Remove the TN-C jumpers in the receptacles
Protect everything with RCDs
Install Earthing :
- Without it the RCD will only trip on a fault when you touch the equipment and get >30mA of thunderbolt attack. I.e. it will save you, but you won't like the experience. With Earth connected, the RCD will trip as soon as the fault appears on Class I (metal chassis connected to PE) and PELV (extra low voltage connected to PE) equipment
- Without it most equipment will be at ~110V potential to Earth, because of the Y caps in EMI filters. The current the Y capacitors let through is sufficient to damage equipment when plugging/unplugging a cable (if some data pin makes contact before the Earth pin or cable shield), and sometimes to give you a modest Pikachu
The TN-C provides the same functionality as Earth, but with normal equipment which have fairly reliable isolation even for Class I, the TN-C's dangers exceed the dangers of having no Earth
DC is connected to PE - So it is a PELV system :
- SELV Safety Extra Low Voltage - Extra Low Voltage system with safety provided exclusively by isolation between the 230V and the ELV, The isolation is made very reliable and (supposedly) cannot fail. If it fails, there is no other protection
- PELV Protected Extra Low Voltage - Extra Low Voltage system with safety provided by connecting the ELV to PE. There is full isolation between the 230V and the ELV and no leakage there (except the Y capacitors), but the demands for isolation reliability are normal (not very high as in SELV). The PE provides protection in case the isolation fails
- FELV Functional Extra Low Voltage - Extra Low Voltage without isolation, for example if it is derived from 230V with a voltage divider. FELV cannot be connected to PE because it will mean a connection between 230V circuit and PE
With very rare exceptoions, No modern equipment is designed to have significant leakages between 230V to PE. There is isolation between the 230V circuit (both Phase and Neutral) and the PE. Your RPS is not supposed to have any leakage that would trip the RCD
Equipment with leakage high enough (by design, not because of a fault !) to trip RCDs, must be connected to very reliable PE in order to prevent danger of electric shock or fire. The only example that comes to mind is electrode boilers. I'd expect that such stuff is installed with bolted connection to PE busbar or potential equalization system, definitely not suffice with the PE of a branch circuit at home
In short - Nothing you use at home is supposed to trip the RCD
Whats in your panel ? Is everything else there okay and in good condition ? Can you post a picture ?
That main distribution board does not necessarily have Earth. It may be connected to the PEN, but this still does not say anything about the reliability of the PEN up to it (and about the safety of touching the distrubution board's enclosure, if lights start to dim or brighten up and you rush to the board to switch off the main...)
If you can verify where is the actual Earth connection (to True Earth), the reliability of the PEN from there, and that it meets other requirements, then it might be adequate to take PE from. Otherwise dont use it as PE
If any structural Steel of the building foundations is accessible, this is a good candidate for use as the basis for an Earthing system
As long as the Earth connection can sink >30mA, it will work well enough to trip the RCD on a fault. Much less is sufficient to eliminate the voltage on equipment from Y capacitors. So, any fair enough Earth connection (used in T-T) together with RCDs provides reasonable safety
But just Earth connection with unverified parameters is not compliant to any standards. Standards require measurement of the resistance to the main conductive mass of the Earth, and interconnection with other Earth providing networks like the Water pipes entering the building
The system is nice
Carefull with disconnects on the DC !!!
As DC does not have zero crossings, it is quite hard to extinguish DC arcs. Contactor that is rated for X amps AC, may not be able to extinguish the arc when opening a DC circuit, even if the current and voltage are well below the AC rating. If this happens, it will burn up with flame in seconds
Check the DC rating for every switching device you use with DC
Are there any connections with a comb bar ?
If no, you can put in any breaker of your choice, does not have to be Schneider. (Unless you are looking for breakers with the matching appearance, but present day Schneider Acti9 look different from the Merlin Gerin)
If yes, and you cant find Schneider, look for old Chint :
There were largely 2 generations of the Multi 9 :
The old C32*..C45* (its not the current rating, its the version. It is written in the line below the Orange strip on the breaker)
The later C60* :
You got the later and better version. Main difference is that the C60* have instantaneous make - When you switch the breaker ON, the contacts make connection quickly, minimizing arcing. (you can hear a click when switching the breaker ON slowly). The C32*/C45* and most breakers from other manufacturers dont have this feature
Most present day Chinese breakers are clones of the C32*
Few Chinese breakers are clones of the C60*. The ones i know are Chint old series NB1-63 (before 2006, when Schneider sued them for patent infringement and they moved to cloning the C32* like everyone else)
Same as the Multi9, the Chint with thin handle/4 rivets is the C32* and with wide handle/6 rivets is the C60* (though i seen other Chinese manufacturers make C32* with wide handle)
Chint have fairly decent quality, and the different Chints fit well with the C32* and C60* Multi 9's respectively on the same comb bars. (Though i'd stay away from all the other Chinese breakers)
