Help with solar with old FIT export

katskorner

Hi, I have solar panels fitted by A Shade Greener 13 years ago. They receive the FIT payments and I get to use the energy at the point of generation. I don't have a battery. Because I don't get the FIT payments,  I have been on the tracker with Octopus instead of an export tariff. I have no view of what I generate or export (not that I get paid for export) but I then top up from the grid. I have literally no idea what we are actually using as I can't see generation figures and Octopus have just said that because I am not on a solar tariff, they treat my house like the solar doesn't even exist. I am so confused now. Please help as I need to get my bills down and my teens use a fair bit of power at night. I can't afford a battery set up atm. I dont even know whether I should switch tariffs or whether that would even benefit me. Thanks in advance.

vic_sf49

If you are not using what is being generated second by seond, that will be exported, and A Shade Greener will earn money from it. 

If you're running the washer while the sun is out, usage might all be from solar, so Octopus just see your house as using none/less from the grid at that moment

If you're running the washer on a dull day or at night, then more/all electric will be from the grid. 

So yes, to Octopus, it's irrelevant that you have solar panels, as you will be using some electric from the grid, just possibly a bit less than some other households.

You can't be on an export tariff, as that's for A Shade Greener to earn income from, and I doubt they'd give permission to fit a battery. 

Work out your usage for the year, and have a look at tariffs. I was on Tracker a while back, but I'm not sure it's as competitive as it was, but it depends which version you're on. 

Other than that, can the teens switch their usage to the day, although it's probably tv or gaming, once they're back from school. 

vic_sf49

Another thought, if you want to see what generation you have spare to use, my In house display shows me, or you can sign up for a free Octopus mini, that does the same thing, but in the app.

Screenshot below, is showing - 257w, which means I'm currently generating 257 watts more than I'm using. 

Very handy to see if I have enough spare to run my dryer, or to time other power hungry devices better during the day. 

This time of year, if it's sunny but cold, I get some oil radiators on, and/or run a dehumidifier. And if I'm making a meal that involves the oven, I tend to do that for lunch vs evening, and will pick those meals on a sunnier, and better solar generating day. 

vic_sf49

In house display, shows the pylon with the arrow, when I'm generating more than I'm using. 

Currently have all of 43w spare. 

(In house display, came with this house, and pre-dated my move to Octopus.) 

QrizB

Tracker has been cheaper than the Ofgem-capped SVT for most of the year, although not by much. There has been the occasional day when it's been more expensive.

There have been some cheaper tariffs from smaller suppliers; if you run a comparison, you might be able to save a bit.

vic_sf49 said:

Another thought, if you want to see what generation you have spare to use, my In house display shows me, or you can sign up for a free Octopus mini, that does the same thing, but in the app.

I think you have to have an export MPAN configured before your account or IHD will show you that info. I have solar (have done since 2012) and a smart meter with Octopus but no export MPAN and I don't get to see my export details on my IHD, account or app.

vic_sf49

It's a shame if not every in home display shows it. And the OP may not even have one. Then it just comes down to, if the sun is shining, you'll be generating something 

I've had that screen for many years though, certainly before moving to Octopus, and way before switching my export from deemed (under the FIT scheme), to metered export. I only did that a year or so ago, and I THINK that's when an export mpan is created, isn't it, although I'm not 100% sure. Someone please correct me. 

Can't remember if I had that screen/function, before getting a older smets 1 meter, replaced with a smets 2 meter though, if that makes a difference. If I did, I don't think I knew what it meant.

 Wish I'd known about these forums then, so I could have asked how best to see how much solar my panels are generating, as per the OPs question. 

QrizB

katskorner said:

. I have no view of what I generate or export (not that I get paid for export) but I then top up from the grid. I have literally no idea what we are actually using as I can't see generation figures 

Regarding generation, there should be a generation meter fitted and reporting to ASG so they can claim the FIT payments. You should be able to read this meter yourself, just like you read your regular electric meter. (It might not be in a convenient place.) If you read it daily or weekly, you'll get an idea of how much electricity is being generated over time.

If your main electricity meter is a smart meter, and you have a working in-home display, you'll be able to tell when you're generating *some* electricity as the usage figure will fall to zero. You won't know how much spare power there is, but you know that there's *some* and can guess from the weather whether it's eg.bright and sunny and a good time to put on the washing machine, or a rare bright moment on a dull day.

squirrelpie

I have an IHD supplied by Octopus, and that just shows a value for import or export, and a net total. I also have a Glow CAD and that does allow me to see specific export figures. I believe their Bright app also allows that, even without their CAD.

jimjames

vic_sf49 said:

You can't be on an export tariff, as that's for A Shade Greener to earn income from, and I doubt they'd give permission to fit a battery. 

If the battery doesn't involve changing/touching their equipment is there any way they would know other than export being lower than before?

QrizB

jimjames said:

vic_sf49 said:

You can't be on an export tariff, as that's for A Shade Greener to earn income from, and I doubt they'd give permission to fit a battery. 

If the battery doesn't involve changing/touching their equipment is there any way they would know other than export being lower than before?

Currently ASG will be on deemed export payments, so they wouldn't even spot the reduced export. It would become a problem if ASG switched to metered export.

vic_sf49

jimjames said:

vic_sf49 said:

You can't be on an export tariff, as that's for A Shade Greener to earn income from, and I doubt they'd give permission to fit a battery. 

If the battery doesn't involve changing/touching their equipment is there any way they would know other than export being lower than before?

Hmm, good question, but I've not got a clue. Do they ever go and inspect the systems they own?

Otherwise, it would just be the lower figures, if they or the FIT payer, moved to metered export, as @QrizBsaid.

But the Op says they can't afford a battery anyway, so it's not likely to be an issue here.