service question?

[badgerfan08]

I have a question regarding a situation I personally have not yet encountered but want to figure out. The situation is you have a large garage and a home separate from each other. They are maybe 500' apart. The garage was built before the home but power was run on to the property for construction purposes before either were constructed, so there is a free standing meter pedestal. How would you run you feed to the house and to the garage and keep just the one meter in the same location. Do you just need a disconnect on the outside of the house and garage? What type of wire would be needed for this? It would have to be rated for direct burial,etc. Is that ok to do, feed two buildings from one meter, two lines on each lug of the load side of the meter socket? Just looking for some clarity. Thanks.

 

[iaov]

Most 200 A meter sockets only have room for 1 wire under the lugs.

 

[suemarkp]

The cheapest solution would be to double lug the meter and feed each building separately. This is the only way you're allowed 3 wires instead of 4. Also more practical if each building needs over 125A or the sum of the buildings is over 200A.

You can't double lug most residential meters. However, a class 320/400A meterbase almost always has lugs meant to be double tapped. Also gives you room to expand up to 400A should you need that much. You may be able to split bolt wires together in a 200A meter can if it is one of the larger ones.

No disconnect should be required at the meter pole. However, each building must have a service disconnect. If you install a service disconnect at the pole, then you'll need 4 wires past that to each detached building.

Direct burial wire will be cheapest. If you run conduit, then you can use THWN, XHHW, or similar. What would be the most economical would be to run wires intended for 200A residential service (2/0 copper or 4/0 aluminum) to the house, and hope you only need 100A there (put in a 100A main breaker) because of voltage drop. If you need more than 100A at the house, then the wire is going to be expensive as you will be using something in the KCMIL size.

 

[badgerfan08]

What type of direct burial cable would you have to use? So you would just need a outdoor rated 200 amp disconnect on the side of the house and garage?

 

[vinster888]

what you could do is a 200a meter/diconnect combo piece. it has breaker spaces in it. use 2 spaces to run 125a breaker to other building. 4 wires USE. dont forget the rods :wink:

 

[suemarkp]

What type of direct burial cable would you have to use? So you would just need a outdoor rated 200 amp disconnect on the side of the house and garage?

Type USE is the most common, and you'll usually see it with only 3 wires. But I think you can get it with 4 if you choose to put a breaker in front of it first.

The disconnects at each building may not have to be outside. The NEC requires it outside or immediately inside. Most places let you go a certain distance inside before hitting the disconnect. Here is WA, they are generous at 15'. But type USE cable can not go inside at all unless it is dual rated with an inside legal wire (such as RHW). Some places require an outside disconnect. So need to check your local rules.