting website.
New EV chargers now require PEN fault detection so that they don't need a dedicated earth spike, and a DC-detecting RCD, and being expensive electronics they would benefit from a surge protector, and they are located outdoors. All good reasons to tap into the meter tails in the meter box, before they run off indoors to the consumer unit, which doesn't usually have all those gubbins fitted in it. The EV installer ideally doesn't want to replace the existing consumer unit, as theyd have to bring all the house wiring up to present regs. We don't want them drilling the cable back outdoors through the airtight envelope!

So the principle of tapping into the meter tails sounds good, the debate is about whether those particular connectors are certified for that purpose, and whether the live ends of the conductors are insulated enough against touch, as Revor said. The traditional Henley block connectors require the DNO fuse pulled.

I'm actually trying to get a two pole isolator fitted in my meter tails (to unjam a project with too many moving parts!). The DNO say it's not a standard fitment so they'll charge me quite a lot for it. I think they're suspicious what I might connect to the back of it!

(Edit - it's technically not the DNO's problem as their responsibility ends at the cutout fuse, nor is it the responsibility of the retailer, or their metering supplier who own as far as the meter but would take ownership of the isolator. The tails are my electrician's turf. But all those parties seem to have to participate!).

The solution might be to allow qualified/registered EV fitting electricians to pull the DNO fuse themselves, the same kind of guys were allowed to do this when they fitted the smart meter.

Posted By: WillInAberdeen(Edit - it's technically not the DNO's problem as their responsibility ends at the cutout fuse, nor is it the responsibility of the retailer, or their metering supplier who own as far as the meter but would take ownership of the isolator. The tails are my electrician's turf. But all those parties seem to have to participate!).

I'm pretty sure that, in my new build (11 years ago now) When they fitted the original meter, they fitted the isolator. I also have a thought in the back of my head that says when fitting smart meters, they were at some point fitting isolators.

As per Borpin

I’ve an isolater between meter and consumer unit , as do my flats which were wired around 2003.

not sure if anyone has suggested this yet but if mhrv is in the loft , just fit a pull cord switch on the floor/ceiling directly below it.

Whilst on electrical topic saw a video of an appraisal of a solar install and a serious failing was lack of a smoke alarm in the loft where the inverter and battery were situated. Seems it is a requirement for solar installs in the loft to be installed with a smoke alarm. Another failing was lack of labelling of the DC cables as such as they can be easily mistaken for coax cable. If your stuff is in the loft might be as well to check.

Posted By: djhSeems like a couple more advantages of microinverters to mehttp:///newforum/extensions/Vanillacons/smilies/standard/bigsmile.gif" alt="" title="" >All DC and inverters are outside on the roof, and the DC cable lengths are measured in inches.

Don't understand the significance of the inches bit

Regardless of having microinverters with a battery there will be an inverter standalone or integrated into the battery which needs housing somewhere. Everything was in the loft in this example

The full video is here. For those interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUehMdNfGrY&t=623s

Have watched a couple of this guys videos he is an excellent communicator and presenter.

I'm not sure what the wired controller does - is that the Vent Wise thing the instructions mention?

If you look at Appendix 1 there is a 'control mode 2' which uses volt free connections to control low/normal/boost and a 'fire' mode which turns off the fans. I use those to control my Sentinal via my home automation system.
https://www.vent-axia.com/sites/default/files/439817_ad.pdf

For Home Automation stuff my recommendation would be Shelly - they're European and thus should meet proper safety standards. Their app is good but it's also all pretty open and will work just fine with simple HTTP control - it's easy to integrate with other stuff WITHOUT needing to refresh with different software. I successfully refreshed some cheap wifi plugs but later supply of the same model never worked.

Shelly is also very cost competitive.
something like this could control the 'off mode' of the Sentinel without just powering it down completely.
https://www.shelly.com/en-gb/products/product-overview/shelly-plus-1-mini