ICP Switch

[Mariquita]

Last year Endesa sent out a letter to everyone stating that an ICP switch would need to be fitted to existing fuse boxes in order to continue to be supplied with electricity.

Our neigbour has just had one fitted and it cost 215euros which seems rather expesive for something that is of benefit only to Endesa and not to the end user.

Has anyone else had one fitted yet? Any advice on how much it should be and where to get it fitted at reasonable cost would be really useful.

 

[pollensa]

What's an ICP switch?

I'm not aware of having received a letter - only bills!

 

[PP76]

We did recieve a letter, but the company that looks aftter our apartment said we did not need any work done, hopefully they were correct!

PP76

 

[James]

Me neither... my bills have been steadily coming in and rising but I haven't received anything about an "ICP switch". What is it for?

 

[El Gordo]

ICP switch

I received a letter from Endisa in June last year. It mentions an ICP switch.
Interruptor de Control de Potencia
I asked my community admin what it was about and they said ignore it as Endisa wanted to increase the potential of the fuse box in our apartments. Our apartment is oldish and I am only contracted for 3,3 kW. We often trip fuses if we switch too much on in the winter!! Endesa want to increase this potencial and of course charge for this and also charge you you more standing charge every 2 months!! In our case it may mean a new distrution box and rewiring!! not just a bigger fuse! May be this is why it cost so much.

 

[Project]

Icp

Hi All
I was just browsing older posts and happened upon this one regarding the instalation of an ICP. I work in refurbishments and my younger brother is a qualified electrician (Spanish qualifications) and I just wanted to comment that if you have not got an ICP......get one installed, that is unless you have an excellent knowledge of Spanish electrics, know the present rating of your main fuse to be correct and always keep money in your bank to stop you from being cut off.
Let me explain.
1. Many people run more appliances than their system can handle with the result quite rightly explained by Mr.GL, a system trip. With the advent of aircon etc. many electricians upped the rating of the main incoming fuse to avoid a costly project for increase in power, if this is your case, this means that your system may be drawing way too much power for the old cableing from the street up to your apartment and this can mean a meltdown of this main line and a possible fire - not good.

2. If you have your electric cut off because of banking problems then you are not going to be able to have it reconnected until Endesa come and check that you have an ICP and that it is the correct rating/amperage for your contracted supply, believe me, this happens an awful lot and has meant that many a rental has had to be moved out to other properties whilst this situation is remedied.

This letter was sent to everyone as Gesa were fed up of being ripped off and also due to the safety aspect.
En fin,not wishing to be preachy but please don't mess around with electrics or take them lightly, it will cost you 25 euros for someone trained to come and take a look and tell you whats what, definitely less expensive than an electrical fire or worse. I don't wish to frighten, It's just that I've seen my fair share of downright dangerous installations.
Later

 

[ryansclan]

ICP recent experience

Hi, we recently bought an apartment which was originally owned and operated as the Duquesa by Hotels Polensina. The apartments were all on a full building system and we have had to arrange individual meters to be installed. Endesa came out to inspect the wiring to check that an ICP was installed and wouldn't have connected us if there wasn't one. We all have similar bits of equipment as standard in the UK and they are essential for peace of mind.

 

[frito]

Icp

Enclosed with the current electricity bill is a pinted leaflet which again indicates the need for installing an ICP.
When I moved into my present apartment Endesa came out to check my installation before I moved in. They insisted that an ICP was installed before connection, so they did the job there and then.

Cheers!

Frito

 

[JMD40]

Can you guide us to how much they charged you for the box and its installation. Can anyone confirm whether any quaulified electrician can do this or if it has to be GESA. I was aware about this requirement but we have not yet received a letter - maybe they are sending them out gradually?? There is a cut off date after which the electric will be cut off if you use more than contracted I understand. . . . think it is sometime next year so there is time for everyone to get this in order - community offices should not be telling people to ignore it - that is the easy way out of course for them.

 

[pollensa]

We all have similar bits of equipment as standard in the UK and they are essential for peace of mind.

Please can someone explain - is an ICP the standard overall trip switch that a lot of people, including ourselves, have fitted in the UK from a safety aspect which cuts the power if anyone cuts through a cable etc & which we believe is already in our Mallorcan apartment or is this something completely different? We're still not aware of having received any letter.

Is there an English term for this?

Thanks.

