Smart meter with solar PV??

Wobblydeb

Hello lovely people

Can I ask how you measure self-consumption of your solar PV?

We can monitor our generation, and also what our diverters are sending to the immersion heater / car charger

BUT...... I haven't got a way at present of measuring total self-consumption.

My energy supplier, TONIK is offering to install a smart meter, and I am wondering if that might give us the information we are after. Does anyone have experience of smart meters and solar PV?

System

Wobblydeb wrote: »

Hello lovely people

Can I ask how you measure self-consumption of your solar PV?

We can monitor our generation, and also what our diverters are sending to the immersion heater / car charger

BUT...... I haven't got a way at present of measuring total self-consumption.

My energy supplier, TONIK is offering to install a smart meter, and I am wondering if that might give us the information we are after. Does anyone have experience of smart meters and solar PV?

Some smart meters are capable of recording exported electricity which if you are on 50% deemed export might affect your income; that said, it would give you the information that you are looking for. On a more general point, I would say no to a smart meter until SMETS2 becomes the norm.

Zarch

Install a CT clamp based system like the emonPi perhaps?

https://openenergymonitor.org/

Zarch

For consumption I use something similar to the emonPi, but much more hooky and cheaper. And needs a bit more techy skill to be honest.

I've got this 'measureit' software installed on an old Raspberry Pi.
https://github.com/lalelunet/measureit/wiki

And have it hooked up to an old Current Cost Envir monitor connected via USB/serial cable to the Pi.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Current-Cost-Black-EnviR-Monitor/dp/B004NCS0BW

You can also find them on eBay cheaper if you're willing to keep checking etc. But the key is the ensure its the CC128 envir model AND it has the usb/serial cable with it as its chocolate teapot without that.

The Envir monitor pulls the figures from CT clamps which I currently have attached to my consumption cable..... and then when (if) I get PV i'd attach another CT clamp.

You can then set the measureit s/w to output the CT clamps to PVOUTPUT.
Here's an install at random: https://pvoutput.org/list.jsp?id=45570&sid=41820

Hope this helps.

pinnks

I too see little point in smart meters and certainly not yet for the reasons stated. Also, I thought they come with only 1 CT clamp so cannot compare generation and import/export.

I use the myimmerSUN set-up, though not sure the immerSUN is being marketed at present. It has two CT clamps and takes its data from the immerSUN diverter and gives you, generation, import, export, diverted and total house consumption (excluding the diverted amounts).


The guy behind immerSUN has set-up a new business selling a similar product (can't recall the name) with looks quite good but no idea whether it too has the monitoring funtionality

Ectophile

When EDF were desperately pushing their smart meters on me, I called their "green energy" team to ask about exporting.


I was told that

• Their meters will measure export.
• Their meters are not calibrated for measuring export.

I get the impression that EDF really does not want to pay the proper rate for exported electricity, and would rather stick with the "deemed" rate. Not having the meters calibrated gets around the rules for FIT payments.

pinnks

Eon said the same thing either on here or to me in some other way. Maybe Malc from Eon could give us the benefit of his wisdom:T