tuppence Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Hi.Last November I had EDF put me a new meter in so that I could have cheaper o/night electricity. However, 6 months ago I had to replace my chauffe-eau and the electrician who did the job said that I was not wired up for heures creuses. So for nearly 12 months, thinking I was on HC I now find out I am not[6]. I have a tableau in the kitchen with all the fuses in it for washer/cooker/chauffe-eau and all othr sockets and switches. I also have a "box" in the corridor which is a black box which , when I need to cut off the electric altogether, is the one I use. The electrician said that this black box needs to be replaced by EDF before I can get to use HC tariff. I believe that this is done free of charge because it is replacing an old for a new. But, it would be down to an electrician to wire it up to the compteur at the bottom of the drive which contains the heures creuse meter. Has anyone else had to have this done? I am concerned that this may be very expensive to have done???tuppence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clair Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Do you have a "contacteur heures creuses" on your panel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuppence Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 Sorry Clair I don't think I do. The tableau is in the kitchen and I am fairly sure there isn't one in that. The 'box' in the corridor is a 'disjoncteur differential' whatever that means. I am pretty sure that this Disjoncteur may have been the original box for electrics, but there has been an extension (not recent) on to the house and now the lights/sockets in the extension are run off this 'box' not the one in the kitchen which runs everything else in the house. tuppence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clair Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 I may be wrong, but I thought you needed to connect your hot water tank to one of these to "catch" the on-off signal sent by EDF.It has a switch and three positions: 1 = forcedauto (as per EDF signal)0 = offSome related threads:http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1200178/showPost.aspxhttp://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1638054/ShowPost.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunday Driver Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 I don't have a HC signal wire from the EDF supply either. Instead, there's a timer module (horloge) in the fusebox which is set to switch on the power to the chauffe-eau after midnight then switch it off again at 6am.The module costs around 95€ (I've just had to replace mine - it went on the blink and I never knew.....) so this could be a cheaper option for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 [quote user="Sunday Driver"]I don't have a HC signal wire from the EDF supply either. Instead, there's a timer module (horloge) in the fusebox which is set to switch on the power to the chauffe-eau after midnight then switch it off again at 6am.The module costs around 95€ (I've just had to replace mine - it went on the blink and I never knew.....) so this could be a cheaper option for you. [/quote]Blimey that should be a nomination for my "jaw dropping prices thread", I too have a tableau mounted timer, I use it to retard my washing machine until after my storage heaters have charged to avoid tripping the disjoncteur d'abonne, it could equally be used for a chauff d'eau in fact I use one for this at my UK pied à terre, the cost £7.99 + vat.When you have an heures creuses abbonement from EDF there is a volt free changeover relay contact in the meter which you can use to trigger a jour/nuit contacteur for a ballon or heating etc, this should ideally be fed from a seperate 2 amp disjoncteur and of course a cable needs to be run between the tableau and the meter.The cost (especially in France) of the contacteur, 2 amp disjoncteur, cable and the labour involved often makes fitting a timer more cost effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuppence Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 Hi Clair,I think you are right in what you say about the need to connect my chauffe eau to 'catch' the signal from EDF. Unfortunately that signal should come from the meter (bottom of drive) to 'disjoncteur differential' in the corridor, not the tableau for all other electrics in my kitchen. So what Chancer has said, i.e. that it would probably be overly expensive, is probably true. By the way, my old chauffe-eau was on a timer (bought from the UK) timed to come on at 03.00 and go off at 07.00am. Since I had the new chauffe-eau fitted this is no longer the case. The (French) electrician said it wasn't necessary as the thermostat would cut off when the water reached the required temperature which he set for me. I can still try to get EDF to fit me a new box, but sadly it is then up to me to arrange connection from the compteur to the disjoncteur. Is nothing ever easy!!!tuppence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Don't know how long your drive is, Tuppence. We paid the electrician just over 700 euros to connect ours and that was 3 years ago. No, beg your pardon, to connect and to do the electrics for our fosse septique pump.Sorry!!!!!! Don't like to be the bearer of bad news but forewarned is forearmed, n'est ce pas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 TuppenceGive the so called electrician the heave ho, refit your timer (or did he by any chance take it with him I speculate?) et puis voila! cheap rate hot water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maricopa Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Don't forget to check on the bottom of your EDF facture exactly what time your HC are, as they are not all just at night. We are 0230-0730 and 1430-1730. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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