How to read solar FiT meter (Landis+Gyr E470)

Diyanta

Hi,

Can anyone help with how to get read the solar FiT meter please?

FiT readings were being taken monthly and reported to Eon.  Unfortunately the person doing this has died.  Apparently Eon changed to Eon Next just prior to this, and a reading was taken at that time.  Regular payments were coming in so it appears the system was working.  Eon Next are now asking for their monthly FiT reading.

There are two meters in the cupboard.  A small one for electricity usage and a larger one for the solar. 

The solar meter is a Landis+Gyr E470 Type 5424, it has two buttons labelled A and B.  The display says something like:

Rate 01 Act ImV

02022kWh

I called Eon Next and and was told to expect a FiT reading starting with digits NN (sorry, I forgot exactly, but it certainly wasn't 02).

On pressing 'A' the display lights up with all segments lit, i.e. each character like a Union Jack (or '*' in a box).

imeach

Are you sure thats the right way round??
I would say that meter is the standard electric meter, and the other smaller one is the FIT.

They are sometimes labelled

Or have you any paperwork for the FIT showing the serial number?
A picture of the whole set up may help

Benny2020

Landis+Gyr E470 is your smart meter not the generation meter.

gefnew

Also feed in tariffs are sent three monthly intervals and then some time later receive payment at the rate that applies to the installation date.

If you already have an online account you can log in here. We’ll start making FiT payments quarterly, as long as you provide valid readings. We’ll either deposit these into your bank account, or send you a cheque in the post.

We have a timeframe of when we need a reading (the meter reading window) this can be found on your FiT plan, which gives you 22 days to call us, or you can log in to your account and enter the reading online.

Once you are set up you will be able to:

1.     Enter your FiT meter readings online.

2.     Get a summary of your FiT payments.

3.     Keep track of the amount of electricity you’ve generated.

4.     View your FiT plan.

5.     View information about your account 24/7.

Benny2020

Yes 3 monthly for me for Generation readings?

Diyanta

Thank you all for the quick replies.

Yes 3 monthly reporting (although readings were being logged monthly).

That makes a lot more sense if it is the main meter.  Thank you! I will take a proper look and a photo when next at the property.

To satisfy my curiosity:

- should the A and B buttons do anything?

- what does the display indicate (assuming I have transcribed it correctly)?

Rate 01 Act ImV

QrizB

Diyanta said:

To satisfy my curiosity:

- should the A and B buttons do anything?

- what does the display indicate (assuming I have transcribed it correctly)?

Does this video help?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyfVJicd1L4

[Deleted User]

FIT payments are based on the amount of solar energy generated. SMETS meters only record the amount of electricity which is exported. For FIT payments, you should manually read the solar generation meter. Unless you have agreed to export payments based on actual export, you will be better off getting deemed export payments based on 50% of the amount of electricity generated.

Payments under the SEG scheme are exclusively based on SMETS export readings. The meter must have a separate export MPAN before payments can be made.

The generation meter looks something like this, and it is usually located in the vicinity of the solar inverter; ie, not in the meter cupboard.

https://www.jsgsolutions.co.uk/ECA2-V-single-phase-100A-kWh-meter?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1_2Ejr6Z-AIVhbrVCh2a1QAmEAQYBSABEgKRqfD_BwE

SAC2334

I used to read those meters for BG 
 The FIT meter is usually a little white digital meter and the only one other than the awful Secure Liberty meters which feature a virtually invisible pointless decimal point because it used 6 digits instead of the usual 5.
 
Occupiers  sometimes submitted their own readings leading to grossly inflated FIT claims because they included the last digit and ignored a leading zero because 5 digits only could be submitted. 

e.g. 00326.3   became 03263 . An easy mistake to make 
We were  sent
 out for check reads often on these meters .

 ignore the last digit on these FIT meters and submit only the first five including leading zero s

Diyanta

Thanks all. You are absolutely correct, the small meter is for the solar.  FiT reading now successfully reported (it's already up to 5 digits ).

Dolor said:

FIT payments are based on the amount of solar energy generated. SMETS meters only record the amount of electricity which is exported. For FIT payments, you should manually read the solar generation meter. Unless you have agreed to export payments based on actual export, you will be better off getting deemed export payments based on 50% of the amount of electricity generated.

I'm only assisting with meter reading, which is done now - thanks!, and I don't have solar myself so I'm unsure really what the above means, all I know is the payments separately detail "Generation" and "Export".  Edit: The statement does also mention "Energy export ... (deemed 50%)".

If anyone knows what the "Act ImV" stands for then I'm just curious.  Yes I've looked on YouTube .

Photo as it was asked for.  The solar was installed some years ago and the smart meter is a recent replacement.  As I understand it a power outage on the incoming mains will shut off the solar to protect workers on the grid, meaning it won't run off grid.

QrizB

SAC2334 said:

ignore the last digit on these FIT meters and submit only the first five including leading zeros

I can't speak for the OP but my FIT supplier expects me to submit my generation meter reading including the two trailing decimals.