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Getting solar PV, battery & inverter - should we tell OVO?

  • September 10, 2025
  • 6 replies
  • 126 views
dutyhog
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We are in a remote rural Scottish location which surprisingly qualifies for a Warmworks grant to instal solar PV. We have to have what they decide, which is “9 x 450W JA solar PV panels” on a west facing roof plus a “Duracell Bundle” battery and inverter.   I don't have any details of what these are, so can't look up what they do in detail.  We can't chose the installer. The installation will be next week - 15 & 16 September.

We are on OVO’s Economy10 tariff with an Aclara SGM1416-B smart meter and storage heaters (no boiler, no gas).  

1. The main question is - do we need to inform OVO that we are having panels and a battery?

2. We are at home most of most days, so can often use more electricity when the sky is bright. Is that the best strategy for economy?

3. I won't know until the system is installed next week whether  
    •    the panels can return power to the grid if the battery is full 
    •    the battery can be charged from off-peak electricity
Are these features usually expensive optional extras to what is probably a low-cost installation?

Best answer by Ben_OVO

Morning ​@dutyhog, I hope you’re well.

 

Thanks for your post. I can share some information with you from the viewpoint of someone who works for OVO, however I don’t have solar panels myself. I’m just tagging one of our Forum Super Users ​@BPLightlog here in case he’s got any useful information for you, from the perspective of someone who does have solar panels.

 

Firstly, there’s no obligation to tell OVO that you’re having solar panels installed. They should theoretically start lowering your bills going forward. However, we’d recommend signing up to our Smart Export Guarantee so that you can get paid by OVO for any energy you might export back to the grid. You can also find more info in this Forum topic:

 

 

When you’re signed up you’ll need to provide Export readings from your smart meter when we ask for them. You can find out how to get them here:

 

 

Here’s a detailed user guide for your meter as well: https://www.smartme.co.uk/docs/Aclara-SMETS2-Single-Phase-Electric.pdf

 

In answer to your second question, it would be most efficient, in theory, to use energy during the day when its brighter. However, the fact you’re on Economy 10 will mean that you’re unit rates will differ at different times of the day. If you send a photo of the entire front of your meter I’ll be able to tell you what times your energy switches between peak and off-peak. Your heating will be coming on during your off-peak hours for example.

 

I believe that the panels would return power to the grid if the battery is full, and that the battery can be charged from off-peak energy. Your installer will be able to shed some more light on this.

 

I hope this helps!

gordon

6 replies

Ben_OVO
Community Manager
  • Ben_OVO
  • Community Manager
  • Answer
  • September 11, 2025

Morning ​@dutyhog, I hope you’re well.

 

Thanks for your post. I can share some information with you from the viewpoint of someone who works for OVO, however I don’t have solar panels myself. I’m just tagging one of our Forum Super Users ​@BPLightlog here in case he’s got any useful information for you, from the perspective of someone who does have solar panels.

 

Firstly, there’s no obligation to tell OVO that you’re having solar panels installed. They should theoretically start lowering your bills going forward. However, we’d recommend signing up to our Smart Export Guarantee so that you can get paid by OVO for any energy you might export back to the grid. You can also find more info in this Forum topic:

 

 

When you’re signed up you’ll need to provide Export readings from your smart meter when we ask for them. You can find out how to get them here:

 

 

Here’s a detailed user guide for your meter as well: https://www.smartme.co.uk/docs/Aclara-SMETS2-Single-Phase-Electric.pdf

 

In answer to your second question, it would be most efficient, in theory, to use energy during the day when its brighter. However, the fact you’re on Economy 10 will mean that you’re unit rates will differ at different times of the day. If you send a photo of the entire front of your meter I’ll be able to tell you what times your energy switches between peak and off-peak. Your heating will be coming on during your off-peak hours for example.

 

I believe that the panels would return power to the grid if the battery is full, and that the battery can be charged from off-peak energy. Your installer will be able to shed some more light on this.

 

I hope this helps!

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BPLightlog
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  • BPLightlogPlan Zero Hero
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  • September 11, 2025

Hi ​@dutyhog ,

as Ben has mentioned, there is no need to inform the supplier (OVO) but you need to keep a check on your meter readings to ensure these are being recorded correctly otherwise you might have higher estimates than expected due to your lower grid usage.

You mention off peak usage… you will have lower cost electricity as part of your E10 tariff so you should be able to set things to take advantage of that if needed.

Make sure you get details of the system from the installer including how to control everything. Viewing the state of the system and adjusting usage, charging and exporting is all done via the inverter.

The installer should get all the paperwork sorted for you as it will need to be registered with Ofgem for you to get an export account - I believe that OVO can help with getting this part set up but they will need a copy of the certificates.

Hope all goes well

Bring me Sunshine ~ E&E {Solar PV, Battery Storage, Hybrid EV, ASHP}
Ben_OVO
dutyhog
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  • dutyhog
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  • September 11, 2025

Thanks Ben and BPlighting for the helpful information.

 

I've now had a lot of documents form the installer, and know that what we will get is

  • 9 JA Solar 450KW Panels complete with bird proofing and roof rails 
  • Duracell Dura-I Inverter Model PD-DHIP-3.6-G1
  • Duracell Wall Mounted Battery Model dura5 51.2V 100 Ah Life PO4

and that these are not capable of running island mode (during loss of grid power).

The installer’s texts say they help with any registrations needed, including whatever information is wanted to get SEG. 

So I can look up the specifications and maybe find instructions on the manufacturers’ web sites (or be patient and just wait for the installation).

 

gordon
Ben_OVO
dutyhog
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  • dutyhog
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  • September 11, 2025

Ben, I already know the off-peak times for our particular meter. With their +10 minutes offset they are
winter:            4:40am - 7:40am,    1:40pm - 4:40pm,   8:40pm - 12:40am
BST summer:   5:40am - 8:40am,    2:40pm - 5:40pm,    9:40pm - 1:40am

Gordon

gordon
Ben_OVO
Ben_OVO
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  • Ben_OVO
  • Community Manager
  • September 12, 2025

Morning ​@dutyhog,

 

Thanks for all the information you’ve sent over, and thanks as well to ​@BPLightlog for his helpful reply here. ​@dutyhog here’s a guide that details the supporting documents you’ll need to provide for the SEG application: https://www.ovobyus.com/m/31a018425c74e61/original/SEG-Application-form-and-supporting-documents-guide.pdf.

 

best of luck with it all, and please do fire any more questions our way - always happy to help. I hope your solar journey goes well and saves you some money going forward! I’ve linked another Forum article below which you might find helpful. It’s a compilation of insights from our community members who own solar panels - you might find some good tips in there.

 

 

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dutyhog
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  • dutyhog
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  • September 14, 2025

Thanks again Ben. I’m looking forward to seeing what we get in a few days and how it performs. 
 

Gordon 

gordon
Chris_OVO
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