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285 Topic threads
J
Carbon Cutter****
johnhspicerCarbon Cutter****
Posted in Home and heating
Generation meter does not have a visible serial number?

We have had solar panels for nearly 15 years now, and they still work fine, generation levels have barely moved in that time. And we have had the same electrical installation throughout, import export meter and separate generation meter. And nearly all the time with SSE.Now of course with OVO, and I am now getting letters asking for a picture of the generation meter-read with the serial number visible. Except there has never been a serial number visible on the generation meter, as loads of SSE engineers have confirmed over the years.I’ve emailed OVO with pictures, written old style letters, and never get a response. And now they are threatening to stop payments.First question is: has anyone else experienced this?Second question: if the current generation meter is no longer compliant, for example if the government now wants proof of the generation with a specific meter serial number (which I can understand being a valid ask to prevent fraud), then I can also accept that OVO are stuck in

40028
Shads_OVO
Community Moderator
2 months ago
R
New Member**
RSGNew Member**
Posted in Home and heating
solar use in playa del Carmen Mexico

I am wondering if anyone has experience using solar power in Mexico. My first billing was wow this is worth it. Now it is like I don’t have solar at all. Example my first 3 bills 60 pesos now 2400 pesos. By the way we don’t live there.  

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Shads_OVO
Community Moderator
2 months ago
A
Carbon Cutter****
andykelpCarbon Cutter****
Posted in Home and heating
Are air to air heatpumps noisy?

These air to air heat pumps, I’ve heard they’re noisy. Is that right?

11016
Peter E
Plan Zero Hero
2 months ago
S
New Member***
Speedser1979New Member***
Posted in Home and heating
How do I link tado to ovo?

Hi all How do I link my tado to OVO? I am going round in circles in the app and searching Google with no luck.Thanks 

1874
S
New Member***
2 months ago
E
Carbon Cutter*
EdinburghFanCarbon Cutter*
Posted in Home and heating
Complex meter: Refused Economy 7?

Hello, we bought our current flat a few months ago and found out that Ovo is our electricity supplier. It is an all electric property, with electric immersion heater for hot water and electric storage heaters. This flat was designed around off peak electricity.There are 2 electricity meters, one so called white meter just for the off-peak circuit (storage heaters plus immersion water heater) and one for everything else, each with a separate MPAN number. The off peak meter turns the off peak circuit on and off, so that water heater and storage heaters only have power at night, it is the RTS type. When we moved in, Ovo created 2 account numbers, one for each meter and put each on the single rate tariff (without consulting or giving options).This means that we have to pay the standing charge twice and we have to pay expensive rate for hot water and heating. I have contacted Ovo multiple times (calls and chat) asking to:have only one account with one standing charge  be moved onto some typ

1524
Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
2 months ago
BPLightlog
Plan Zero Hero
BPLightlogPlan Zero Hero
Posted in Home and heating
Energy usage data from third party Apps: Ivie, Loop and Hugo - my guideTutorial

There are a number of third party data sets now available gathering info from smart meters so I thought I’d give a few a go to see what they offer. As has been mentioned, the OVO info screens are useful but could be enhanced but what about the others. Loop HomesLoop - a useful and quick series of data which are updated during each day keeping track quite efficiently. This offers not much more than that apart from a solar PV and battery storage simulator but always a go-to for quick info. For some reason, gas always lags electricity by half a day or so. Loop are also running a peak hours reduction trial at present (2022-2023)  (example screens)Loop does also have a solar PV and battery storage simulator which can give an idea of possible energy savings with these technologies. You can switch these on and off and also view a calculated kWh saving - however, if you already have solar panels or batteries you will get a false picture as the app doesn’t currently allow you to indicate this  

518128
M
Carbon Cutter**
2 months ago
B
Carbon Cutter***
BellexCarbon Cutter***
Posted in Home and heating
Arrears on gas bill of property I am buying so unable to bring my current supplier with me?

