Multiple Meters into Single

clarnp49

I have 3 meters on my house, it was a 3 family and now it's a single family. The meter boxes on are the road side of the house so I want to make them neater and also have 1 bill from the electric company. It's 200 amp service incoming from th street overhead.

Inside I have 3 breaker boxes, one is a big box with 100amp main from the meter. The other 2 are 100amp mains with a 100amp disconnect in the basement for each.

What would it take to remove the 2 meters outside, leaving one and supplying the 3 breaker boxes with the house.

AllanJ

Are you sure the house will never be a 3 family again?

It is possible that the house would have more resale value as a 3 family. By keeping all three meters in place you would not give the city an excuse to reclassify the house as a single famly requiring going before the zoning board to get it back as a 3 family.

And with the house still classified as a 3 family, you could rent out the upstairs or use part of it as an in-law apartment and even let your in-laws pay their own electric bill. All without additional permission from the city.

If you really want to convert to a single meter, the power company would have to pull the meters. Then an electrician can re-wire the meter box to feed all three panels, from a single meter.

If the cables going from the meter box to the basement panels aren't long enough to stretch and reach the single meter, new cables would have to be strung.

nap

actually Allens method is not correct, legal, or acceptable. You would simply have to place a main disconnect with no more than 6 breakers in it after the meter and then feed from that to each of the panels. You could use a 3R rated (outside) rated panel or if there is someplace inside you would want it instead, you can plcae a main panel inside and fed to each of the subpanels. Presumably each of the panels is bonded as a service disconnect is required to so you would have to remove the bonding (ground and neutral) in each panel. This also means you need 4 conductors to each subpanel from the new main panel (properly installed of course). The current cable is presumably only 3 wire since there is essentially no ground conductor in that cable.

the reasoning is all the power in the building must be able to be disconnected from one place with no more than 6 breakers in that one place (as part of the service disconnect)

junkcollector

As long as the 2 disconnects and 100 amp panel are closely grouped and operating as service equipment now, (as a legal installation) there is no reason why they cannot be fed from the one meter. It would be best to install a splice cabinet / terminal box below the meter box to split up and feed the three panels instead of triple lugging the lugs in the meter. (Illegal in most cases)

nap

All disconnects must be within reach of each other. Two are currently in the basement with the third undefined but it suggests it is on the main floor since it was not defined as in the basement like the other two. As well, since this was 3 apartments, chances are the 2 panels are not next to each other.

ALthough they may have one now, the last time I looked for a 200 amp meter that would accept multiple lugs, there was no such animal.

The other option OP has is to use panel as main and the other 2 as subs to that main. Since all the feeds were right out there at the meters, I figured that would be easier to do.