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1150 Topic threads
Tim_OVO
Community Manager
Tim_OVOCommunity Manager
posted in Home and heating
Air source heat pumps (ASHP) and drainage - Why do heat pumps emit so much water?

As we’ve got plenty of Air-Source Heat Pump early adopters here, we’re hoping you might be able to share your experience of a little discussed aspects of your heating system: drainage. Have you noticed your outside unit emitting water? If so are there any factors that increase or decrease the amount of water released? 

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juliamc
Carbon Catcher***
2 years ago
C
Carbon Cutter*****
chartmanCarbon Cutter*****
Posted in Smart meters
Can I use a Zigbee HAN packet analyser to help identify my smart meter In-Home Display (IHD) issues? My current supplier can't help!

Does anyone know if any of the smart meter suppliers ( Landis/Itro/Chameleon et al) use HAN zigbee debugging tolls? I just need to know if such debugging tools exist ( like Wireshark for network/LAN/wi-fi debugging packets). My energy supplier can’t fix my IHD problem and just say ‘ we don’t know what the problem is.’

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C
Carbon Cutter*****
3 years ago
Jess_OVO
Retired Moderator
Jess_OVORetired Moderator
Posted in Home and heating
Air-Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) and radiator replacement: How to work out the optimum radiator size for maximum efficiency?

Updated on 21/06/24 by ChristopherS_OVO: We’ve been keeping an eye out for some commonly asked heat pump questions our community members might be able to offer insight on. As we’ve pretty thoroughly covered pipe insulation, now it’s the turn of the radiators. How many of you were able to keep the existing radiators when your heat pumps were fitted, and if these needed replacing how were the new radiator sizes worked out?  Do any of you have heat pumps powering underfloor heating in any part of your home and was this existing or has it been added along with the heat pump?  How is someone that’s considering a heat pump able to review their current radiators to know if they’re suitable or will need replacing? Tips and advice needed here! Be great if anyone’s happy to share any before/after photos of any changes made to their radiator/underfloor heating set-up too.

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S
Carbon Catcher*
3 years ago
M
Carbon Cutter*****
Mbu1982Carbon Cutter*****
Posted in Home and heating
The import readings on my Secure Liberty S1 meter don't match the energy purchased figure on my Solar PV and Home Energy Inverter - Which figure is correct?

Updated on 14/12/23 by Emmanuelle_OVO: - Note that this discussion originated on our Secure Liberty 100 Smart Meter guide topic Hi Tim, Can you please confirm if the Historical data shown should match to the import readings? For instance the historical data says I used 600kwh for September and the import readings say I used 800kwh.  Should these figures match?  If not, why not? Thanks,Joe

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M
Carbon Cutter*****
3 years ago
D
New Member***
DaveRalphNew Member***
Posted in Home and heating
How can I link my Tado smart thermostat to my OVO account?

I have a Tado system, had it before joining OVO, installed it all myself with the wireless extension kit as our combi boiler is in the loft and TRVs on all Rads.Best solution I could find as the system supports the OpenTherm bus standard (amongst others) for those boilers that can use it.I saw that there is meant to be a way of linking your Tado account to your OVO account. I had a Smart Meter installed a couple of months back and was hoping that this would trigger the ability to link, but still nothing.I have called customer services, but they aren't sure. I have sent an email over 10 days ago, but only had the auto response saying please allow 5 days for a response. The help topic mentions a Smart Devices option in the Menu, but it isn't there for me.Does anyone know how this is meant to be achieved?Are you meant to have purchased the system through OVO to get something to kick in? Thanks for any advice.David

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Mw2870
Carbon Catcher***
3 years ago
W
Carbon Cutter****
WB01Carbon Cutter****
Posted in Smart meters
The schedule of my storage heaters doesn't match the off-peak hours on my plan - Can you help me adjust the time switch?

My storage heaters currently come on 1030pm-1230am and then go off for two hours before again coming on 2:30am-7:30am. My e7 night rate MPAN 16 appears to run between 12am- 7am so I’m wondering is it possible to sync the storage heaters to the night rate?

