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Rank 1
May 4, 2022
Solved

Can I connect my In Home Display (IHD) to my Solar Inverter to show my exported energy?

  • May 4, 2022
  • 25 replies
  • 2426 views

Does OVO supply a type of In Home Display unit for smart meters which also shows generation from solar panels?  Where can I find user and  installation instructions?   I want to know if there is a meaningful comparison of electricity usage vs generation (including setting FiT rates), and I want to know how it connects e.g. to inverter’s wifi or current clamp onto solar wire.  

Best answer by ArundaleP

Hi, this is an interesting and important topic. If all you want to know is how much you are exporting at that moment (a dial / live reading) then the IHD should show a negative reading for consumption. The problem is there are several types of meter (Smets 1 or Smets 2) and the different data they transmit. As far as I know, both will allow a live reading (which shows energy flow at the meter at that moment) but only Smets 2 has the ability to show export meters (ie a separate meter in kWh for how much you exported). 
I don’t use the OVO supplied IHD but use a product called the Glow Stick by Hildebrand which has a great app with lots of data (including live electricity flow through the meter). The app looks like this

You can clearly see my current export is 2700W.

You can purchase the Glow Stick from their website but make sure you purchase the correct one depending on your smart meter type (Smets 1 or Smets 2).

 

If you have any questions, fire away.

 

Paul

25 replies

BPLightlog
Super User
Super User
March 25, 2025

There are parts of your graph (green and blue, either side of zero) which look like they might be activity to/from the battery. 
So as ​@waltyboy mentioned, there could be parts of your grid input which are on top of true home consumption - but of course your meter (and IHD) will log these as usage.

If there’s another part of your data that shows the battery state of charge (Soc), that might help to make sense of it all. The info from your SolaX system is ‘part of’ the overall picture and so consumption won’t be the two parts added together.

Bring me Sunshine ~ E&E {Solar PV, Battery Storage, Hybrid EV, ASHP and Home Assistant automation}
Newcomer
March 25, 2025

Thankyou BPLightlog - I can see the battery state of charge and will keep reviewing daily data and hopefully the penny will drop one day!

waltyboy
Rank 8
Rank 8
March 25, 2025

Hi ​@jtleavesley (and ​@BPLightlog, who is much more au fait with this stuff than I am), one thing to be careful about when charging batteries using your panels, although a thoroughly excellent idea in itself, is to watch like a hawk any additional grid charging that automatically occurs when the panels can’t quite cope on their own: typically at night of course, but even at times during the day especially during the winter months when the batteries are getting hit hard anyway and the panels are dark for much of the day.  
 

Have no fear, using batteries to store excess panel production (supplemented by the grid as necessary) is definitely the way to go, although it’s only really started to get routinely adopted in the last few years or so. Plus, as we head out of March now into longer brighter days you’ll really start to see more and more of that lovely PV production. Assuming your panels are in the UK.

 

Keep us posted on developments as your system really starts to stretch its legs!  Just watch that grid top-up and make sure you control when it occurs….for example a lot of people time it to occur during cheap tariff rates at night, but it would be of little use re-charging your battery at night while the house was busy using your battery storage. What could work for you would be to use your PV panels first and foremost for the house as and when they can contribute, and then any surplus production to go automatically into the batteries to be discharged later for the hours when your panels are unproductive.  I guess that’s one way your system may be designed anyway? And as ​@BPLightlog and you have homed in on, keeping a sharp weather eye on your battery SoC will be paramount, particularly when the seasons, and our own usage habits, are changing in Spring and Autumn. 
 

 

Walt. 2013: 3.2kW PV East/West + Fronius IG, >26MWh (of which, to date mid-2025, 20MWh exported). 2023: 2.4kWh LiFePo4 battery. 2024: Tadö wireless smart stat v3; Electriq split unit 2.6kW AAHP (“air conditioner”).
Newcomer
March 27, 2025

Solar generation at 17.00 today 27.5kWh which I’m super happy with. The battery is 100% full and the solar is still generating. I would have earned £4 yesterday and £5 today if I could have exported to the grid but I haven’t yet managed to get DNO approval or selected an export tariff yet. Something I will be doing as soon as possible. I’ve tweaked the schedule time for heating my 210l hot water cylinder and that’s made a saving of around £1 yesterday compare to the day before but it was super sunny yesterday which will have helped as the hot water is heated during 11am to 5pm time slot with a couple of hours top up between 5am to 7am in the morning. My electric bill for yesterday was £3.30. I will look to lower this if I can through further tweaks and optimisations. Enjoying the challenge.

Newcomer
March 27, 2025

Looking into the data - I see that £4 & £5 earnings would have been achieved by utilising a TOU tariff not through exporting back to the grid. I’ll have to spend more time trying to get a better understanding once I’ve switched to an energy provider offering the best ASHP & SEG tariffs. I’m looking at Octopus. Any thoughts?