Solar power export back to grid without a smart meter

Ectophile

systemparadox said:

Thanks for the comments. Putting it all together plus a few other bits I've found, it seems that:

- A separate export meter is possible but these days you'd be expected to just get a smart meter.
- If you're generating more than you use then you will be exporting, it's just that if you don't have the right metering you won't get paid for it.
- Some analog meters might go backwards, but many won't and if it does it would be considered tampering and you can get in trouble.
- Separate generation meters were used as part of the old FiT (Feed-in Tariff) scheme where they would pay you based on 50% of the amount you generated, rather than how much you actually exported. Possibly this is because the technology at the time didn't allow for metering this? It looks like generation meters are still installed but are just for information these days as payment is done via export metering (via SEG - Smart Export Guarantee).

Yes.

The awkward thing with the FIT scheme is that FIT is paid on the amount of power generated, which isn't the same as the amount exported.  And we didn't have smart meters back then.  So measuring both would require installing two new meters, one for generation and one for export.  And the export one would have to be registered on the national database with an MPAN number.

Since the export payment per unit was always less than the FIT payment per unit, it was easiest to assume that about 50% would be exported, and work out the sums from that.

amanwithaplan

Asystemparadox said:

We're looking at getting solar panels installed and would be planning to be exporting at least some electricity back to the grid. We've been given conflicting information about what you're allowed to do without having a smart meter and I was wondering if anyone could help provide any clarity.

Putting together the various bits I've been told or found myself online I've got the following options:

1. You have to get a smart meter to export at all.
2. You get a separate export meter installed as part of the solar install and the existing analog meter can remain untouched and will still be used for import.
3. No changes to meters necessary, the analog meter will go backwards when exporting.
3a. It's fine as long you're importing more than exporting so you never submit negative readings.
3b. It's not actually allowed but if on average you use more than you generate and never submit a negative reading then you can get away with it.
3c. It works but it's definitely not allowed and someone is going to notice

I'm pretty sure that 1 is incorrect - a smart meter is also an export meter, but you can just have a separate export meter instead.

So I think my main question is about technically how this works - is 3 even possible or is it  impossible because of the way it's wired up? If it is possible is it allowed, not technically allowed but people do it anyway, or absolutely not allowed?

I'm not necessarily against getting a smart meter (some of the Octopus agile tariffs look very interesting), and I'm not suggesting doing anything dodgy, but I would like to understand this area better.

One installer was also talking about putting a "generation meter" into the meter cupboard that it was just for our information and nothing to do with exporting. Has anyone heard of this before?

Thanks.

You can do this no problem. I did it. I had an old non-smart meter and actually had old rewirable fuses and a load of old storage heater technology.

I was able to get solar installed no problem into a separate consumer unit while all this old stuff was there. The meter won’t go backwards or anything like that it will just register no consumption while your solar is covering house load or even exporting.

what you won’t be able to do is get paid for the export - you will just export for free.

you can only get paid for export if you have a smart meter fitted as this can measure both ways and have two MPANs attached to it - one for import (or consumption as you have now) and another for export.