ᐅ Electrical connection cable between the shower enclosure and the meter box / fuse box

Hello forum!

Due to a recent situation, I have a question for you regarding your connection cable between the main electrical panel and the meter cabinet.

In our case, these are located on opposite sides of the room, so a longer connection cable had to be installed. The cable was routed across the floor by the electrician during the rough-in phase and has since been covered with screed. So far so good, and I was happy with this neat solution!

Now the meter is to be installed and the connection itself carried out, but a different electrician has run a new cable along the wall across the entire room and cut the old cable.

The reason given: regulation requiring the connection cable to be installed visibly! Argh 🙁

The reasoning is somewhat understandable, but I doubt that there was no alternative solution or that the connection method is the same everywhere. I’m not a fan of visible cables everywhere and am annoyed by the current "solution."
It’s a total mess both visually and practically (wall cabinets were planned in that location) 🙁

Can anyone confirm if such a regulation actually exists?
Thanks in advance 🙂

There’s nothing you can change anymore anyway. There are technical connection regulations from your distribution network operator. Something like that is probably specified there. However, these vary from operator to operator. I’ve found a few paragraphs for you.

Meter cabinets should be installed centrally, as close as possible to the main distribution board.

That definitely didn’t work out. 😀

If unmetered main cables are routed through walls or screed, they must be installed in a way that allows them to be traced and replaced.

Basically, both sides are right or wrong. It doesn’t necessarily have to be visibly installed, but it must/should be installed so it can be replaced.

The utility room usually ends up completely messed up anyway because of the heating, ventilation, and distribution. So there won’t be just a single cable there. And supply/exhaust air ducts are hard to route in the screed. So I would take it easy on all that.

danixf schrieb:

There’s nothing that can be changed now anyway. Your distribution network operator has technical connection requirements. Something like that is probably specified there. However, this varies from operator to operator. I’ve looked up a few relevant paragraphs for you.

That didn’t work out at all. 😀

Basically, both sides are right or wrong. It doesn’t necessarily have to be installed in a visible way, but it must or should be installed so that it can be replaced.

The utility room is usually a complete mess anyway due to heating, ventilation, and distribution. So more than just that one cable will be running there. And supply/exhaust air ducts are difficult to install in the screed. So I would take it easy on all that.

Thanks a lot already!

Well, all the other pipes and cables are already mounted on the walls or ceilings. The space where the new thick cable was installed was actually planned differently and already prepped/painted 🙂

Annoying, but as you rightly said, nothing can be done now 🙁
I still assume that this "rule" probably doesn’t apply in at least 50% of households.

Because the electrical connection is planned where the distribution panel will also be installed ;-)

An alternative could have been to disconnect the house connection at a small distribution board with a meter, then run it from there (under the screed) to the main distribution panel…

guckuck2 schrieb:

Because the electrical connection is planned where the distribution board will be ;-)

I would have loved that and actually discussed it in detail with the architect at the time.
The response back then was: "Not possible according to DIN standards, there must be a certain distance from the fuse box because ..." … precisely due to the multi-service connection and the main distribution panel, we went through several rounds with the construction drawings and positioned the multi-service connection as "optimally as possible and permissible." According to the architect at that time, it was the only possible location.

The first question/comment from the electrician today was immediately: "Why didn’t you place the multi-service connection or main distribution panel directly below or next to the fuse box?"
Aaaargh!

The most important thing I learned during the construction phase is to question every statement from those involved or at least not take them too seriously.
Everyone likes to talk and refer to supposed regulations that don’t actually exist, as I’ve unfortunately found out several times from other examples 🙁