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Jess_OVO
Retired Moderator
3 years ago
bojack10
Carbon Cutter****
bojack10Carbon Cutter****
Posted in Smart meters
If I switch to OVO, can my Honeywell AS300P (SMETS1) smart meter be changed from single rate to Economy 7 tariff remotely?

I recently moved in to a property with a Honeywell AS300P (SMETS1) smart meter on a standard single rate tariff. I would like to switch to a dual-rate Economy 7 tariff but I’m finding it very difficult to find information about exactly how to do that. Some suppliers simply don’t offer it.  Some suppliers say they offer it but only for homes with storage heaters. Some suppliers say a new meter will need to be installed by an engineer.So I would like to ask: if I switch to OVO, is it possible for my meter to be changed/re-programmeed into an Economy 7 mode remotely, without an engineer?Secondly, while I’m on the topic, does OVO offer upgrades from SMETS1 meters to the newer SMETS2 versions?Thanks!

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Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
3 years ago
Gum168
Carbon Cutter*****
Gum168Carbon Cutter*****
Posted in Electric vehicles
One year on review - loving our BMW i3! Electric vehicle (EV) ReviewEV Review

Updated on 23/06/23 by Tim_OVO​: OVO are now fitting electric vehicle (EV) smart chargers.  The smart chargers we fit are compatible with OVO’s Charge Anytime add on, for super cheap EV charging any time of the day.  Considering making the change to an Electric Vehicle? Check out the great advice our community members have shared on what to consider when buying an EV over here.We’ve also got some great EV owner reviews like the one below and this Tesla Model 3 review. We bought our first EV in June 2017, so we are just over a year on. We have a BMW i3. I'll admit we wimped out a bit and got the rex (range extender), due to range anxiety. Turned out at should have saved the extra rex cost, as it's barely been used. We very quickly got used to checking where charge points are available. We haven't ventured from Yorkshire to London yet, but that's mainly due to the fact that we need a larger car to transport my elderly father and his wheel chair when there.We were keen to try electric, bu

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Jess_OVO
Retired Moderator
3 years ago
J
Carbon Cutter*****
James_NCarbon Cutter*****
Posted in Smart meters
Is it essential to have a smart meter to apply for the Smart Export Guarantee? I'm looking to install solar panels but am in a poor signal area - what can I do?

@Tim_OVO  could you please help out by putting this question in the best forum and maybe tagging a few helpful people?I am getting solar panels installed soon. My understanding is to put excess electricity into the grid and get paid a bit for it, I need a smart meter. I requested one from my electricity supplier (so sorry, not OVO, I need to switch!) and was told:We’re sorry to say we can’t install smart meters for you at present.There isn’t strong enough smart meter network coverage at your property. That means a smart meter wouldn’t be able to send or receive information.Does this mean there is no way to get paid under SEG scheme for this? A bit of googling suggest the meter connects via a mobile signal? I don’t understand why this wouldn’t work. Any help understanding this from this awesome community gratefully received James  

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Jess_OVO
Retired Moderator
3 years ago
Mark C
Carbon Cutter*****
Mark CCarbon Cutter*****
Posted in Smart meters
I have a three-phase supply and am looking to install solar panels and a Home Energy Storage battery. Would I need a Single-phase or Three-phase inverter?

We have a three phase supply with an Aclara SGM1433-B smart meter We are looking at Solar PV with a storage battery and have had a number of companies provide initial information and quotations.One thing nobody seems to agree on is if we should have a single phase or three phase inverter.  We have been asked if our meter supports phase vectoring but cannot work this out…Has anyone else come across this type of question or considered this position?Thanks in anticipation

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Transparent
Carbon Catcher***
3 years ago
N
Carbon Cutter****
normal normanCarbon Cutter****
Posted in Smart meters
Smart meter In home Display- Why does it show some over-night costs for electricity, but not gas?

Our IHD is set to show usage “so far today”, and as expected it starts every day showing £0.00 for gas.  However, it always shows £0.32 for electricity at 6am ,when all that’s plugged in and switched on overnight is the fridge-freezer, which is AA rated and never opened after 7pm.  Can that really be the culprit?

