Do shareholders now own the sunshine? My usage had actually gone up after Solar Panels?

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
October 30, 2023
64 replies
811 views

Since the installation of solar panels my electricity usage has gone up 12 fold. During that time, if all is working correctly, I have also used the 700 KWs generated by my solar panels which means my actual usage has gone up far more than 12 fold. Is it possible that the energy generated by my solar panels is adding to my meter readings, in othervwords benefitting the electric company rather than me? Might they have been wired incorrectly?

Best answer by LordHarry

This was posted in another thread a while back:

Honeywell Elster AS300P (SMETS1)
To get an export reading from this smart meter:

Press and hold the grey middle button until the main menu loads up
‘General’ should appear on-screen – press and hold the middle button again to select this option
‘Time & Date’ should be visible – now scroll with the bottom button until you see ‘TOU Registers’
Press and hold the middle button once more will hovering over ‘TOU Registers’ and you should now see ‘Cum. Exp.’ with a value underneath it.

If it reads zero then your export is definitely being ‘seen’ as consumption.

This is not a matter for the solar installer though as it is Scottish Power’s meter that is not doing what it needs to do. The cause may be that, as I understand it, the smart meter has to be correctly set up to measure export as well as consumption – as the solar panels were installed after the smart meter then this may not be the case with yours.

If you export value is zero then tell Scottish Power that they need to pull their finger out and reset your meter.

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Sand1R0seAuthor

Rank 2

OK thanks. As I can't seem to get any response from installers I'm trying to locate an electrician locally who can advise.

BPLightlog

Super User

OK thanks. As I can't seem to get any response from installers I'm trying to locate an electrician locally who can advise.

In case it’s of any use here’s a link to MCS registered companies - they are certified for micro generation systems

https://mcscertified.com/find-an-installer/

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

Jeffus

Rank 20

Did you manage to sort out your issues @Sand1R0se

Sand1R0seAuthor

Rank 2

Not yet I'm afraid. I've been promised a visit by an Electric Supervisor on 28th November.

I have an ASHP which was only commissioned about 7 weeks after the solar panel installation which coincided with the huge hike in my energy usage. People point the finger at the ASHP but it didn't even exist in August and most of September. Now I never use the ASHP unless the battery has charge, using a solid fuel fire instead, but still I'm using ridiculous amounts of electricity.

juliamc

Rank 20

Just a point about using your heat pump, it runs most efficiently when ticking over 24/7 at a low temperature. Are you stopping and starting it to only use stored electricity from your battery? That is going to use a lot of electricity.

Sand1R0seAuthor

Rank 2

What sort of temperature do you suggest?

juliamc

Rank 20

For example my heat pump is currently giving a radiator temperature of 34 degrees, it’s 10 degrees outside (I’m in South East England). I’m getting an indoor temperature of 22 degrees. Yesterday was a similar temperature and it used 9kWh for heating.