How to cover split main phase wires?

[liyanage]

I recently installed a Vue Gen 2 in our subpanel and it’s working great, very happy with everything. This is in California.

Now I bought a second Vue for the main panel. That panel has 200A service, and the two phases coming from the meter are each split up into two wires as shown in the photo. The two wires for the same phase are unfortunately not next to each other, they alternate. All together, the two phases are distributed to four breakers, with a connecting bar across the levers of all four.

How can I cover these incoming wires with individual clamps correctly? Is the correct way to attach four of the big 200A clamps and combine two per phase into one? If so, I saw instructions here that say the right way to do that is in series. But several other posts I saw mention a simple Y cable, which would be parallel. Which way is correct?

Another issue with the main panel is space. The main wires are hard to access. They come from the left side of the panel (the one with the meter that is not accessible because of the tamper tag) and go behind the bus bars and curve right up to the breaker connection, with very little wire exposed in the panel.  I doubt I can fit the large 200A clamps around those small loops. Should I switch to the “Rogowski” clamps? If so, does combining two of them (again unclear if series or parallel) still work, even though those clamps are not simple “dumb” cables anymore but active devices with a power supply each?

[doubleG07]

I have the similar panel and curious if you were able to get the installation to work.  Can you provide an update where you left off?   Thanks

[liyanage]

I contacted support and they were very helpful. The recommendation in these cases is to simply omit the toplevel clamps. That means I will not get the “Balance” value, but I can live with that.

An alternative to the toplevel clamps – in some markets – is apparently to add their other product (“utility”?) that reads the utility company’s metering values. Those values can then be used as the toplevel measurement, providing balance numbers again.

[doubleG07]

What does balanced get you or not get you. If you just monitor the individual circuits does it still show totals across all circuits? Also if one of the circuits is solar would it show the net usage?  Thanks

[Mr. Amused]

I know this is an old thread, but this might be the best solution.  My main panel is identical to yours.

The left-hand side of your breaker panel can be opened at the bottom and exposes the two legs that exit into the right panel from the bottom of the meter socket.

There isn’t enough room to get the large 200a clamps around either of these locations.  Well, you can get it on the rightmost one, but due to the hinge can only be installed BACKWARD 🙁

But emporia makes these thin clamps and you can use those. Unfortunately for me one of the two that I got was busted – still working that out.

If I remove those clamps what you’ll see are two lugs (for the two phases each with TWO wires that come out of them. Those HUGE wires then pop out on the right hand side of your panel where the 4-gang breaker is.

You CAN’T get 4 clamps which COULD work because there are only 3 inputs on the VUE box (A, B and C).  But even if you could, you’ll discover that there isn’t enough room on the 4-gang breaker to put ANY of the regular 200a CT clamps.

One LAST way you can accomplish this is to have an electrician REMOVE the meter, clamp the mains where they enter the meter and drop them down behind the meter compartment below into a very-empty area of this left side of the panel. You’ll probably want to coordinate this with the utility company as they get kinda upset if they see their tamper tag has been tampered with!

Conversely, you might also be in great shape if your power actually  enters from the BOTTOM (mine is from above). Then your mains should be accessible directly!  The utility might balk about you using this part of the box, but I’d argue A> It’s MY box, B> you have not prevented me from going here with a tamper tag.

[Mr. Amused]

I am not a big fan of Utility Connect…

The reason: it doesn’t break out In and Out so it’s rather useless to compare to the utility numbers if you have a solar or battery situation.  The “Net usage” is good to know, but that’s not the basis on which I am billed.  That is, if my exports exceed my imports, I’m still billed for the imports and get a (much) lower rate for the exports.

Nesting “Main” under connect makes the In and Out go away for Main so that’s even more useless.

So in short, I have both: Combined they don’t work, separately Utility Connect is not adequate either.

But there is one good reason to get Utility Connect anyway…

See that “Space Heater”?  I use “Excess Solar” management to turn on that heater when I am exporting solar to the grid and turn it off when there isn’t enough export.  Though it also doesn’t work as I’d like, but it’s close.

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