From what I've read so far, for the IHD to record export you would need to export more than you're using at the time. Which would again come down to the size of your system and usage.
Thanks
If the IHD was working correctly and showing zero usage we would have to be generating EXACTLY what we are using. Can you imagine a situation where a generation system would generate EXACTLY the same as the usage in a house for hours on end?
I'm not worried about the IHD recording usage over time, I just want to know usage or export at the moment I look at the display. Just like it says on the leaflet.
@neilmorgan Can you let me know the size of your system and the export readings please Neil?
If you had a 4kw system installed, even with optimum generation there is still no guarantee all units would be exported, your property would use what is being generated before exporting. If everything in the property was off at the mains then of course this would go back to the grid.
The Export menu will record what is being exported. I would recommend using today as a reference point and in 7 days you will see what's gone back in kwh, then you can cross reference this against your usage and then asses. I am confident you will be using more than you have exported.
If you want we can have a look at your account and readings etc? Pop me a message and we can see if we can get some more information on generation and usage, this might help.
Just a small point. Not sure about older systems but some of the newer systems have a display on the inverter controller that shows instantaneous generation. My grid fallback system shows panel voltage, charge current and instantaneous power generation plus a host of other information and I wondered if yours has a similar functionality?
Sure, it would be nice to have it all in one place on the IHD, but it can depend on the particular type of smart meter too. Some only provide basic communications with the IHD and display import data only, whereas some meters can provide a lot more information across the HAN to some models of IHD.
Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player. I DON'T work for or on behalf of EON.Next, but am willing to try and help if I can. Not on mains gas, mobile network or mains drainage. House heated almost entirely by baby dragons.
@neilmorgan Can you let me know the size of your system and the export readings please Neil?
If you had a 4kw system installed, even with optimum generation there is still no guarantee all units would be exported, your property would use what is being generated before exporting. If everything in the property was off at the mains then of course this would go back to the grid.
The Export menu will record what is being exported. I would recommend using today as a reference point and in 7 days you will see what's gone back in kwh, then you can cross reference this against your usage and then asses. I am confident you will be using more than you have exported.
If you want we can have a look at your account and readings etc? Pop me a message and we can see if we can get some more information on generation and usage, this might help.
Thanks
Lee
Hi Lee,
You still seem to be misunderstanding me. The IHD shows power being used at that moment, not over a week, and it's the instantaneous reading I'm interested in. Of course over a week, month or year I will import more than I export, but that's not what the IHD should be displaying.
I just want to know at any moment what the usage or export is
I understand your points Neil. The reason i'm mentioning look over a week is because you will see if you're a NET Exporter or not. You can even look at this over the course of a day however the more data you have the better.
The IHD will only show the pylon when you're a net exporter, so when your exporting more than being used, without knowing the size of your system or the current export read, the information I can give maybe limited.
@retrotecchie that's a great point about the inverter.
I understand your points Neil. The reason i'm mentioning look over a week is because you will see if you're a NET Exporter or not. You can even look at this over the course of a day however the more data you have the better.
The IHD will only show the pylon when you're a net exporter, so when your exporting more than being used, without knowing the size of your system or the current export read, the information I can give maybe limited.
@retrotecchie that's a great point about the inverter.
Thanks
Lee
Hi Lee,
Over a day, week, month, or year I am definitely NOT a net exporter. But at any instant I can be. That is because I have a 6KW peak system and I am often using less than 6KW. So at that INSTANT the pylon should be showing on the IHD, and the amount I am exporting at that moment should be shown. That's how it works on other people's IHD. And that's what it says in the leaflet I linked.
Of course I can go into the garage and look at the inverter display and that will show what I'm generating. I can buy an energy monitor and take a reading of what I'm using in the house. Then take one from the other and get the answer I'm looking for.
It's just a shame that the IHD does not show the information it's advertised as giving. The installation engineer agreed it was a fault at the time he fitted the meter, but was a no-show to put it right.
We can look into replacing the IHD if that would give you peace of mind moving forward? If the device is less than 12 months old. I would need you to message me so I can take your account details and check the warranty?
Your description of "just shows 0.00 kWh while the solar panels are generating more than enough" matches exactly what I saw at two other houses who have SMETS meters and rooftop solar. Your in-home-display (IHD) is doing what I saw at those other houses, which was as pictured above.
I don't have any SMETS "smart" meter at all. I bought online a thing called an Efergy home energy monitor (more than 12 years ago and it still works) which has a current transformer ('CT') clamp around N at the meter tails, to monitor in real time root mean square ('RMS') net currrent Amps in or out of the house, multiply by 0.24 kiloVolts and display to the wireless display on the coffee table the net kiloWatts ('kW'). That is, 1.6 kW generating from the solar panels and 0.4 kW being used in the house displays about '1.2 kW' for example. I say 'about' because some modern appliances use an ugly waveform which does not perfectly match the nice sinewave being generated, so if it displays less than about '0.3' that does not tell you whether the house was generating or using or sloshing up and down some untidy milliseconds of electricity. The surest way to tell is to activate a known load such as the kettle for ten seconds to check whether the unsigned indicated kW was from the house generating or using.
If your goal is to have an in-home display which is sufficient to show you when you have enough solar surplus that you could switch on the oven or the microwave for free cooking, the Efergy in home energy monitor is sufficient, and is more useful than the IHD which I saw with those SMETS meters.
You could install one yourself because it is a clip thing which goes around the outside of the meter tails with no opportunity to touch any dangerous electrical parts. I use rechargable 1.2Volt AA batteries which I take out to charge every two or three months. There is nothing to stop you from having your own device displaying net kW, as risk-reduction, just in case their 'smart' meter won't do that.
Hi @neilmorgan. I don't know if you ever resolved this but my IHD is exactly the same as yours and my smart meter was installed by EON. When my solar panels produce more than I use and I'm exporting to the grid, as you are expecting, an electricity pylon appears on the display and the power value is how much I am currently exporting to the grid. This continued to be the case when I moved suppliers to Octopus. Therefore what you are expecting is correct. The only way this might not occur is if you have a battery storage system running with your solar PV. Even then the reading may often be close to zero but you would still expect to see the pylon even if you are only exporting small amounts like 50W.
The reason I have posted is that I am helping out some friends with their solar system and their IHD remains at zero with no pylon when they are quite obviously exporting. I believe it is a config issue with their smart meter.
Not all IHD's are compatible with solar, is the system compatible? The Ivie is compatible however states the pylon will only show on net exporting. In terms of the smart meter, the only role this would have in this would be to record physical export, for which will start recording this once the system starts to export 0.5kw.
In terms of readings or data, we would not accept anything from an IHD anyway.
I hope you find the information you're looking for or if you need anything pop me a message.
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