WARNING SOLAR PANELS & some Siemens S2AS-100/ Siemens S1AS-100 Meters

HalloweenJack

hoping its all finalised and you got a nice cheque from them;

as for my local council - things are quite abit `happier` than reported back in july:

http://www.eastbourne.gov.uk/EasySiteWeb/getresource.axd?AssetID=160329&type=full&servicetype=Inline

the figures used for savings are pretty much `spot on` when the leaflet was produced (before the EST revamped the figures) - we can opt out if we choose , any incompatable meters will be replaced under the scheme by the council , maintanance is all under the contract as is performance.

i also like how they get a 2kw system for £6200 - see what you get for bulk buying

furndire

I did indeed get sorted out with a nice, quick payment into my bank account, thanks for asking. Time will only tell if it was just the panels or the meter was running fast. I got enough back to pay for a few years electric. I couldn't have spotted the problem at a better time, as it was the brightest 3 months of the year, and they took the average useage off that - so I'm a happy bunny.
Re Eastbourne council - they will certainly be on to a winner re the FiT payments.

HalloweenJack

aye they will be - 1500 council properties being used , but they sorted the scheme out now - so whilst for tennants its a `rent a roof` - its the council running it with a direct `feedback` ; i emailed re the wireless communications , and it seems at least some of the readings will be in the public domain (output at a given time etc) so will be a good and reliable indication of just how much 1500 house with an average of 2kw each will perform.

DocWall

Solar Panel on roof flows to inverter. Question - At which point is the GENERATION figure calculated? Before or after the inverter as there are losses in the conversion of DC to AC.
Power generated at 43p kWh can either be used FOC or sent back to the grid for an additional 3p. Understood- but how does the system know to use the generated power before any drawn from the grid?
Is the grid guaranteed to take ALL the power we dont wish to consume? or can they stop receiving when they have no requirement for additional demand.
My understanding is there is no power without a demand so if the grid doesnt need any, where is the demand to come from?
Given the present gloomy days, what is a reasonable daily production figure from say a 3kWh unit?
How does the utility company get details of your production?
Do they have BluRay access or does the user feed in details manually?
There are a lot of Grey areas and I hope you having gone through the process are able to cast some light on the subject
DocWall

John_Pierpoint

Hi DocWall, welcome to MSE.

There are several threads running on the general technology and economics of the Feed in Tariff (FiT); such as this one:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3325628

If you cannot find the answer to your questions there, you could repost your remaining questions, where the experts would be on hand to answer them.

This thread was all about a Siemens meter that had a built in fraud detection system, for the possibility that someone would switch over the terminals. It displayed a count of electricity units both coming and going if you see what I mean.
The owners of this meter were too thick to realise that they could check the internal arrays in the electronics to identify how many units of electricity were coming into the property and how many were going out of the property. They went to great lengths monitoring it with another meter to persuade themselves that it was faulty.

Just for the record the inverter that makes the alternating current from the direct current output of the panels, simply makes it at a slightly higher voltage, so that the electrical power flows "backwards" into the supply system (how far backwards into the grid is a matter of debate).

HalloweenJack

This thread was all about a Siemens meter that had a built in fraud detection system, for the possibility that someone would switch over the terminals. It displayed a count of electricity units both coming and going if you see what I mean.
The owners of this meter were too thick to realise that they could check the internal arrays in the electronics to identify how many units of electricity were coming into the property and how many were going out of the property. They went to great lengths monitoring it with another meter to persuade themselves that it was faulty.

Under the 1956 electricity act as amended by the 1984 criminal justice act it is an offence to cause or to be caused damage to the electricity recording meter whereby it can be rendered inoperative.
By removing the terminal cover meter seal you could render the electricity recording device inoperative so yes legally it is a criminal offence.


how do you `check the internal arrays` without breaking the wire seal and thus commit an offence?

John_Pierpoint

I'm talking about the owner of the meter not the owner of the house.
In my case it says EDF but that French company has sold out to a subsidiary of the Hong King Electricity company - however what is written on the tin is not always accurate. As with train operating companies, the equipment might belong to someone else and is being rented or sold and leased back

I forget who own(ed) the Siemens in question.

HalloweenJack

that would be Atlantic (part of scottish hydro) , and the OP was having trouble getting 1 department to talk to another department when he identified something was ` amiss` when the panels were installed.

Hobbo2006

Add me to this..... since the meter was changed the usage has dropped through the floor. I think mine was out of sync and racking up the units....

Any ideas how to claim or if it's worth it? I've been with around 3 suppliers in 3 years trying to reduce the cost.

John_Pierpoint

What sort of meter was the one that has been taken away.
Do you have Solar PV panels?