[RonS1]

@Lee_EONNext I don't think you read my post properly. My friend's IHD is the exact same model as mine. Her IHD never shows the pylon no matter how much she is currently exporting i.e. when the "now" button is selected. My IHD does show the pylon when "now" is selected and I am exporting, no matter how small the current export is. Currently it was showing 18W with the pylon so meaning that I was exporting 18W and soon after it showed no pylon and 109W, meaning I was drawing 109W from the grid. This effectively is real time display going on here, not some net total over a period.

Back to my actual question. Why does the same model IHD vary in its behaviour and how can the ones that don't show the pylon for "current export now" be upgraded?
As you appear to be from EON I would expect your organisation to know.

[retrotecchie]

@RonS1

The IHDs may be identical, but are the meters and the communication hubs? Not all meters can provide export data across the HAN.

[RonS1]

Is there a list of SMETS2 meters and whether they provide export data access?

[retrotecchie]

@RonS1

Oh that there was. Us end users aren't given full manuals for the meters and as the meters are the sole responsibility of the suppliers, the meter manufacturers don't have very much data in the public domain.

The purpose of a meter is to provide an accurate means of recording energy used. No more, no less. Any other 'features' are not for us 'great unwashed' to know.

[RonS1]

Sorry but you are not correct. There are manuals available on-line for the two smart meters I have dealt with and I suspect for many others. Just Google the smart meter model.

[meldrewreborn]

@RonS1

the manuals that are available are largely superficial and provide little or no technical information. So when @retrotecchie used the term “full manuals” it wasn’t an accident. Both of you are correct but it’s like apples and pears.

[RonS1]

I agree that manuals are not handed to customers but this is the sort of manual I have obtained on the internet for my meter. It's pretty detailed.

[meldrewreborn]

@RonS1

unfortunately there are hundreds of meter models, and what is available in terms of user guides has no consistency

[RonS1]

I guess I'm not going to get an answer on sorting out IHDs on this forum so I'll do some investigation myself. However as an interim point here's some info on documentation that other people might find useful ....

https://www.smartme.co.uk/documents.html

[meldrewreborn]

@RonS1

suppliers don’t regard IHDs as an essential bit of kit and outside of the 12 month warranty period completely wash their hands of any problems. Which, given the TV ads which concentrate on their usefulness, is deplorable.

Apart from there being so many meters, associated communications hubs, IHDs, plus configuration of the meters, plus different solar installations, I think your entirely reasonable expectations are not going to be easily realised.

my own smart meter journey is in abeyance, and I’ve always been naturally sceptical of their benefits, although all consumers are paying handsomely for a defective system. Good luck in your research and please post back if (when?) you find the answer.