Having informed my current utility provider of my impending move, they have advised me that I am unable to do this as the take-over request has been blocked by OVO at the new house. What are the possible ramifications? If the ‘soon-to-be-ex-owner’ hasn’t paid the gas bill and has hefty arrears, can OVO refuse to provide a supply to me as the soon-to-be-new-owner?Any knowledge or advice gratefully received.

8812
Chris_OVO
Community Moderator
2 months ago
B
Carbon Cutter*
Bren1947Carbon Cutter*
Posted in Home and heating
New oil heaters only working when top up on in THTC

I recently replaced my storage heaters with oil-filled heaters. I am on THTC and the new heaters only received power when the signal indicates a top up.

766
Firedog
Plan Zero Hero
2 months ago
P
New Member*
prbarberNew Member*
Posted in Home and heating
Switching to fixed plan + boiler cover but I already have boiler cover

I want to switch from my current variable plan to a 1 year fixed loyalty plan + boiler cover. The problem is that I already have a boiler cover in place, so what will happen when I switch?  Will I end up paying for 2 plans or will the current boiler plan be automatically added?  There are only 2 options on the application form, which is “With Boiler Cover” or “Without Boiler Cover”.

2182
Abby_OVO
Community Manager
3 months ago
R
Carbon Cutter*
RogGCarbon Cutter*
Posted in Home and heating
Consumption displayed on Solarman App not working as it should?

I have a bluesun BSE6KL1 hybrid solar inverter  (rebadged Megarevo R6KL), battery storage, tied to the grid but no feed-in tarriff.The Solarman App displays the input to the inverter from the PV panels, battery charge/discharge, Grid In/out and “consumption”.I understand that the “consumption” figure should reflect what energy the house is using. Sadly it only displays 11 watts… Any thoughts?

281913
Abby_OVO
Community Manager
3 months ago
L
New Member***
LukeUKNew Member***
Posted in Home and heating
Is the Landis+Gyr 5254E-X really radio teleswitched?

I am on Economy 10 and have received a letter regarding the radio teleswitch shutdown, however I am not convinced my meter is equipped with a radio teleswitch. It's a Landis+Gyr 5254E-X that looks like the one below. The technical data available online for this meter makes no mention of a radio teleswitch, so I am minded to believe it's internally switched and I can ignore the letter (there are no other mystery boxes nearby). Can anybody with knowledge of this specific meter confirm?  

3495
L
New Member***
3 months ago
Tim_OVO
Community Manager
Tim_OVOCommunity Manager
Posted in Home and heating
Power your heat pump for less with Heat Pump Plus + VaillantNews

Heat Pump Plus add on now available for Vaillant heat pump owners Our Heat Pump Plus add on is now available for customers with a Vaillant heat pump. It can save you up to £495* a year on your heating bill. What is Heat Pump Plus? It’s our heat pump add-on that lets you power your heat pump for less, at 15p per kWh. You’ll pay one rate for the electricity your home uses and a lower rate for the electricity the heat pump uses – saving up to £495 a year on your heating bills. See more information on our Heat Pump Plus page here. What about the partnership with Vaillant? Heat Pump Plus will now be available for customers with a connected Vaillant aroTHERM heat pump. To be eligible you must be an OVO customer with a working electricity smart meter and a myVAILLANT connect internet gateway. Full eligibility criteria listed here. What happens if I don’t have MyVAILLANT connect? Customers with a Vaillant heat pump will need to make sure it’s connected with myVAILLANT connect to access the add

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D
Carbon Cutter**
3 months ago
B
Carbon Cutter*
BT34Carbon Cutter*
Posted in Home and heating
Extensively Refurbished Property under construction with a new 3 Phase Connection and Installing a Viessmann Heat Pump

After carrying out a complete overhaul of an existing property, we have had a new 3 Phase connection made to the property. We were made aware by Viessmann who will be supplying the heat pump that a special agreement is in place between the two companies to supply energy at a reduced rate (15p kWh). Therefore I am keen to set up a new account with OVO and obtain a new 3 Phase meter from them ASAP, however the general contact centre (after over 3 hours on the phone across multiple calls) seems to be unaware of this arrangement and unable to assist me.Does anyone have a contact at OVO that might be best suited to discuss this and arrange for the meter, as I need to get something sorted ASAP. 

