Smart meter incorrect installation caused increased energy usage

Kateg28

We had solar panels installed in April along with batteries and it was all working well. We were barely using grid power, just topping up over night and may be on a cloudy day. Very happy.

In order to get the Smart Export Guarantee I had to have a smart meter installed (British Gas) which we were reconciled to. This was installed last Thursday (25th May). 

Yesterday the meter showed a usage of 128kw since installation and today it is showing 148kw (and we were away for three days over bank holiday). Our usage before Solar panels was around 10kw a day in the Winter. I have been on chat and they pretty much refuse to accept anything is wrong. I have to send daily photos of the meter to them (so what is point of smart meter) but I am getting very concerned about it.

Our Solar panel app is also showing that the panels are giving us 500w and the house is giving 7kw to the grid (the house has no generation or storage capabilities, it is just a house). It is also showing that our batteries are 92% full at 8.15 this morning which is odd. I would expect them to be in charging mode then.

Any ideas on how to get this resolved as BG will charge us for this energy but we just simply cannot have used it. I am happy to get a standard electrician in if they will be able to resolve it. 

CSI_Yorkshire

Kateg28 said:

We had solar panels installed in April along with batteries and it was all working well. We were barely using grid power, just topping up over night and may be on a cloudy day. Very happy.

In order to get the Smart Export Guarantee I had to have a smart meter installed (British Gas) which we were reconciled to. This was installed last Thursday (25th May). 

Yesterday the meter showed a usage of 128kw since installation and today it is showing 148kw (and we were away for three days over bank holiday). Our usage before Solar panels was around 10kw a day in the Winter. I have been on chat and they pretty much refuse to accept anything is wrong. I have to send daily photos of the meter to them (so what is point of smart meter) but I am getting very concerned about it.

Our Solar panel app is also showing that the panels are giving us 500w and the house is giving 7kw to the grid (the house has no generation or storage capabilities, it is just a house). It is also showing that our batteries are 92% full at 8.15 this morning which is odd. I would expect them to be in charging mode then.

Any ideas on how to get this resolved as BG will charge us for this energy but we just simply cannot have used it. I am happy to get a standard electrician in if they will be able to resolve it. 

You might need to explain that.  You can't have no generation or storage but also solar and batteries.

You have one smart meter I assume?  So are far as BG are concerned, everything is "the house"?

Unless further information is available, either you're charging your batteries from the grid, the solar generation is going the wrong way through the meter, or you've got a decimal point wrong.

Kateg28

When looking at the solar panel app, there are 4 points and you can see the energy flow between them. 

The panels, the batteries, the house and the grid. So in the morning when sunny, the house consumes energy from the solar panels and excess goes to the batteries. In the night, we use the batteries and then the grid. The house itself can only consume, it cannot store. 

Sometimes the app shows the house consuming (which it is at moment, showing 7kw consumption but nothing is on except fridges and the tv) but sometimes it shows the house giving energy which is just weird. This is all since smart meter installation. 

And the decimal point is in the correct place. My meter was showing 148kw when I checked it an hour ago. 

[Deleted User]

By the sound of it, there is a fault with your solar and battery set up if you are discharging 7kW to the Grid. What is the size of your solar array and the battery?  How many kWh has your system exported since the smart meter was installed? You should be able to see the export reading by looking at your smart meter. 

Kateg28

No, I am often consuming 7kw from the grid. 

I have 8 panels and I think 5.2KW total battery capacity (2 batteries). The panels app is showing that the panels have generated 12.7kw today so far. 

At the moment it is showing the house consuming just under 7kw, 3kw from panels, 0.8 from battery and 3 from the grid. Before the smart meter I would be consuming around 0.5kw at the moment. 
My energy consumption has rocketed since smart meter and my meter I am consuming double what I was before all the panels and meter were installed. I now have same typical consumption for a house twice my size without solar panels. 

matt_drummer

It sounds like you have a GivEnergy system.

I am guessing a 3.60 kW hybrid inverter?

If so, that is why 3.0 kW is coming from the panels and 0.8 kW from the battery with the balance from the grid. That is the most the inverter can supply to meet your house loads.

It sounds like something in the house is consuming an extra 6.50 kWh to normal.

Go around turning stuff off until you find out what it is.

I cannot see how it can be anything to do with the meter change.

The meter only measures what flows to and from the grid.

If the meter was faulty that wouldn't show up as a house load in the GE app.

Something has to be consuming 7.0 kWh

[Deleted User]

Kateg28 said:

No, I am often consuming 7kw from the grid. 

I have 8 panels and I think 5.2KW total battery capacity (2 batteries). The panels app is showing that the panels have generated 12.7kw today so far. 

At the moment it is showing the house consuming just under 7kw, 3kw from panels, 0.8 from battery and 3 from the grid. Before the smart meter I would be consuming around 0.5kw at the moment. 
My energy consumption has rocketed since smart meter and my meter I am consuming double what I was before all the panels and meter were installed. I now have same typical consumption for a house twice my size without solar panels. 

Your battery is a house load as far as the smart meter is concerned. Where are you seeing the readings that you finding so troubling? If could be that during the fitting of your smart meter, the installer has removed a CT clamp and then refitted with the arrow on the clamp pointing in the wrong direction. What are your import and export meter readings taken from the actual meters NOT from the IHD. You can also check your import consumption by downloading the App BRIGHT.

PS. A photo of your smart meter showing the wires connected to the meter might help someone check that the installer has got the wiring correct.

Kateg28

I can only take readings from the actual meter as they didn’t have any monitors to give me. I am taking actual photos of the meter itself with nothing on the export and 148KW from the grid. 

If it is something consuming 6kw then why did it suddenly start when the meter was changed. We did a lot of research before buying solar panels and I have double checked my bills. 

In Jan to April my average consumption was 11Kw. Then Solar panels installed on 12th and hooked up on 13th April. Grid consumption obviously dropped but cannot quantify at moment. Then smart meter installed last Thursday and have now consumed 148Kw in a week, when we were away for 3 days. Something has to be wrong

matt_drummer

Whilst the GE app shows a house load of 7 kW and grid import of 3 kW what does the IHD fitted by British Gas show, does it show you exporting or importing in current usage?

CSI_Yorkshire

Kateg28 said:

I can only take readings from the actual meter as they didn’t have any monitors to give me. I am taking actual photos of the meter itself with nothing on the export and 148KW from the grid. 

If it is something consuming 6kw then why did it suddenly start when the meter was changed. We did a lot of research before buying solar panels and I have double checked my bills. 

In Jan to April my average consumption was 11Kw. Then Solar panels installed on 12th and hooked up on 13th April. Grid consumption obviously dropped but cannot quantify at moment. Then smart meter installed last Thursday and have now consumed 148Kw in a week, when we were away for 3 days. Something has to be wrong

Grid consumption should have dropped, but you don't actually know that it did.  Or were you taking daily readings in April?

We need to trace the wiring to work out what's going on (if you're certain there's nothing extra turned on).  Photos will help.

Kateg28

This is my new meter