Clamping multiple wires

[Ezra]

My kitchen is on 3 different breakers, they are all next to each other in the breaker box. I have clamped all 3 wires into one 50amp expansion module clamp so I can read it as “Kitchen” and see all the loads on one graph. It appears to be functioning and reading correctly. Is there some reason I shouldn’t do this?  Basically until the View app gives us the ability to look at all graph traces on one view or allows us to group/aggregate circuits in software, I like having the ability to combine loads into a single view this way.

Please let me know if there are some drawbacks I’m not aware of with this setup.

[Jim @Emporia]

Hello @ezra – the drawback / reason you shouldn’t do this has to do with how your panel is wired. If the breakers are next to each other, they are probably not on the same phase. If this is the case and you have them going through the clamp of a single sensor, they are probably cancelling out some of your load and giving you incorrect readings. If they are all on the same phase, then you shouldn’t have an issue, as long ask you’re not exceeding 50A.

[Ezra]

That’s what I figured, the loads seem to be additive and I’m not seeing any negative numbers in “other” on the home screen, except when my pool pump is on, but I’m guessing that has to do with the 2x multiplier?

[douellet]

It also works for with 2 different phases. You simply need to reverse the wire direction through the sensor for the opposite phase.

[Nordkapp]

Wouldn’t running the wire through the other direction be the equivalent of flipping the probe over?

[Ezra]

If the wires are on different phases then they will subtract if they pass through the clamp going the same direction, regardless of how the clamp is positioned. The small clamps are not directional to my understanding anyway. If you want wires from 2 different phases to be additive they have to go opposite directions from each other

Phase 1 wire 1 —–>+

Phase 1 wire 2 —–>+

 

Phase 1 wire 1 —->+

Phase 2 wire 2 +<—-

 

 

[Taylorjm]

So to connect two breaker wires next to each other, your saying the one wire goes from the breaker through the bottom of the clamp, and the second wire goes from the breaker , through the top side of the clamp to  combine the readings?

• This reply was modified 4 years ago by Taylorjm.

[derson]

What Ezra says above doesn’t make sense to me. Just flipping the direction of the wires for the phase doesn’t change the direction of the current. Looking for confirmation from others, but I don’t think power from different phases can be accurately measured. ??

[Author]

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