I have FIT with new battery and inverter, do I have the right meters?

Thanks for your help on this one ​@kanulondon and ​@BPLightlog 🤝.

​@ScottyWigan I hope this is making more sense now - it’ll be great if your installer can get you set up like ​@kanulondon, and you save more money going forward.

​@kanulondon thanks jumping on this thread again and offering such great advice. This may well help others who see the thread as well. I’ve awarded you the ‘Solar Savvy’ profile badge for the handy info you’ve provided. I’ve also updated your profile with the battery badge as well.

Cheers!

Thanks ​@Ben_OVO much appreciated. 

Definitely a frustrating problem but once fully understood workarounds are possible 

Have a great day

Hi guys

New to the forum and obviously I've found this thread as I've now experienced the same issue as others.   It does seem installers are unaware of this metering system and how it effects people who are on FITs.

So I've noticed my meter has 3 figures and the power providers will want my net reading.  I then noticed it's different to what I've generated. 

Hi guys

I'm new to the forum - I just found this thread as I've now experienced the same issue as others.   It does seem installers are unaware of this metering system and how it effects people who are on FITs.

So I've noticed my meter has 3 figures and the power providers will want my net reading.  I then noticed it's different to what I've generated. 

​@kanulondon I see you have got round this issue by rewiring.  What would be the best way for me to overcome this?  It is just rewiring or do I need new equipment?  Ive read you mention about different inverters and meters....is this something I'd need?

I have the old inverter and meters don't seem to cost much.....Ive just had a significant outlay with a PW3 ,an additional battery pack and a gateway so I'm keen to keep cost down.  

Advice on what I can tell the installer to do would be really appreciated....I'm hoping it's just a rewire.

Sorry to hear about this issue striking again ​@Robcuk1 

Did your installer replace the export meter? Sounds like they fitted a bi directional one (which is partially correct)

Essentially the best way to go about it is to leave the original meter and inverter on an entirely separate electrical circuit (as it was before adding a battery)

Then install battery to a new circuit so as to not skew your generation. Assuming you're on a similar circa 2010 FiT like myself,  the most important aspect is maximising your generation.  I ended up fitting my old inverter to keep everything separately. I worked out that using solely 1 x hybrid inverter and with charging of batteries I'd be losing approximately £500  or so of FIT payments (20%). Given I've still got x10 years left I had it sorted.

Others on this thread have had Installers wire up the bi directional meter incorrectly (easy to do) so you end up with a negative net number

KL

Could you tell us how to rewire the meter or is it a skilled job.. thx 

It's definitely a skilled job. I'm probably simplifying it a little bit too. We ended up getting a retro fit and leaving the original FIT setup as it. The new bidirectional meter only goes one way as itsm hooked into the legacy setup

KL

Hey ​@ScottyWigan 

Any work as such beyond the meter, would need to be completed by a qualified electrician. You can look for registered electricians in your area via the register search. 

For more on who’s responsible for what part of your metering set up, check out the topic below:

Hope this helps.

We are with a different FiT company, and hit a problem when a battery system and hybrid inverter were installed without changing the generation meter to a bi-directional one. When they did so - same model EMLITE as pictured earlier in this thread, I challenged the electrician that he did not seem to be wiring as per EMLITE documentation. He said he always installed them this way. The FiT company would not accept negative readings and EMLITE advised that the only solution was for a new meter to be installed correctly, so that readings started from zero. Otherwise, to just have re-wired the old meter would have meant ages before positive readings appeared and loss of FiT payments as a result. The electrician had to extend the cables to switch their positions. It all now works fine except that we have lost a lot of FiT since 2023, with over £4,300 reversed off our account and the FiT company demanding payment of it, plus no readings having been accepted from the incorrectly fitted meter, with no knowledge of our generation during the recent heat-waves. So much for qualified professional electricians and certified installers, eh? We are confronted with being told to refund all money received and on top of that the prospect of the loss of whatever would have been the amount we should have received had a bi-directional meter been installed originally.

You highlight a key problem in that many don’t understand the full implications of this and your experience of the financial impact is also worth noting.

It is possible to have a meter installed to simply monitor and record the solar generation and not the battery - your FiT provider should note a simple wiring diagram to see how it is connected.