Day 59 - Fusing together

Thunderstorm which had some interesting effect on our system overnight. No damage or anything that I couldn't fix with a bit of playing around with on/off switches. WhatsApp with electrician Stefan solved the reason why it happened and the software updated.

This is the fuse box Stefan has installed : 110cm tall, 105cm wide and 20cm deep. Full of trip switches on the left for everything one could think of. Stefan has managed to join the two completely separate circuits , one for the house and one for the stables. Was always annoying for me as we also use the electricity circuit to extend our WiFi range and this wasn't possible.

All the fuses have been upgraded to conform with the latest standards. It has for as long as I have been in Germany, a requirement for everything to be covered by FI switches, known in the UK and now officially also in Germany as RCD (Residual Current Device). The German FI has nothing to do with racing cars in fact the F is for "Fehler (error) and I is the letter symbol used in electricians formulas meaning current - it is not the number "1".

Any Brit going in a German bathroom for the first time has a heart attack. Ordinary light switches, normal wall sockets with things like radios and hairdriers plugged in with long leads
The red coloured switches are new, Stefan has put in devices to try and help with our power surge problems caused by us being the last house on the electricity line. It seems that when lightning strikes anywhere in the vicinity, it shoves all it's excess energy down to us. The proper solution would be to dig a trench around the entire house and lay a ring of cables . Too costly and impractical.

On the right the two electricity company meters, one of which should go soon and then various switches/plugs which I think are something more in the communications field between the various PV units, battery, system managers and router. Far too technical for me.