Solar Panel Guide Discussion

grannyjo

we were switched on yesterday. we have a landis E111 generation meter. It has 2 lights on the right hand side. Last night one turned red , which meant it had got too dark and switched itself off. Today it flashes occasionally. Does anyone know if this means - its working or does it mean it might switch off due to poor light. Then what is the other light for.
Also the meter has numbers ending in 115. Does this mean a flow of 115 watts 0r we have created 115 watts- or what does it mean. This is the meter that we read to send to the electricity company, to receive the sell back subsidy.
Sorry I'm such a novice. THE electrician explained some things but not that.
thanks joanna

orrery

grannyjo wrote: »

we were switched on yesterday. we have a landis E111 generation meter. It has 2 lights on the right hand side. Last night one turned red , which meant it had got too dark and switched itself off. Today it flashes occasionally. Does anyone know if this means - its working or does it mean it might switch off due to poor light. Then what is the other light for.
Also the meter has numbers ending in 115. Does this mean a flow of 115 watts 0r we have created 115 watts- or what does it mean. This is the meter that we read to send to the electricity company, to receive the sell back subsidy.

I can reply with my understanding based on my installation:
Solid Red - no generation at all (i.e. overnight)
Red flash - 100th of a unit (like the spinning disk in an old style meter)
Number - the meter reading. It is odd that it is starting a 115 but this may be what was there after factory test - if so that is your starting reading. It should increase by 1 for every 100 flashes of the red LED.
The meter reading is in Units, which are the same as kWh (kilo watt hours).
At any one time you generate in watts. 1000 watts is 1kW and is enough to run a 1 bar electric fire. If you generate 1kW for 1 hour (or 100W for 10 hours, or 10W for 100 hours ...) then you have generated 1kWh, or 1 unit.
So, each number that the meter goes up by is another unit you have generated.
If your inverter isn't telling you how many watts you are generating at any specific time (or is hidden away somewhere, in the loft) then you can buy an Owl or Efergy energy meter - this has a transmitter which clips over a one wire of the cable that goes to your generation meter and has a remote display which shows what is going on.

zeupater

orrery wrote: »

Red flash - 100th of a unit (like the spinning disk in an old style meter)

Hi

More likely 1/1000th of a unit on most meters ..... 1Wh

HTH
Z

grannyjo

thanks for the replies. I'm hoping the company will send out a manual to understand it. I've looked on the net but apart from people trying to sell the E110- I can't find anything.
the numbers do start zeros. it reads about 00000114 I think now - so that probably means 115 kw from what you say. On the mcs installation certificate it says the meter reading was .74 at installation- so could that mean the last 2 numbers are decimal points for the kw. Any more help appreciated and thanks everyone.
Also what is the other light. there are 2 on the top righthand side. The right one is the red flashing light/ permanently on at night- any ideas on the other one that we have not see light up yet. joanna

anselld

grannyjo wrote: »

thanks for the replies. I'm hoping the company will send out a manual to understand it. I've looked on the net but apart from people trying to sell the E110- I can't find anything.
the numbers do start zeros. it reads about 00000114 I think now - so that probably means 115 kw from what you say. On the mcs installation certificate it says the meter reading was .74 at installation- so could that mean the last 2 numbers are decimal points for the kw. Any more help appreciated and thanks everyone.
Also what is the other light. there are 2 on the top righthand side. The right one is the red flashing light/ permanently on at night- any ideas on the other one that we have not see light up yet. joanna

Yes, two digits after the decimal point so your reading is 1.14. You should be able to see the point, no?

Don't know what the other light is for but it is not relevant so don't worry about it.

KevinG

anselld wrote: »

Yes, two digits after the decimal point so your reading is 1.14. You should be able to see the point, no?

Don't know what the other light is for but it is not relevant so don't worry about it.

Mine's an E110 and the decimal point is clearly visible.

grannyjo

thanks- it was really useful for you to tell me the above. The decimal point is not too clear on our meter- its in a darkish section of the garage. There is one if you really look. we're delighted thinking of setting up two chairs in the garage to watch the main meter going backwards even with a fridge and washing machine on.thanks again - joanna

anselld

grannyjo wrote: »

thanks- it was really useful for you to tell me the above. The decimal point is not too clear on our meter- its in a darkish section of the garage. There is one if you really look. we're delighted thinking of setting up two chairs in the garage to watch the main meter going backwards even with a fridge and washing machine on.thanks again - joanna

Apparently the supplier can back-charge you for estimated usage when they eventually find out your meter is reversing. You are supposed to inform the energy supplier and request a new supply meter if this is the case. see here

KevinG

anselld wrote: »

Apparently the supplier can back-charge you for estimated usage when they eventually find out your meter is reversing. You are supposed to inform the energy supplier and request a new supply meter if this is the case. see here

This seems to crop up from time to time - I DID tell my supplier my meter was running backwards but is it really down to me to hassle them and ask for a new meter? Surely, having told them, it is up to them.

zeupater

KevinG wrote: »

This seems to crop up from time to time - I DID tell my supplier my meter was running backwards but is it really down to me to hassle them and ask for a new meter? Surely, having told them, it is up to them.

Hi

And so it is, but it still doesn't prevent them from charging you for what they believe you've used .... the amount you gain or loose as a result of the meter running backwards depending entirely on how long it takes to change the meter, would you likely gain or loose .... well it just depends on how much they would estimate you've gained, which would probably be based on assuming a straight percentage of generation ... 50% ? .... ????

HTH
Z