Why the limiter trips

The flat is allowed 4.6 kW. A winter evening needs 6.7.

With the floor heating on and dinner cooking, the limiter cuts power to the whole flat. Switch things on and off to see where the limit is.

Switched on now
The most the flat is allowed
What if the connection were bigger?
Start from a situation

The figures are from the building's electrical design, except the ones marked as estimates. The 3 kW for the living-room floor is the value set on its thermostat. Floor heating switches fully on and fully off, so the power cuts look random: they come when the floor starts heating while someone is cooking.

Where 4.6 kW comes from

The building's electrical design from November 2020 (glavni projekt, sheet 11.1) added up everything in the flat and assumed that about a quarter of it would ever run at once.

17.65 kWeverything installed in the flat, according to the design
×
26%the share the design assumed would run at the same time
=
4.6 kWthe limit: a 20 A limiter at 230 V

The list behind that sum has no living-room floor heating. The only floor heating in the design is the bathroom, drawn at 0.35 kW (the installed bathroom floor is 450 W). The 3 kW living-room floor came later, and the connection stayed the same size.

The limit4.6 kW
All the heating in the flat: two floors, bathroom radiator, air conditioning5.54 kW
Living-room floor heating and the hob6 kW
Everything installed: the 2020 design plus the living-room floor20.65 kW
05101520 kW
The 4.6 kW limitLiving-room floor heating, added after the design

The evidence

Photos of the flat's panel, the building's electrical design and the living-room thermostat.

Limitator s oznakom PR61 L20 u ormaru stana
The limiter in the flat's panel. SEZ PR61, marked L20: rated 20 A, which at 230 V is 4.6 kW for the whole flat.
List projekta: Pinst 17,65 kW, k 0,26, Pvr 4,589 kW
The design, sheet 11.1. Installed power 17.65 kW, simultaneity factor 0.26, peak power 4.589 kW. Feed cable 3×10 mm².
Zaslon termostata DEVI: INST.SNAGA 3000 W
The living-room thermostat, settings. Room type: living room. Floor: tiles. Installed power: 3000 W.
Statistika termostata DEVI
The same thermostat, statistics. 571 kWh in total, 190 hours with the relay on, 5,326 switch-ons. It turns the whole floor on and off; it does not run it at part power.
Tablica projekta, krugovi 12 do 17; krug 15 je podno grijanje kupaonice 0,35 kW
The same design, circuits 12 to 17. The third row is installed power in kW. Circuit 15 is the only floor heating: bathroom, 0.35 kW. None of the three photographed sheets has a circuit for living-room floor heating.

What is established, and what still needs a check

Established from the photos

  • The limiter is 20 A. The photo shows L20, and the design says "limitator 20A".
  • The design sizes the connection at 4.589 kW, using a simultaneity factor of 0.26.
  • The design has one floor-heating circuit: bathroom, 0.35 kW on paper (450 W installed).
  • The living-room thermostat is set up for a 3000 W floor.
  • The flat's main switch and RCD are rated 40 A, and the feed cable is 3×10 mm² according to the design.

Still to check

  • The real power of the living-room floor. The 3000 W was typed in when the thermostat was installed. To measure it, switch off everything except that floor and read the electricity meter.
  • Which breaker feeds it. The panel has the same 20 breakers as the design, so the floor sits on an existing or spare circuit. F01.18 and F01.20 are outputs with no appliance named.
  • Whether the building can give the flat more power. HEP ODS decides that when it answers the request.
  • Exact appliance figures. The simulator uses the design's numbers, or estimates where marked. The rating plates have the exact ones.

The fix: a bigger connection

The owner asks HEP ODS to raise the connection (povećanje priključne snage), and HEP swaps the limiter. The limiter is sealed and nobody else may touch it.

20 A4.6 kW
Today
Winter evening: power cuts out
25 A5.75 kW
About 277 € once
Winter evening: still cuts out
32 A7.36 kW
About 666 € once
Winter evening: fits, 0.66 kW to spare

How the cost is worked out: the added kW × 193.00 €/kW, which is HEP ODS's unit price for a low-voltage connection, plus 25% VAT. That gives 277.44 € for 25 A and 665.85 € for 32 A. These are estimates; the binding amount is in HEP's offer. "Winter evening" means both floors heating and the hob on all zones, 6.7 kW.

How the request goes

  1. The owner files a request for an electricity approval (Zahtjev za izdavanje EES, form PM 1.2.1) and ticks "povećanje priključne snage". HEP recommends its Moja mreža app.
  2. HEP ODS issues the approval together with an offer and a new network-use contract.
  3. The owner pays the fee and returns the signed contract.
  4. HEP ODS replaces the limiter.

An electrician should confirm on site that the flat's wiring suits the new current. On paper it does: the design shows a 3×10 mm² feed, and the main switch and RCD are rated 40 A.

Until then

These reduce the power cuts. The flat still cannot heat and cook at the same time.

Sources