Smart meter incorrect installation caused increased energy usage

matt_drummer

Qyburn said:

It should be easy to sanity check, look at the Smart Meter import reading and see if it's clocking up at a rate matching that displayed import.

I agree, without the IHD it would be a good idea to check what is actually happening, importing or exporting.

matt_drummer

CSI_Yorkshire said:

matt_drummer said:

Qyburn said:

Something wired up wrong. I'll bet the app calculates house load by adding up Grid import/export and solar inverter output. So if the sensor for grid is round the wrong way it will think the house is drawing 3.044 plus 3.678.  Instead of 3.678 minus 3.044.

That is what I thought at first.

But that is not the OP's problem, or real problem at least.

They aren't exporting, they are actually importing as the meter has recorded 148 kWh of import in only a week.

The CT clamp being back to front may cause the app to look wrong but I can't see how it will cause grid import.

If there is actual grid import plus solar and battery then the power must be going somewhere.

Yes, app and meter both seem to agree that there is a lot of import from the grid.

That, to me, means there isn't a problem in the meter or in the measurement by the app, and that the readings are right.  Two independent systems reporting the same thing.

It most likely means that something is actually using a lot of energy.

Yes, it's what I think as there is actual excessive (compared to usual)  grid import.

One other thing to look at which will give a good clue.


Is the house load varying with solar generation?


You could also try stopping the battery discharging, there must be a setting in your app to do this, and see if that has any effect on the house load.

If the house load is being calculated from other places it should be possible to vary the house load shown by the app by changing something like battery discharge.

Kateg28

Qyburn said:

Something wired up wrong. I'll bet the app calculates house load by adding up Grid import/export and solar inverter output. So if the sensor for grid is round the wrong way it will think the house is drawing 3.044 plus 3.678.  Instead of 3.678 minus 3.044.

This makes sense to me, now I need to find out if it is the case and how to fix it?

for people saying about things being on, it really really is not.  We have a fairly new combi boiler so no immersion heater, hot water tank etc. The only permanent things on are two fridge freezers and two chest freezers and other things on standby. It is a standard 3 bed house. 

I have taken some photos as we have used 3kw on the meter since first posting. The red light was flashing around 30 times a minute. 

Kateg28

Qyburn said:

It should be easy to sanity check, look at the Smart Meter import reading and see if it's clocking up at a rate matching that displayed import.

How do I check the import reading?

matt_drummer

Kateg28 said:

Qyburn said:

Something wired up wrong. I'll bet the app calculates house load by adding up Grid import/export and solar inverter output. So if the sensor for grid is round the wrong way it will think the house is drawing 3.044 plus 3.678.  Instead of 3.678 minus 3.044.

This makes sense to me, now I need to find out if it is the case and how to fix it?

for people saying about things being on, it really really is not.  We have a fairly new combi boiler so no immersion heater, hot water tank etc. The only permanent things on are two fridge freezers and two chest freezers and other things on standby. It is a standard 3 bed house. 

I have taken some photos as we have used 3kw on the meter since first posting. The red light was flashing around 30 times a minute. 

Just step back and think a minute.

If 3 kWh is being shown as imported by your electricity meter, then it really has been, plus you have generated  and drawn from your battery another 4 kWh. Your house must have consumed 7 kWh since you started your discussion.

Can you turn off your fridges and freezers and see what happens?

It's not impossible for a malfunctioning device to draw a lot of power.

Kateg28

This is the solar meter 

Kateg28

This is the clamp with an arrow

Kateg28

matt_drummer said:

Kateg28 said:

Qyburn said:

Something wired up wrong. I'll bet the app calculates house load by adding up Grid import/export and solar inverter output. So if the sensor for grid is round the wrong way it will think the house is drawing 3.044 plus 3.678.  Instead of 3.678 minus 3.044.

This makes sense to me, now I need to find out if it is the case and how to fix it?

for people saying about things being on, it really really is not.  We have a fairly new combi boiler so no immersion heater, hot water tank etc. The only permanent things on are two fridge freezers and two chest freezers and other things on standby. It is a standard 3 bed house. 

I have taken some photos as we have used 3kw on the meter since first posting. The red light was flashing around 30 times a minute. 

Just step back and think a minute.

If 3 kWh is being shown as imported by your electricity meter, then it really has been, plus you have generated  and drawn from your battery another 4 kWh. Your house must have consumed 7 kWh since you started your discussion.

Can you turn off your fridges and freezers and see what happens?

It's not impossible for a malfunctioning device to draw a lot of power.

Unfortunately husband has now put washing machine on which always pushes consumption up. Before smart meter it would go from 0.5 to 3 or 4 during the cycle. I can try turning fringes off on Sunday when we are home but how would we check when we don’t have an app for smart meter or IHD. 

It is a massive coincidence that we run at approx 11Kw average over Winter, install solar panels and then run about 2 or 3 kw, then install smart meter and the very same day our consumption rockets to 20/25kw. 

Would a standard electrician be able to check this or do I need a solar specialist?

Gerry1

Kateg28 said:

Qyburn said:

Something wired up wrong. I'll bet the app calculates house load by adding up Grid import/export and solar inverter output. So if the sensor for grid is round the wrong way it will think the house is drawing 3.044 plus 3.678.  Instead of 3.678 minus 3.044.

I have taken some photos as we have used 3kw on the meter since first posting. The red light was flashing around 30 times a minute. 

You still seem to be getting it wrong !

Do you mean that you have used 3 kiloWatt HOURS of energy since first posting?

A rate of 30 flashes per minute corresponds to an instantaneous power consumption of 1.8kW.  If constant for three hours you would have used 5.4kWh of energy.

Kateg28

Can I just say thank you to everyone trying to help me, I am so stressed by all this, I really appreciate all your efforts.