Theft of electricity is a very serious business, which is punishable by law and the relevant authorities are trying to fight it, but it is impossible to be in time everywhere. The most common occurrence is connecting to a neighbor's network through an outlet or junction box.
Frequent ways to steal electricity
The standard scheme of theft is quite simple: he will drill a hole in the wall, directly opposite the neighbor sockets, conduct 2 separate wires and connect with two wires that are connected to this very sockets. Take the connected wires to your home and "hang" the connection point on them. Carefully putty everything and enjoy the "free" electricity.
This scheme can also be applied to junction boxes in an apartment, and some craftsmen follow a much more thorny path - they are connected directly to the wire in the wall. This is much more difficult, but safer in terms of detection, since only a good technician can find such a problem.
And if you connect only "zero"?
Some neighbors, without any malicious intent, connect their neutral wire to the neighbor's. And in principle, such an operation does not belong to the category of "theft", because the meter will regularly count the consumption of electricity. And everything would be fine, only there are a few "buts".
Modern electronic meters also count the consumption of electricity through the neutral conductor. And there are enough examples in the network when a neighbor connected his "zero", and "dripped" to another user. In this case, it is very problematic to prove your case, especially if there is no documentation certified by the relevant authorities.
How to check
There are several ways to check if a neighbor's worker zero is connected to yours or not.
- Visually. Everything is clearly visible in the electrical control room, therefore it is necessary to start with it. It's another matter if such a connection is made secretly, for example, in a junction box or outlet.
- Turning off the load in the apartment and checking with the meter. If the meter continues to "wind up" electricity, then this means an outside connection. But in this case, not only "zero", but also "phase" can be connected.
Of course, it's best to take the time to check all the junction boxes and outlets on your neighbors' walls. It will be more reliable this way. But not all users are able to do this with their own hands - the help of a professional may be needed.
Is it possible to connect to the neighbor's "zero" at all?
The answer is clear: no. Such installation threatens with unnecessary "wrapping" of electricity. And if old meters may not count the consumption through the zero conductor, then modern devices are more accurate. Having gone on vacation or an unscheduled business trip, then you can see a solid amount of kilowatts on the counter screen, which is equivalent to an even larger amount of money.
Only connection to the zero bus in the switchboard is allowed, but, unfortunately, some users prefer not to spend money, but to take the shortest path - to connect through the wall to the neighbor.