 

[Project]

Icp

Hi Pollensa, please check PM.
Regards
Acid burn

 

[Project]

Gesa and ICP

Okay, to clarify things, here is the translated definition of an ICP from GESA;

"An ICP is a switch located in the electric board of a dwelling, whose function is to disconnect the instalation when the sum of the demand via appliances working at the same time is greater than the maximum wattage contracted by the owner. This prevents cable melt down and fires in the event of excess consumption"

 

[its cd]

now I am confused

Having read the definition of the switch

Does this mean that if you have an ICP switch , if you "pull" more current than you are contracted for your electricity disconnects ?

Whilst I recognise that you shouldn't "pull" more than contracted for , I am sure this can happen quite by accident. Currently when this happens, it is a minor inconvenience ie the system trips, you flick the switch and if you are sensible, get rid of your high speed kettle and buy one with a lower maximum power.

But if having one of these switches means you are disconnected ........... how do you get your electricity back on afterwards ??? I can imagine it being mayhem

And yes I do understand the dangers , I do understand it is better to avoid a fire etc ...... so I am not advocating regularly tripping the mains when owners know they have a problem ........... I am talking about the poor holiday maker who accidentally plugs in too many devices and finds their electricity cut off

And whilst we are at it, how does anyone know what they are contracted for , does the electricity company ask home owners how much they want ? Has anyone on this site ever been asked ?

I certainly don't think we are asked in the UK, are we ?

I thought domestic electricity was all rated the same and that was why it was domestic, with industrial customers going for different types of power ratings and multi phase etc ( not really sure what I am talking about now, buy hey thats never prevented me from having my say before )

Also if this IPA is essential for safety, why don't we have them in the UK ?

Am I confused and seeing more problems than the really are ?

Help

 

[pollensa]

Having read the definition of the switch

Does this mean that if you have an ICP switch , if you "pull" more current than you are contracted for your electricity disconnects ?

No I don't think that is it - now it's been explained to me. The ICP stops you consuming more than you have been contracted so you won't get disconected if you have an ICP but you may do if you don't have one and use excess power.

Apparently an electrician can check how much power you are contracted for as the cable that goes into your property takes this into account. Some older properties have a low capacity cable & then have aircon etc. installed which may use up more power, first overloads their system & then results in the main external cables burning up & catching fire etc. & affecting other properties in the street/area. These properties should have had their incoming cable upgraded for higher power but don't always do so. In addition they can have their 'trip' set to a high capacity so that it doesn't actually trip when it reaches their maximum capacity.

The ICP ensures that you cannot use more than you have been contracted for as it will temporarily cut the power if you do. Basically the ICP controls the electicity used within your property & stops overloading affecting the main cables & other people.

It seems a good idea to have a qualified electrician to check this out for you, & install an ICP if you don't already have one. We are now going to do this.

 

[whaleywanderer]

Just a quick question re ICP.

In a new build (ie 3 yrs approx) would they have automatically installed this as standard practice when installing the electricity and how could we tell if we have one? We have a main box on the wall for all the lights, aircon etc. with a main switch to switch the power on and off but no separate switch anywhere else.

 

[JMD40]

The electric bills show the amount of electric contracted. sometimes you may find an extra on the invoice which is when you have used more than contracted. As someone explained a few threads back - 10years ago it was normal for all homes to have air conditioning, sat tv plus home computers in addition to all the basic electrical bits. The overall consumption has increased and now gesa are insisting that all homes are upgraded. I would hazard a guess that a home which is only 3 years old has an IPC fitted as this must have been in the pipeline a while - it will also have the correct electric contracted I am sure. Looking back at last February and April invoices I had a `recargo exceso consumo´added to my bill so I am clearly using more electric in the winter months than contracted - my piso is about 25years old so this makes sense. I have 3.3kw contracted. Hope this makes some sense to someone but I am aware that we must add the IPC box and that of course our electric will go up as we will have contracted more than 3.3. Maybe someone can look at their newer bill and see what they have contracted - mayb 5kw???

 

[Belladonna]

Can I just ask where you find out how much you are contracted for, is it on the bill somewhere?

 

[pollensa]

Top right of bill

Datos del Cliente
...
Potencia contratada: 4.4 kw (we have)

There is also a standing charge in the bill called 'Potencia'.

 

[Belladonna]

Thank you.

 

[ryansclan]

And whilst we are at it, how does anyone know what they are contracted for , does the

When we set up our contract for a new meter with Endesa last month the A4 contract letter stated how much electricity we were contracted for. In our case it was 6kw. If we put everything on that we have including washer, kettle,Air Con it would probably trip but we can just reset it after turning something off. (sorry don't know how to put in a quote??)