I took a few pictures of prefabricated homes here in Stockholm yesterday. As you can imagine, these flats aren't the most exclusive in the market

Look at the how they supply power to the flats. I imagine a few of you will be surprised...

1

2

3


[This message has been edited by C-H (edited 09-10-2004).]

C-H, Was the electrical supply an after-thought? Tell me that this is not the norm in Stockholm, is it?
Alan

Ugh! Flexible cords strung along as though power was indeed an afterthought. They look like IEC 309 connectors, and being red I'm assuming each "module" has 3-phase power.

Why two cords to some? Surely they haven't just used the box on some sections as a feed through for others?

What are the silver ducts running down in the ground at an angle?

*** Public apology to Bjarney ***

Scott posted at this point but in editing an image link I somehow managed to erase his message entirely. (Long tiring day is the only excuse I can come up with -- Well it sounds better than stupidity, doesn't it? )

Anyway, my apologies, and Scott, perhaps you could re-post.

 
It's not easy to compare labor and material costs on a different continent, but in North America the cost of an IEC-309 outdoor 5-pin 30- or 60-amp receptacle and plug {much less a pair of them} would probably be more expensive than a meter socket and empty panelboard.

Here, IEC-309 devices they are usually reserved for industrial duty. [Although they show up near the ceilings at McDonald's burger kitchens.]

The cable tray looks cool, but I’ll bet inspectors here would frown on it, and the cable—if it’s 5-conductor flexible cord—may get a low score. If it’s less-expensive/less-flexible tray cable, they’d probably be crying that it is not intended to be terminated in a plug. {Electure—didn’t you have a special term for tray cable… “Industrial Romex”?}

I’d love to put some of those connectors around my house, but 400V 3ø might be a little hard to come by on this side of things.



—another Scott (of many) at E-C.net




[This message has been edited by Bjarney (edited 09-11-2004).]

Thats an usual setup, that is mounted on nearly all of these "boxes". They are often used for stocking things on building sites ect, or even to live in.

They all do have a CEE 3Phase 16A or 32A plug and a receptacle next to it for easy connecting in a row by just using extension cables.

inside there's a breaker panel with Master 3-phase GFCI in every container.

As they are all single modular to be removed or added, that setup makes sense. don*t see a problem here as long as you dont connect 10+ of these in a row......

[This message has been edited by :andy: (edited 09-11-2004).]

[This message has been edited by :andy: (edited 09-11-2004).]

C-H,
Those are some interesting pics you have there.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but is the Red IEC 309, a 63A connector?.
Them silver pipes look like they cover the water and sewerage pipes as they enter the building.

I didn't look very close at the connectors, but I think they are 32A. (I wanted to avoid a "No miss, I wasn't looking through your window. I was just looking at this electrical thingey here..."- scenario.)

Andy's description is accurate. The connectors are indeed daisy chained. And, yes Scott, this is ordinary rubber cord. The IEC 309 (CEE) connectors are in fact cheaper than ordinary socket outlets.

Mike is right about the silver pipes: It is the water and sewage.

Normally, this type of module is used on construction sites: A truck comes and drops off the modules which are quickly hooked up to power and water. When the project is finished a few monts later, the truck comes and pick up the modules. In this case, however, the modules have been used for semipermanent housing. (Student dormitories)

[This message has been edited by C-H (edited 09-12-2004).]

I'm sure we'd all come and act as character witnesses for you......

The IEC309 connectors are used widely in commercial applications here as well. Go into the cafe section of the local supermarket, for example, and you'll see all the ovens, griddles, etc. connected with them.

The 2P+E 16A blue versions are also almost universal here for boat and RV power hookups.

On the cost side, these plugs are pretty cheap in Britain. From my latest catalog:

240V 16A 2P+E (blue) plug £1.09 (just under $2)
240/415V 32A 4P+E (red): £3.49 (~$6.30)


Scott,
Any idea when IEC309 came into use in America? I get the impression they're a relatively modern introduction there.


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 09-13-2004).]

Thanks... I think

Funnily, McDonalds use these connectors (close to the ceiling like Scott wrote) but most other places seem to prefer Perilex. Why have one standard when you can have two to choose from?

The blue 230V connectors haven't really caught on here and cost as much as the 400V versions. About $5 for the plugs, a bit more for the wall mounted inlets and outlets.

Perilex are way out of time...

they are not used anymore for a few years, i beleive they aren't even allowed to be newly-installed nowadays.

CEE is the way to go...

The Perilex connector is standard on all electric stoves sold in Sweden. It occupies less space than the red CEE connector.

The Danes have another type of connector for the same purpose. It has with five pins in line. I don't know what it is called.

They are, but who does it? Nobody. Still, I like them better than the bulky CEE plugs.

The Swiss have an ingenious 3ph plug and socket.



It has 3 round pins (L1, N and PE arranged like any Swiss single-phase socket) and two rectangular pins for L2 and L3, so you can hook up both 1- and 3-ph gear.

What a shambles! Looks like the temp site setups on a large building site.

Would I be correct in thinking that the large (insulated) pipes at the base of the "apartments" would be central heating systems - ie a central boiler or other source feeding a number of separate buildings? Or even geotherm?

Sorry uksparky! I overlooked your reply. Yup, they have essentially copied the temporary housing of building sites.

I'm almost 100% certain that these flats are electrically heated. (Very common in Sweden)
You could be right about the hot water: In fact, I think it could be hot and cold water plus the "return"

A few hundred metres south of this there is a conventional building site. It has the same type of module. Pic here