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S
Carbon Catcher*
3 years ago
Crìstian
Carbon Cutter*
CrìstianCarbon Cutter*
Posted in Home and heating
I've recently installed a new Valliant Combi Boiler - what's the most efficient temperature to set?

Hi, fellow OVOers,About 5wks we [my wife & I] got a new heating system installed. Our previous one was a Vented System [with a cold water cistern in the loft & a copper boiler in airing cupboard]Our new heating system is a Combi Boiler [Vaillant ecoFIT sustain] Does any of you OVOers on here, have this system? If so I want to pick your brains, so to speak lol :)What is the best 'Energy Efficient' temperature to have Boiler at and also to have Rads at & Hot Water at? We have a 2 bedroomed up/down house, smallish kitchen & bathroom, bottom hallway, stairs, top hallway & a back porch of the kitchen no need for rad there, we have 7 [various sizes] rads in our homeI've been doing some online research on this subject but didn't really yet any straightforward answers, too many variables.  That's the boiler/rads temp.  That's the room temp but, we have the TRVs on the rads in the kitchen, bedrooms, bathroom, upstairs & hallways set at a lower temp than the living room. 

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Tim_OVO
Community Manager
3 years ago
Transparent
Carbon Catcher***
TransparentCarbon Catcher***
posted in Home and heating
Open LV Trial - Making local substation data available to community groups

.OpenLV is a ground-breaking project that’s making local electricity data openly available for the first time ever, to benefit local communities and the wider energy industry. OpenLV is led by project partners Western Power Distribution and EA Technology. It is funded by Ofgem’s Network Innovation Competition. Project partner CSE is leading the community engagement, to support communities to access their local electricity data for local benefit. Regen is leading the evaluation of community groups taking part in OpenLV.The OpenLV Project is trialling an open software platform in electricity substations that can monitor substation performance and electricity demand. The LV-CAP (TM) platform is designed to integrate with third party products to enable network control and automation, and increased customer participation in network management. The platform will host applications provided by a diverse set of developers, such as community groups, businesses and universities, providing a varie

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Transparent
Carbon Catcher***
3 years ago
Jeffus
Plan Zero Hero
JeffusPlan Zero Hero
posted in Electric vehicles
Looking into getting an Electric van/campervan (EV) - anyone got any tips?

Has anyone got any experience of small electric vans?We haven't had a car for many years.Just have an 18 year old petrol little Suzuki Carry van that we have had since new converted into a micro campervan.

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Jess_OVO
Retired Moderator
3 years ago
E
Carbon Catcher*
EverythingNeedsAUserNameCarbon Catcher*
posted in Home and heating
Installing a tado Smart Thermostat - easy yet difficult - looking positive and already helping

All was going swimmingly. The app installed. The tado arrived. I started the process and the app asked for the name and model number of thermostat and boiler controller. Happily it recognised my specific British gas models. Each device installation begins with scanning its QR code, and you are then given simple diagrams and instructions. The app led me step-by-step, screen by screen, through the installation, using in part generic diagrams and in part model-specific wiring guides. At each step, you have to touch the confirm button before the app lets you see the next step. You cannot look ahead.       First is installing the Internet bridge, which has short 25cm ethernet and usb cables. Happily my router had both an unused ethernet socket and a usb slot. So the power comes from that, and I didn't need the supplied mains charger. The app checks that it has connected up properly. I then got a welcome email from tado.Then you switch off the power to the heating syste

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Jeffus
Plan Zero Hero
3 years ago
C
Carbon Cutter*
chafranCarbon Cutter*
Posted in Smart meters
How to read an Economy 7 Honeywell AS302P S2 smart meter - User GuideTutorial

