Smart Meter Wrong by a Constant

SG18

I've been going back and forth with EDF over the last 18 months(!) because our manual meter readings and the smart meter readings that we're getting on a Liberty 100 system are consistently different by a large margin. I've discovered that they're so consistently different that they're actually out by a constant number (c.5600 kwh).

EDF can't seem to understand this – does anyone have any idea why our manual meter readings always be c. 5600 higher than the ones they're getting automatically? Has someone just entered an incorrect starting figure into their system when they set it up, or something obvious like that?

This wouldn't have been an issue if not for the fact that someone from EDF came to check our meter at some point, entered the manual figure into the system, and then suddenly we got a colossal bill for c.5600 kwh that we'd never used... After this, we've never had an accurate bill, as their customer support just cannot get their heads around the issue.

Has anyone else had a similar issue and found a way to get it sorted?

Thanks!

born_again

Are you sure you are reding the right register?

EssexHebridean

I'm betting on this being to do with the registers too! 

Robin9

There are several screens on these meters -  press the bottom to scroll through them.

Make a note of the readings and any letters/numbers against them eg R1 or ttl or kWh

Are you on E7 ?

Netexporter

Robin9 said:

There are several screens on these meters -  press the bottom to scroll through them.

Make a note of the readings and any letters/numbers against them eg R1 or ttl or kWh

Are you on E7 ?

You usually press 9 on the keypad, with a Liberty Secure meter. It should then scroll through the various values. However, some suppliers program them differently, so if 9 doesn't give you the information you need, try 6.

SG18

Thanks all – I'll have a look again at the meter. When I've previously checked, I've pressed 9, but I'll try 6, now, and see if that gets the reading that seems to be on EDF's records.

Netexporter

Might be worth videoing the screen as, IME, they scroll past too quickly if you are looking for more than just R1.

If the meter has ever been used on multiple rates then the Total Import figure will be different to R1.

Ildhund

born_again said:

Are you sure you are reding the right register?

There's always scope for confusion, but less with the Secure Liberty 100 than with some SMETS2 devices. This is from the Technical Reference Manual BGX501-767-R02 courtesy of Scottish Power:
  

"5.2 Registers, Load Profile and Snapshots 

"5.2.1 Main Energy Registers 

"Liberty 100 measures, records and displays metered energy values for import and export active and reactive energy. The following four cumulative energy registers are configured as energy channels for the measuring element:
  

     a) Active Total Import (i.e. fundamental + harmonics) 

     b) Active Total Export 

     c) Reactive Import 

     d) Reactive Export 

 
"The meter maintains current and historical energy registers separately for each assigned energy type. The cumulative value of each energy register is made available on the meter display as well as in meter reading snapshots. 

Note: Energy registers are configured at manufacture and cannot be reset locally or remotely."  

 
I suspect that whoever entered 5600 was looking at something other than the Active Total Import figure, like the Standing Charge (unless there are solar panels wired so that the meter records their export to the grid, that is).

QrizB

EssexHebridean said:

I'm betting on this being to do with the registers too! 

Me three, we've seen it several times before.

SG18

Thanks again for all the comments - really helpful.

When I work through the figures on the screen after pressing 6, I do eventually get a kWh figure which lines up with the digital readings that I see on my EDF account, rather than the higher reading kWh that I get when pressing 9.

But, we're on a standard rather than an E7 tarrif (and always have been), so I still don't entirely get why they're using these figures. 

Ildhund

QrizB said:

EssexHebridean said:

I'm betting on this being to do with the registers too! 

Me three, we've seen it several times before.

With a single-rate SMETS1 meter? I've seen plenty of examples with multi-rate meters, but not with a Secure Liberty 100.