Help with reading meter for export

andrewknox

andrewknox said:

manda1205 said:

Thank you both.
I'm still not entirely sure what reading they want so I will just have to ring them Tuesday. We have definitely exported more than 1.9kw though. Yesterday was sunny all day here. I checked our smart meter display every 10-15mins for nearly 2hrs and we were exporting between 1 and 2kw. The display on the solar panel meter still says exp at 1.9. Didn't move at all. So there's no way it's correct. 
I think I vaguely remember the installers telling me it wouldn't tell us the export but I may be wrong. 
Octopus don't actually state which meter they want read but as you say @Reed_Richards they know the electric meter as they're reading it every 30mins. 

Did you get to the bottom of this Manda1205 as I am experiencing exactly the same behaviour, with same meter model etc?
 

I have been doing some investigation myself and it turns out you read the EXPORT value on your elec smart meter that yous house uses for the incoming supply from the grid, NOT the generation meter that comes part of the solar installation

manda1205

andrewknox said:

andrewknox said:

manda1205 said:

Thank you both.
I'm still not entirely sure what reading they want so I will just have to ring them Tuesday. We have definitely exported more than 1.9kw though. Yesterday was sunny all day here. I checked our smart meter display every 10-15mins for nearly 2hrs and we were exporting between 1 and 2kw. The display on the solar panel meter still says exp at 1.9. Didn't move at all. So there's no way it's correct. 
I think I vaguely remember the installers telling me it wouldn't tell us the export but I may be wrong. 
Octopus don't actually state which meter they want read but as you say @Reed_Richards they know the electric meter as they're reading it every 30mins. 

Did you get to the bottom of this Manda1205 as I am experiencing exactly the same behaviour, with same meter model etc?
 

I have been doing some investigation myself and it turns out you read the EXPORT value on your elec smart meter that yous house uses for the incoming supply from the grid, NOT the generation meter that comes part of the solar installation

Yep, I found out the same too. Shame Octopus couldn't be more clear in their emails.  
I've managed to tell them the reading now but still waiting for them to connect.
Considering I applied on 28th Feb, they've taken a long while to get this sorted. I've had to chase them numerous times. 
I'm hoping they back date payments 🤷

[Deleted User]

manda1205 said:

andrewknox said:

andrewknox said:

manda1205 said:

Thank you both.
I'm still not entirely sure what reading they want so I will just have to ring them Tuesday. We have definitely exported more than 1.9kw though. Yesterday was sunny all day here. I checked our smart meter display every 10-15mins for nearly 2hrs and we were exporting between 1 and 2kw. The display on the solar panel meter still says exp at 1.9. Didn't move at all. So there's no way it's correct. 
I think I vaguely remember the installers telling me it wouldn't tell us the export but I may be wrong. 
Octopus don't actually state which meter they want read but as you say @Reed_Richards they know the electric meter as they're reading it every 30mins. 

Did you get to the bottom of this Manda1205 as I am experiencing exactly the same behaviour, with same meter model etc?
 

I have been doing some investigation myself and it turns out you read the EXPORT value on your elec smart meter that yous house uses for the incoming supply from the grid, NOT the generation meter that comes part of the solar installation

Yep, I found out the same too. Shame Octopus couldn't be more clear in their emails.  
I've managed to tell them the reading now but still waiting for them to connect.
Considering I applied on 28th Feb, they've taken a long while to get this sorted. I've had to chase them numerous times. 
I'm hoping they back date payments 🤷

Before Octopus can pay for SEG export, it has to obtain an export MPAN from your DNO. A number of DNOs are very slow to respond to request for an export MPAN. Once the new MPAN has been obtained and registered, Octopus can pull export data from your smart meter.

redpesto

I've looked into this too recently and found that the solar meter (usually Emlite) records the amount of electricity going to/from the solar inverter, not to/from the house.

The solar inverter converts the direct current (DC) electricity generated by the solar panels to the alternating current (AC) electricity used by your house (and also supplied by the national grid). But the electronics in the inverters use a very small amount of electricity to perform the AC-DC conversion. It's normally less than around 1 W, so if you've had the panels installed 12 months (and you don't have a battery) the EXP reading would be around 1 x 24 x 365 =  8,760 Wh, i.e. 8.76 kWh. 

The EXP therefore refers to the amount of power used by the inverter to convert the electricity into a form that can be used by the appliances in your house. It's normally a really small number, so basically the the solar meters just tell you solar generation, not electricity exported to the grid (which is measured by the utility meter). The exception is if you have a battery installed, in which case the EXP will tell you how much grid electricity has been used to power the inverter AND charge a battery - sometimes batteries can be setup to take power from PV and from the grid (e.g. if you want to make best use of time of use tarrifs).  

thriftytracey

I've logged into Octopus and I can't see anywhere where they show the export figures.  It is not on the bill.  Or do you  have to manually send a photo of the meter each time?  I sent them a photo when it was first set up which they acknowledged.

paul991

they usually send a email with a link in it ,Though I am on a FIT tariff