Updated on 14/08/24 by Emmanuelle_OVO:   Contrary to some statements I’ve read on the forum we had this Honeywell AS302P smart meter 2 installed by an OVO engineer and initially it worked very well, so I stopped my monthly monitoring of our energy usage.  Sadly a few months ago it stopped sending electric meter reading data to my Ovo account (the gas meter readings continued uninterrupted!).  So I was back to reading the meter and trying to submit these to OVO manually.  The problem was to identify the sequence of button presses that will enable me to display and read the day/night readings.  Despite several searches of this forum I found no clear guidance, apart from “press the buttons”.  With the help of the meter reader that Ovo eventually had to send, I have identified the sequence of button pushes and displays necessary to find and read the day/night electric readings.  I submit them here to help anyone else facing this issue. Honeywell AS302P Smet2 From the default display, the b

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Tim_OVO
Community Manager
3 years ago
Tim_OVO
Community Manager
Tim_OVOCommunity Manager
Posted in Smart meters
Honeywell (Elster) electricity and gas 'SMETS2' smart meter guideTutorial

Updated on 19/07/24 by Shads_OVO Honeywell (Elster) AS302P ‘SMETS2’ electricity meter guide Have you got a Honeywell smart meter and you want to know a bit more about it? Not sure what you have installed? We’ve got you covered. In this guide, we’ll be talking about a Honeywell SMETS2 meter, which stands for ‘Smart Meter Equipment Technical Specifications’ 2. Although OVO doesn’t install these meters, this second generation of smart meter should be able to communicate with any and all suppliers via a central system.  How to identify if I have a Honeywell (Elster) AS302P (SMETS2) electricity meter Image courtesy of @chafran and their topic here As the image shows, the meter serial number (MSN) begins with either 188K/19K. Dimensions of Honeywell (Elster) AS302P (SMETS2) electricity meter These dimensions don’t include the communications hub which sits on top of the meter if they’re set up as SMETS2 smart meters What to do if the meter isn’t working? The smart meter should be sending your

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Tim_OVO
Community Manager
3 years ago
P
Carbon Cutter*
PhilHollingtonCarbon Cutter*
Posted in Smart meters
How can I use my new smart meters to show the export reading for my Solar PV panels?

My new meter, installed Monday, does not seem to show solar PV generation or export, and the old solar meter is still in place. Is this normal?

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sylm_2000
Carbon Catcher*
3 years ago
Transparent
Carbon Catcher***
TransparentCarbon Catcher***
Posted in Home and heating
Solar Photovoltaic (PV) panels - Self installation GuideTutorial

Updated on 14/12/23 by Emmanuelle_OVO: One of our community members has written this guide to help if you’re planning a DIY-approach to installing some solar panels. It’s worth mentioning that the instructions below are followed at your own risk, If you’re not sure you can manage installing solar panels yourself we’d recommend consulting a MCS registered installer.Check out this topic to find out more about OVO’s Solar Offering:   I’ve been using PV Solar Panels off-grid for about 20 years. I have built a number of devices which can use the DC power directly rather than convert it to 230v AC mains first. I even have solar-powered chickens with timed coop-lighting which fools them into thinking they have Mediterranean day-lengths. Lots more eggs battery hens?This year (2021) I’ve started an extensive revamp of my rooftop solar panels, and had one completely new array installed professionally by an MCS-accredited company. That allows those panels to be grid-connected either using an inve

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Transparent
Carbon Catcher***
3 years ago
J
Carbon Cutter*****
James_NCarbon Cutter*****
posted in Home and heating
Solar PV panels, iboost (PV diverter) and an air source heat pump (ASHP) is it cost effective?

Hi all, Just starting the process of getting solar installed (ie getting quotes). I’m sure i will have more questions on this to come, but here is my first.There is a product called iboost that takes excess electricity you are creating from PV, which is going back into the grid, and uses it / some of it to create hot water via the immersion.The question is, as I now have a ASHP, is this of any use? My thinking on this is that if I had 2kWh of ‘spare’electricity from PV, then via the immersion I get roughly 2kWh of heat. But (assuming a HW COP of 2) it would only take 1kWh of electric to do the same via the heat pump. That leaves 1kWh spare which I might get paid 5p for, or at least someone else can use as green energy.The only thing I can think is that the ASHP is only heating up to 50 degrees. The immersion could push that up to say 65 degrees. This has two benefits i think. 1) the legionella setting does this every 7 days, so I might be able to turn that off (maybe) and be using PV t

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Transparent
Carbon Catcher***
3 years ago
G
Carbon Cutter****
glasseyCarbon Cutter****
Posted in Smart meters
Gas supply into meter but house is off supply - question mark on display screen of my SMETS2 UniFlo Flonidan smart meter?

