Is the Lighting Panel Cabling Okay?

[Derek Wellesley]

We are relatively new to Control4 and I'm concerned about the way our installation has been done, principally because of Smart Home Pro provided very little guidance to our electrician, as provided by our building contractor, and our electrician had not installed a system like this before.  No wiring plans were provided so the electrician was left to do he best.  I have asked for the cables to be labelled going into the Terminal Blocks which has been done for the Lives but not the Neutrals.  From the attached picture is it possible determine whether the quality of the cabling for an install looks normal.  If not, is there anything that can be done to improve it?

[c4toys]

hmmm Im sure this is going to turn out great! I wouldnt touch this mess

[RAV]

Couple of trades in over their heads.

Someone should have said 'wait a minute' rather than wing it, especially with that many loads.

There is a lack of craftmanship outside the cans as well, were staples unavailable?
 

[chopedogg88]

That looks like a hot (potentially dangerous) mess, and as RAV mentioned, looks like they spliced wires in the wall between the enclosures...surely that won't pass inspection (if there is one)...all of the Romex should have been brought into the enclosures and then extended if need be.  I'm seeing high voltage wires in strange colors that I'm not used to seeing (blue and brown for example), not sure if they used the right type of wire or not there.  I'll attach a few pics in a minute of panels wired up for some of my projects so you can see what it should look like when done professionally.

[chopedogg88]

Here

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

[Derek Wellesley]

Thanks for the comments and photos.  I can see our Panels have been poorly done, however, faced with our Panels, is there anything you would advise to make them better?

Also on the colours of the cables, it's because I'm the UK where Live is Brown and Neutral is Blue.

[chopedogg88]

at this point I would just say if they fire it up and the system works as expected and your smart home pro is okay with it, I would just leave it.  It doesn't really matter how "pretty" the wiring is once the cover is on the box.   Its a shame your pro didn't work more closely with the electrician to guide them...I always work hand-in-hand with the electricians as they wire up the panels to make sure they know what they are doing.

[Cyknight]

Well...ONE concern is that the separators for low and high voltage are missing. This is a big no-no and should NEVER pass inspection.

If inspection is still to come: I'd be VERY surprised your panels would go, or even be allowed to power on for temporary use.

That said, fixing it would require an electrician armed with the right knowledge to wire it properly and nicely - whether it's an electrician that's done DIN rail systems, a dealer that has (or is) an electrician or and electrician and a dealer working together properly.

 

My concern at this point at the very least if you leave it as is (and thus accept the situation) you're looking at much more time consuming troubleshooting later. And time is money.

I can tell you that if that was in one of our potential client's houses, and we're taking it over as an active and working mess - we will notify you that any service work related to your lighting hardware will require a redo of the panel.

I wouldn't want to stick my hands in there.....

[Andrew luecke]

Here in Australia, you'd also need to make sure that cat cable is halogen free too I recall (but I'm not a sparky)

[Derek Wellesley]

Thank you one and all.  It's not ideal but we will do what necessary to make sure it is working properly and passes any certification test.  I have a few more questions but I will open a separate topic.

[Amr]

This looks very dangerous and I suggest a full rework whatever the cost is, if something blows up it will take your entire setup, I’d never ever fire up work like this, so sorry it’s a shocker! Even without C4 terminal blocks, this how I did mine, my electrician had never installed it before, I just handed him a couple of C4 installation docs, oh and he does not do English as well!

[Matt Lowe]

Looks like I replied to your other posted, and as i stated there. I would seriously consider seeking professional help for this installation. There is a major concern for equipment, property, and life If not installed properly.

 

Now with the information you provided, I would suggest contacting Control4, the electrician and your dealer, to make there correct this panel.

[Cyknight]

6 hours ago, Amr said:

Even without C4 terminal blocks, this how I did mine

I feel like it should be noted that the standard ratings for modules are meant for installation in the C4 enclosure, the wattage ratings are lowered for standard din-rail enclosures (as in, almost HALF) and they should never be installed in any way that doesn't involve at least a standard din-rail approved enclosure - or at the very least, you're voiding warranty.

Not to crap on how nice your setup looks, because it does (especially compared to the mess of OP) - but unless that's a proper din-rail enclosure, I wouldn't want to take responsibility for yours any more than OP's

[Andrew luecke]

Actually.. one thing I did just notice, check if you can stack the modules vertically. 

 

Some lighting systems such as CBUS specify explicitly not to do so as the heat rises to the top and it effectively becomes a thermal column where the module at the top gets hot (Clipsal won't give full warranty if its done that way).  I'm not sure if that's applies here through (if it's not explicitly stated, it's probably not an issue).

[Cyknight]

5 hours ago, Andrew luecke said:

Actually.. one thing I did just notice, check if you can stack the modules vertically. 

 

Some lighting systems such as CBUS specify explicitly not to do so as the heat rises to the top and it effectively becomes a thermal column where the module at the top gets hot (Clipsal won't give full warranty if its done that way).  I'm not sure if that's applies here through (if it's not explicitly stated, it's probably not an issue).

This is likely part of the reason that the rating is so much lower in non-C4 enclosures: but when in a C4 enclosure, heat isn't an issue. And no you wouldn't be able to, short of flipping the whole panel horizontally.

[mujtaba.khokhar]

Commented on your other post too. 
 

uk based control4 dealer. 
 

PM me if you still need help regarding this. 
 

Thanks 

Muj