757
Chris_OVO
Community Moderator
3 months ago
P
Carbon Cutter***
paulmmmmCarbon Cutter***
Posted in Home and heating
Unusual gas main connection pipe size?

 Two engineers have visited my house so far to fit a smart gas meter but they dont have the correct  fitting, nor an adaptor, to connect to the gas tap. It doesnt seem there is anything we can do about it!The size of the short copper pipe coming out of the flange and going into the lead pipe is 0.795 inch / 20mm outside diameter. The house is 1962 but the gas meter is 1994. I’m suprised that it is so unusal. Anyone know about gas pipe sizes?Incoming gas pipe

13015
Shads_OVO
Community Moderator
3 months ago
B
Plan Zero Hero
BeePeePlan Zero Hero
posted in Home and heating
Optimise your hot water set-up

 It seems quite straight forward doesn’t it? You stick a thermostat on the tank. If the water is cold you turn on the boiler/heat pump and heat it back up again. What’s the problem?Well if you know where heat is going and where it is being lost you make changes to reduce your losses.So I have an old (ancient?) 160l copper cylinder with around 1” of crumbly foam insulation. It has an additional insulating jacket and recently I have added further insulation (10cm thick Diall insulation roll – the stuff made from recycled plastic bottles).In June I added four temperature sensors at approximately 1/8, 3/8, 5/8 and 7/8 down from the top (this equates to around 20l, 60l, 100l and 140l of hot water above each sensor). I can also measure the indirect coil flow temperatures in and out, and the temperature of the cold water entering the tank.The first thing to note is that water is actually quite a poor conductor of heat. You need strong convection currents or stirring/mixing to get a volume of

20757
Chris_OVO
Community Moderator
3 months ago
M
Carbon Cutter****
Mr RCarbon Cutter****
Posted in Home and heating
Old pipe in garage capped off and goes underground - is it safe to remove?

Hi I have a old pipe which is caped off it goes along the garage wall then outside the garage and into the ground it is not connected to anything next to it there is a red box which says oil ? Any help will be appreciated I have included pictures thanks   

19318
Chris_OVO
Community Moderator
3 months ago
J
Carbon Cutter****
JenniejanedCarbon Cutter****
Posted in Home and heating
How do I move energy suppliers when I have an exotic meter with OVO?

I have an exotic meter and I have migrated from SSE to OVO. How do I go about switching to another energy supplier? 

15521
Chris_OVO
Community Moderator
3 months ago
Firedog
Plan Zero Hero
FiredogPlan Zero Hero
posted in Home and heating
Compare usage with similar homes

It may be helpful for customers to see how their own energy consumption compares with other people’s in similar circumstances, possibly even prompting a change in behaviour in order to keep up with the Joneses. OVO now provides two options for seeing this comparison: under Energy insights in the online account, and under Usage in the shiny new app. I don’t really expect my usage pattern to match anyone else’s, because I don’t expect there are many more just like me in this part of the world. However, I would expect the ‘similar homes’ to be reasonably similar in the two places. Sadly, they’re wildly different:  Usage in kWh per weekA click on the image should bring up a more legible version The divergence between my own usage pattern (the green bit) and everyone else’s is difficult enough to explain, but I put it down to my being eccentric 🙂. However, the variance between the blue fields is quite striking, and indicates that there are totally different parameters applied to arrive at

17213
Jeffus
Plan Zero Hero
3 months ago
S
Carbon Cutter*
Simon BeareCarbon Cutter*
Posted in Home and heating
Transfer of ownership rights and generated funds from solar panels following house purchase.

Hello. How long does it take to receive change of ownership notification and more importantly given the current financial situation when will I receive the monies generated by the solar panels feed in tariff. I purchased my home on the 28th of February 2023 the lady I purchased from was an ovo customer and had her FIT set up.The estate agent is now asking me on behalf of the seller when she is going to be released from ovo control. Thank you. 

