British gas smart meter & solar panels?

Seajays

We already have solar panels fitted (working very nicely :-) )

British Gas want to come and install smart meter for gas /electric next month. I wondered if they had any option to meter solar PV output? Or even be used as a generation meter so I would get more than the 50% standard tariff (our excess is usually higher).

Anyone know if this is possible?

penrhyn

There is a Feed in, button on my in home display. When I just pressed it it said that it had not been activated since I did not have microgeneration.
So presumably in your case you would be able to monitor your exported wattage.

MeterMan

The in-home display does not work correctly with the solar panels.

jamesleesaunders

Hello, I also would be interested to know if the BG smart meters actually report the feed in figure from Solar Panels. Or do British Gas still assume 50% feed in? (which may or may not be in your favour).

macman

You might well be worse off with an export meter, as there's no guarantee that you'd export as much as the 50% you're currently deemed to export.

Cardew

jamesleesaunders wrote: »

Hello, I also would be interested to know if the BG smart meters actually report the feed in figure from Solar Panels. Or do British Gas still assume 50% feed in? (which may or may not be in your favour).

Although the sensible action would be to pay householders only for the exported electricity, I cannot see it working in practice.


As an example, you might currently be getting your FIT and 50% export payments from BG, and they could possibly cope with 'actual' export payments calculated from the Smart meter; albeit it would need their computer program modified.


However you are not tied to BG for electricity supply(or FIT payments for that matter) and are at liberty to move your electricity account to a score of different suppliers.


That would entail the new supplier having to supply BG with your data - assuming you still wanted to have your FIT + export from BG.


Don't forget many of the smaller suppliers are exempt from handling FIT payments. So I just cannot see these suppliers having to set up a system to inform another supplier(BG/Eon/EDF etc) of your actual export.


IMO the assumed 50% will remain for the life of the FIT scheme.

[Deleted User]

Another side to this story is that if you are happy with the present meter arrangement then you are not legally bound to accept a smart meter at all, unless of course you actually want one.

MeterMan

Deleted_User wrote: »

Another side to this story is that if you are happy with the present meter arrangement then you are not legally bound to accept a smart meter at all, unless of course you actually want one.

But there is a legal requirement to ensure the meter is exchanged every 10 to 15 years. If the only meter that is supplied is a smart meter, then you're going to get one.

The in home display does not record FIT at all, part of the system is in place, but not enabled, Not that I have seen and I have fitted plenty to properties with PV. You're current PV installation should already have an export meter. I would seriously question the installer if there wasn't.