Electrical meter inside the home

Never seen this before; I did an inspection today and found the electrical meter inside the home, next to the panel. Seems odd to find the meter inside, when they are typically mounted outside. Other than being difficult for the electrical utility to do a meter reading, is there any problem with this configuration?

Meters

  • Residential meters must be accessible to BC Hydro representatives at all times
  • Meters must not be installed inside carports, garages or breezeways, or in any part of a structure that may potentially be enclosed or within 1 metre of a natural gas relief discharge device or vent, or 3 within metres of a propane gasrelief discharge device or vent
  • Meters must be installed between 1.5 and 1.8 metres (5 and 6 feet) above finished grade
  • The meter base is not more than 1 metre (3 feet) from the corner of the building closest to BC Hydro’s source
  • If the site has more than one meter base, the meters are clearly marked (i.e. House and Suite, A and B)

https://app.bchydro.com/accounts-billing/electrical-connections/overhead-underground-connections.html

Also, there is inadequate clearance around the electrical panel, and the panel has no directory to easily identify what the breakers are for.

A little hard to tell from the photo, is the panel front missing some fasteners, or are they all black color?

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Often run into this.
Depends upon your state, provincial or municipal regulations.

Clearance issue. The equipment is boxed in.

That’s in my post above as well, Robert! :wink: Cheers

I have to steal some of the thunder, Junior. :wink:

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Thanks for the input! The fasteners were all there and yes they are black.

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Only recall seeing this a few times. Meters are required to be installed on exterior here in Maine and when I have observed meters inside it was after a renovation where a room was added and the meter was not relocated. I advised my client the power company can require the meter be relocated to exterior so they can have access to it.

You’re welcome! :grinning:

For sure! :grinning::wink:

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Just the other day… Doin’ it ‘old school’…

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Old meter new panel? We still see meters on the inside of old houses around here. As time goes by more and more of them get moved outside on service upgrades.

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Yup, and every indication is that it was replaced by a “Flipper/Homeowner” without a permit or inspection.

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That was my thought as well. I’ve seen several of these over the years where they replaced a 60 amp fuse panel with a 100 amp main breaker panel and left the 60 amp meter enclosure and conductors.

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A picture is worth a thousand words. That has DIY written all over it.

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Also… Service drop/Weatherhead/SEC passes through metal siding with no visible protective sleeve or in conduit.

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@jjonas, your camera must have been working overtime on this old house. :grinning:

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All things considered, yes… 920 sf + unfinished basement = same as a 1,800 sf w/basement.
When booking the inspection the (young) client asked why my price so high for such a small house?
My reply: Only difference between this home and the average 1,800 sf home is the rooms are smaller. Same 3 bedrooms/1 Bath/Kitchen/Fireplace/Appliances/Utilities/Basement/Attic/Garage/etc.
By the end of the walkthrough, she was a believer!!

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