Can a Smart meter be installed flat (horizontally)?

SAC2334

Reaper said:

I just thought I should give an update to all those who helped...

Although I suggested a variety of options the installer said none were practical to install a Smart meter.

Am I upset I can't currently sell PV electricity back to my provider..? No, because in a plot twist I have just realised my meter runs backwards when I export PV electricity. I have owned up and told my provider and left them to decide what to do next since they own the meter. I'm in no hurry any more!

There will be hundreds of thousands of old Sangamo Weston meters around and other makes with a rotating barrel without a backstop  ( I had one before I volunteered for smart meters ) and as a meter reader for 20 years I used to find many of these meters running backwards , usually on a sunny day when occupiers are not using much electricity .Suppliers could easily find this out that they were not compatible with solar panels if they could be bothered to check meter types and serial numbers as soon as an occupier gives notice of solar panel fitting .

Many do notice and these people will be fighting to the last breath to avoid a meter exchange .Any digital meter would be fine as these can t run back .
Old mechanical meters are very reliable but the very common Sangamo Weston not only runs backwards but has a habit of sticking and stopping when it will show a blank on the single kw index so the reading would show eg 6399blank as a reading . I found three of these in one day in one street but restarted them with a hard knock on the top.  

Reed_Richards

When I tried to replace an old digital meter with a smart meter, it would not fit.  But the reason for that was that the comms hub, sitting on top of the actual meter, made the whole thing too bulky.  A pragmatic solution would be to not fit the comms hub.  The customer would still have to supply readings, as before.  But any meter that misbehaved could be replaced much more easily. 

bob2302

Reed_Richards said:

When I tried to replace an old digital meter with a smart meter, it would not fit.  But the reason for that was that the comms hub, sitting on top of the actual meter, made the whole thing too bulky.  A pragmatic solution would be to not fit the comms hub.  The customer would still have to supply readings, as before.  But any meter that misbehaved could be replaced much more easily. 

I find it surprising that there isn't a variant where the hub is on a lead.

Phones4Chris

@Reaper I specifically asked about the space to the left of the small CU because I was looking at the possibility of the Henley style blocs being moved to where the meter currently is. The Earthing block may have to be repositioned but by how much, the dimensions from the top to the cut-out to the earthing block are obviously relevant.

mmmmikey

It will be interesting to see where this goes from here. I expect that the supplier has the right to insist that the home owner covers the cost of any work needed to make the meter sufficiently accessible to be replaced and/or rectify any fire risks associated with boxing in. But how they go about enforcing those rights is another matter. I wouldn't be surprised if this just fails off their radar, but neither would I be surprised if this gets passed to some sort of enforcement team.

Reaper

Phones4Chris said:

@Reaper I specifically asked about the space to the left of the small CU because I was looking at the possibility of the Henley style blocs being moved to where the meter currently is. The Earthing block may have to be repositioned but by how much, the dimensions from the top to the cut-out to the earthing block are obviously relevant.

I suggested moving the blocks as one of many suggestions to the installer but he said it would not help.

Reaper

mmmmikey said:

It will be interesting to see where this goes from here. I expect that the supplier has the right to insist that the home owner covers the cost of any work needed to make the meter sufficiently accessible to be replaced...

I would argue sufficient space has been provided as proved by the fact there is currently a meter there. If they want to replace it with a larger meter that does not fit that is their problem to solve. As Reed_Richards said I suspect they will eventually choose to fit a new non-smart meter. Something I would not be keen on as it prevents me using any of the better tariffs suited to my PV & battery installation.

MWT

bob2302 said:

Reed_Richards said:

When I tried to replace an old digital meter with a smart meter, it would not fit.  But the reason for that was that the comms hub, sitting on top of the actual meter, made the whole thing too bulky.  A pragmatic solution would be to not fit the comms hub.  The customer would still have to supply readings, as before.  But any meter that misbehaved could be replaced much more easily. 

I find it surprising that there isn't a variant where the hub is on a lead.

There is an alternative power supply option, it is used on the rare cases where there is a smart gas meter but not a smart electricity meter.

The only connection from the hub to the electricity meter is for power, any data has to go over the HAN so there isn't anything special about mounting it on the electricity meter beyond an easy access power source.

Reed_Richards

I have never seen details of the connection between the meter and the comms hub but I imagine it carries both power and data (by wire).  So I think @MWT might be wrong.  By contrast the connection between the comms hub and a gas meter is always wireless.

MWT

Reed_Richards said:

So I think @MWT might be wrong.

There is always a possibility that I could be wrong, but not in this case

Check the ICHIS 2.0 spec: https://www.smartdcc.co.uk/media/6224/ichis-v23.pdf

You will see there that the pins connecting the hub to the ESME are for provision of DC power and presence detection.

There are data pins in the spec but they have no defined purpose at this time and are not even required to be fitted to the hub or the ESME.