Are my solar PV panels connected to my smart meter and measuring my exports correctly?

I would contact your energy provider (billing company) because I would imagine they won’t be happy that anyone has wired anything on the grid side of the meter (perhaps mention the term “bypassed the meter”). Failing that the DNO would be the next call.
Do you have the building regs electrical certificate from the installer? 

!!!WARNING! CRITICAL SAFETY ISSUES DETECTED!!!

Please contact your DNO immediately in the morning.

That clown of an electrician has made your setup extremely unsafe. The meter tails should be the same size throughout the entire installation and absolutely nothing should be wired grid side except for the Service Fuse and Import Meter. This is technically meter bypassing and could get you in trouble for abstracting electricity. I’m satisfied you’re not doing it deliberately, so I won’t report this to Stay Energy Safe but this really needs to be fixed ASAP.

In the meantime, please consider shutting down your solar panels and inverter, to prevent any back feeding or potential fires. This installation completely fails code and should never have been done this way.

I strongly recommend you report the installer to the authorities as well. As far as I’m concerned, they appear to be a cowboy and shouldn’t be allowed to continue.

I’m seriously concerned that this is also the case for other installations as well. Please could you send a link to this thread to the council for us? They will want to see this.

Don’t get discouraged by their telephone response, they are off-guard and on-guard at the same time! A telephone call rarely cuts it.

Continue to write to the responsible Council team and write to the installer to let them know that they are liable for any faulty wiring and that they should send a senior engineer to inspect. I am not sure the DNS would engage but this is because my DNS did not when I attempted but you could try. 

It’s important at this stage for you to relay the difference in the wiring diagrams and that your grid meter is not recognising any Export values! All diagrams and photo evidence should support your correspondence. These things rarely are solved quickly you will need patience and belief to continue to stand your ground. 

One other route you could try is to call in your electrical supply company, like EON, EDF or British Gas and get them to rewire it and write a report. You then INVOICE the original electrical installer pursue with a small claims court if they fail to reimburse you. 

All the best
Matt

The easiest way to explain the error is as follows;

Incorrect wiring has the DNS outputs errantly removed from the Grid Meter and terminated in a junction box which is shared with the solar inverter, the consumer unit & the grid meter.  [Note: The DNS direct outputs cannot be removed from the Grid Meter, nor be split, shared or go indirectly to the Grid Meter.]

Correct wiring has the DNS outputs kept straight to the Grid Meter. The Solar Inverter PV supply is terminated in a junction box and is shared with the Consumer Unit and the other side of the Grid Meter. 

I will get around to it had a hectic day today with drunken scaffolding removers, but that’s another story :-)

Not seen any Building regs or electrical cert from installer.

Thanks again for all responses.

Thank you. I will take on your advice, had a mad day today.

Thanks for all information. 

Paul.

Gosh, it’s been a while but it looks like this is going to be sorted very soon.

We had it looked at by someone from the council and he said it is wired incorrectly !

Much nonsense has happened over the last few months and I will update the forum with the events later as it’s been an interesting journey.

Again thanks for all the Help/comments.

Hi.  I have been looking into my parents Solar Setup, and concerned if it is set up correctly and actually supplying the house the energy it generates.  Also worried if they have been scammed / miss sold battery storage.

From the paperwork I can find:

Initial install was 2012. FIT is via OVO energy.  Energy supplied by EDF.   They had a EDF Smart meter Fitted Aug 23.  One Battery was installed a few years ago,  and also 2 more last year.  That makes 3 x Pylontech USC2000 batteries in total.

Their Electric bills from EDF for June 23 - June 24, totalled over 11000 kwh.  That seems very high. They are on E7 rate.

Also when I checked usage on EDF Hub for one week start of june.  Smart meter said we used 73 kwh from EDF, yet when I logged onto the Solar Panel system, it had generated over 140 kwh the same period. 

Does this seem right? Im thinking I need to get someone to give it a check and make sure it is correct.  Would an independent Solar Panel installer be the best, what creditation should i look for.  Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

Howdy @NGJ !

Just reading so far, it looks like we need some more info from you.

Please could you show us photos of the current setup if possible? This will help us figure this one out for you.

I will let the others know you stopped by - we have a few people here who might be able to give their thoughts.

Thanks!

Hi. Yes I can take a picture.  Should be back at their house tomorrow. Thanks

Hi @NGJ , if you have any historical information regarding usage and any significant changes that would help too.

It’s not an unusual figure but it can depend on how the system is set up (whether it charges the battery overnight etc). A name and model of the inverter would also help

Hi. I have retrieved the past bills now, so will analyse yearly usage and any pattern of change since system was initially installed and also after batteries were installed last year .

I'll provide details of this,  and rest of required info shortly.

Thanks 

Very good - Will look out for an update. Just another thing to remember is that the solar app generally isn’t too accurate so that might be something to consider.
As for accreditation, MCS is usually the way to go but it’s difficult to advise without knowing the full details. Which system do you use to look at the figures by the way?

Hey @NGJ & welcome to the community! 

It looks like @Blastoise186 and @BPLightlog, some of our volunteers, have already stopped by to offer their invaluable expertise and a warm hello!
 
We’ll keep an eye on the thread for updates from you, and the more information you can supply, the bigger the picture of how we can help! The only thing I would highlight is that we can’t have anything personal, such as account numbers, visible, etc. Other than that, you’re welcome to give everyone a rundown on your setup so we can start giving you the best advice! 

I have a standalone (non feed in tariff) set up at home - PV panels to my home grid feeding an EV and separate 5kw battery storage.

Since having my smart meter fitted it appears that my smart meter is registering the solar PV production as use from the grid, which is increasing my bill by the production amount … What's going on or what is not set up correctly ?

Hi ​@dms66 ,

Sounds like something downstream from the Meter isn’t wired up properly. You might want to get the installer to check

​@dms66 that phenomenon is often caused by an incorrect orientation of the CT clamp which monitors household consumption. 
A photo of your main wiring near your meter might give a clue

Hey ​@dms66, 

If you’re able to upload a few photo’s of your current setup then we’ll be able to give your more advice. Both ​@Blastoise186 and ​@BPLightlog are on the same track that it sounds like an issue with the wiring. 

Keep us updated!