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S
Rank 2
Sand1R0se
Rank 2
October 30, 2023
Solved

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

  • 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:

    1. Press and hold the grey middle button until the main menu loads up
    2. ‘General’ should appear on-screen – press and hold the middle button again to select this option
    3. ‘Time & Date’ should be visible – now scroll with the bottom button until you see ‘TOU Registers’
    4. 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.

     

    64 replies

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    juliamc
    Rank 20
    juliamc
    Rank 20
    November 22, 2023

    That’s a very good question! Is it a Logic Air Heat Pump ? I’ve had a look through the user guide (and the installer guide) and I can see a section on the heat pump screen for User Information. Unfortunately there’s no further info about what’s available in that subsection. Do you have a manual ? 

    S
    Rank 2
    Sand1R0seAuthor
    Rank 2
    November 22, 2023

    I will look for one and let you know. Thank you.

    S
    Rank 2
    Sand1R0seAuthor
    Rank 2
    December 2, 2023

    An update on the farce here.

    It has turned out that my battery has not been discharging to household appliances at all but when full discharging to the grid and being registered as usage. Of course my usage has then gone on top of that resulting in solar panels being the most expensive items I have ever had installed. So, in this case, yes, the shareholders have made money out of the sunshine that has hit my south facing roof for the last 4 months.

    There may be some comeback in the future regarding the hundreds of kilowatts I have kindly given to Scottish Power. If the total amount exported to them since the beginning of August can be estimated they might pay me back at a third of what i have had to buy energy off them as the enery in my battery was not available to me.

    However, Scottish Power have restrictions. One is that they will only consider paying me for the maximum amount they allow me to export and I'm sure I have more than exceeded that these last 4 months.

    In any case, I am so disgusted with Scottish Power, including their rudeness and their threat to take me to court for non payment of a bill that any human eye would know was ridiculous (of course human eyes are rare/non-existent these days) that I have ceased using them for my power supply. 

    If Scottish Power make any recompense to me I will inform this forum but I'm not holding my breath. In the meantime, City Energy who are responsible for fitting the solar panels and battery, are offering to foot my November electricity bill if I sign a disclaimer.

      BPLightlog
      Super User
      BPLightlogSuper User
      Super User
      December 2, 2023

      Well, at least you now know - but what a mess. This also shows how little many companies understand about solar installations, including suppliers!

      Hope your new supplier turns out as an improvement and I would think the least the installer can do is pay something to compensate. Be wary of the disclaimer .. it sounds like they know there’s a case against them

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