476455
C
New Member***
4 months ago
H
Carbon Cutter*
Hasan RizviCarbon Cutter*
Posted in Home and heating
Solis Hybrid Inverter 5.8 Kwh system PV is showing full power in App only generates power which is equal to load?

 

476
H
Carbon Cutter*
3 months ago
D
Carbon Cutter***
DomthtcCarbon Cutter***
Posted in Home and heating
Which meter is THTC and which is Domestic?

I have a THTC meter and a DOM meter, two meters. One is for hot water and the other for electricity.Which meter is for the water? Is it the one labelled THTC or the one labelled DOM? Also, if the DOM is the water and the THTC is the electric, when I switch off the water heater, why doesn’t the DOM stop running? THe DOM meter continues to run and is the Anytime meter reading I have to give .The THTC is the heating meter according to my OVO account.

12410
D
Carbon Cutter***
3 months ago
M
Carbon Cutter*****
Mbu1982Carbon Cutter*****
Posted in Home and heating
Why is my Solis solar inverter drawing energy from the grid?

Hey everyone, I need some help and advice.  My Solis Inverter still draws minimal energy from the grid even though my solar panels are generating enough energy for use and storage.  The problem is that this minimal amounts are costing me almost £1 a day, around £30 a month. Is there anyone of fixing this issue? Solis says there is nothing that can be done at the moment but have raised a ticket that has not been allocated to anyone.  Would this be the same issue with all inverters? 

2269252
BPLightlog
Plan Zero Hero
3 months ago
B
Plan Zero Hero
BeePeePlan Zero Hero
posted in Home and heating
Comparison of heating sizing methods (simple to complex)

Many thanks for the suggestions for alternative ways of estimating heating demand and hence heat pump size. I have tried a few and the results are in!Our Bryant’s Maldren house has a floor area of around 122 m2 and last year our gas usage (water plus heating) was around 9600 kWh.In all of these methods the “Heat Transfer Coefficient” or HTC is the fundamental value that is calculated, basically how much power is needed to raise the temperature of the house by 1 °C.Rule of thumb methodsThe Michael de Podesta’s video provides an excellent introduction not only to his rule of thumb method but also heat loss calculations in general. It’s well worth watching. Thanks to @BPLightlog for his recommendation.Michael de Podesta Rule of thumbThis is one of the easiest methodsHeat Transfer Coefficient = Annual Usage / 57.3 (For the North West) 9600 / 57.3 = 168 W/K This is actually calculated using:Annual Usage / Degree Days * 1000 / 24Using average degree day from 1976 to 1995 may not be represent

77513
M
Carbon Cutter**
3 months ago
J
Carbon Cutter***
JohnnyMackCarbon Cutter***
Posted in Home and heating
Electricity meter INCLUDES the electricity generated from my solar panels

HI, firstly please forgive my ignorance - I am not an expert in this field.I have PV system on my garage roof comprising 16 solar panels, a Solis inverter and a Pylontech battery.My problem is that my electricity meter records ALL electricity energy used in my house as being supplied by my electricity supplier from the electricity grid but which INCLUDES the electricity self-generated by my panels which has been considerable.My electricity supplier is over charging for the electricity being pulled from the grid as it records self-generated electricity as if it is being supplied by the grid.They have recently installed a new SMETS2 meter but the problem of them also charging me for my self-generated electricity persists (i.e. it is showing all electricity being used in my house as being supplied from the grid) and is costing a fortune! Can anyone help with what may be causing this and how it can be rectified please?

172421
T
Carbon Cutter**
4 months ago
H
New Member**
HetmorrsNew Member**
Posted in Home and heating
Solis inverter unresponsive?

We were required to do a software update by solis, all was going well until the inverter became unresponsive. The display is lit but all the digits are like black squares. No matter what buttons we press there is no change. It has just stopped working. We have been back in contact with solis and have been given various instructions, but they all require us to select menus on the inverter. They aren't grasping that the buttons don't do anything. So I'd thought I'd ask here if anyone has any ideas about how we get the inverter to wake up and start working.  

1013
H
New Member**
4 months ago

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