My boiler stopped working and the boiler engineer has just been and checked the boiler and the meter and says that there is gas supply into the meter but not out.OVO is closed until Monday. Do I have other options to get it working again before then?

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Transparent
Carbon Catcher***
3 years ago
H
Carbon Catcher*
hydrosamCarbon Catcher*
Posted in Home and heating
Solar PV (photovoltaic) diverters for heating and hot waterTutorial

Updated on 21/06/24 by ChristopherS_OVO:Have you heard? We’re not installing solar! Find out more here:  Solar PV (photovoltaic) diverters are a small unit that diverts unused electricity generated by the solar panels to the immersion heater of your domestic hot water tank. Mine cost about £80 from eBay and I fitted it myself (but most would need an electrician). For the home owner this means when you aren’t using the electricity your solar panels are generating it will divert the ‘spare’ electricity to the immersion heater rather than exporting to the grid. On good days it will provide all of the heating to your hot water tank. If you are on a Feed in tariff you get paid your 50% of generated export payment regardless of whether you’ve actually exported 100% or 0% to the grid (*moderator note: this only applies if you don’t have a smart meter, which can measure export exactly). So financially it’s a pretty worthwhile addition but as @Transparent pointed out it’s also a selfish technol

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Transparent
Carbon Catcher***
3 years ago
R
New Member**
Robinson_42New Member**
Posted in Smart meters
In-Home Display (IHD) showing 60p of energy usage first thing in the morning - Why?

My smart meter tells me that I have used 55/60 pence of electricity/gas when I get up before I use anything. Is this the daily standing charge?

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Jess_OVO
Retired Moderator
3 years ago
C
Carbon Cutter****
Chisi1Carbon Cutter****
Posted in Home and heating
Replacing oil fired central heating with storage batteries and off peak power - is this possible without solar panels?

We currently use electricity for general lighting, cooking and heating three upstairs bedrooms and two bathrooms with far infrared ceiling panels.Downstairs radiators and water heating are through an oil fired boiler.We plan to stay in the house for at least ten more years and would be really interested in replacing the oil fired system with a completely electric system (even if we don’t get all our money back) using cheap off peak power and batteries.If we got rid of the oil tank, we have a large concrete base that could house these.We’d need a water heating system and six new electric radiators.Can current batteries large enough to last the whole day, especially in winter, be charged up from off peak power?We live in an old Grade II listed building and do not want to use solar panels.Is this is a feasible option?

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Transparent
Carbon Catcher***
3 years ago
G
Carbon Cutter****
gooner1511Carbon Cutter****
Posted in Smart meters
My smart meter fitting experience resulted in gas supply being capped as the engineer thought they identified a spillage with my gas fire appliance...

Hi everyone,Thought I'd leave my tale of woe about my smart meter installation.New smart meters fitted Jan 19th(already had smart meters which were working!!)for whatever reason. Installer fitted both electric and gas meters and gave me the Ihd for them.He then tested gas meter told me I had a 2mbar drop on gas pressure (4mbar permitted),then he told me I had spillage in my gas fire and capped my supply off.Opens his phone and tells me to look on yell.com(yellow pages) I need a gas engineer to come sort the problem out.So Jan 19th no central heating and no hot water.... wonderful.Electric meter installed working  ok Installer then turns the ihd device on and says this could take 24-48 hours to sort itself out.Luckily for me I'm friends with a plumber who's gas Safe registered he came round redid the pressure drop test with a digital meter with printout (not the water gauge the installer used) and this recorded a drop of 0.79mbar which he said is absolutely fine. The condemned gas fire,

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Tim_OVO
Community Manager
3 years ago

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