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302 Topic threads
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. 

767
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

13915
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

223010
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   

20018
Chris_OVO
Community Moderator
4 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? 

15821
Chris_OVO
Community Moderator
4 months ago
Firedog
Plan Zero Hero
FiredogPlan Zero Hero
posted in Home and heating
Comparing 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

17513
Jeffus
Plan Zero Hero
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?

 

516
H
Carbon Cutter*
4 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.

12810
D
Carbon Cutter***
4 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? 

2278853
BPLightlog
Plan Zero Hero
4 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. 

485555
Abby_OVO
Community Manager
4 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

82013
M
Carbon Cutter**
4 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?

179221
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.  

1103
H
New Member**
4 months ago
BPLightlog
Plan Zero Hero
BPLightlogPlan Zero Hero
Posted in Home and heating
Dashboard for Home UsageBlog

With the raft of online apps and services now in everyday use, I had begun to get frustrated that for some simple things (like thermostats, energy usage and security cameras) it was necessary to open a whole array of different programs. I stumbled across the concept of gathering these together under one service and now have a very easy, comprehensive option via something called Home Assistant (HA). (available on mobile app and pc)Although it has been many years since I did any real programming, I decided to try out this system and have found it a lot easier to put together and operate than I expected.First of all, I need to say that it is often not totally without cost. The system can be run on an existing computer but as the service really needs to be running all the time, most people tend to use some sort of minicomputer. I used something called a Raspberry Pi. This is a small electronics board – which can be bought as a full system or piece by piece – which links to your broadband r

25212
BPLightlog
Plan Zero Hero
5 months ago
Abby_OVO
Community Manager
Abby_OVOCommunity Manager
Posted in Home and heating
Viessmann heat pumps are now compatible with Heat Pump PlusNews

Heat Pump Plus is now available for customers with eligible Viessmann air source heat pumps.  This means you can power your heat pump for less and save up to £300 on your heating bills versus your standard variable tariff.* What do I need to be eligible? To be eligible for Heat Pump Plus, you’ll need to: have an energy account with OVO. Not with OVO? Get a quote in just 2 minutes. have a Viessmann Vitocal 150-A or 151-A air source heat pump connected to an active ViCare app account. You may also be eligible if you have a connected Vaillant heat pump, or if you bought your heat pump through our partner Heat Geek. Find out more here. have a smart meter that sends half-hourly readings. If you don’t have one, you can have it installed through OVO at no extra cost.Full eligibility criteria listed here. Your Viessmann heat pump also needs to be connected to an active Viessmann ViCare app account. This lets us make sure the heat pump is connected to the internet, so data can be sent back to V

1692
Shads_OVO
Community Moderator
5 months ago
Rocksteady
Carbon Cutter****
RocksteadyCarbon Cutter****
posted in Home and heating
Home micro power station.

Just to introduce myself.I am a retired electrical and aeromodelling engineer, my wife and I live in west Wales as from 1987, I have worked for most of that time as a self employed electrical engineer working in a variety of industrial settings in a very rural area.I have been encouraged by others in this forum to share my ideas and findings so that others with cranky thoughts and ideas might benefit, also that I might gain a nugget or two of useful know how.Back in 2000, I wound down my electrical engineering due to the enormity of red tape that went with it. My wife and I then deviated into model aircraft kit manufacturing, that had the blessing of no red tape which is rare these days. Anyhow, we did model air trade shows which meant being out in an open field for a good few days totally off grid. This is where I began to use the knowledge gained over the years to facilitate this. I decided to install wet NiCad cells in the caravan rather than use lead acid batteries. I did this beca

925
Rocksteady
Carbon Cutter****
5 months ago
M
Carbon Cutter****
mattwillhillCarbon Cutter****
Posted in Home and heating
Are my solar PV panels connected to my smart meter and measuring my exports correctly?

We recently in Dec 2021 had a large PV solar install completed on our house.  A new 24 panel [385W each] Solar array at 8kW by a seemingly professional company. Disappointingly the install has issues, the main one being that the house utilty meter has the same consumption rate as before the solar install started!  This suggests there is wiring config. or equipment fault issue somewhere or the meter cannot cope with Solar supply since we are having large Solar Yields!         Either way we are none the closer to getting either the solar installer coming back to fix it in a hurry [I don’t think they understand it!] or the Utility company to check  the meter!   All this in rapidly rising energy prices ….. pause to weep …… seriously this is cry for help please, we have spent a fortune for nothing!        One thing that stands out to me, being a lighting engineer [as a I have some electrical knowledge - although a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing!] is that the Solar Installer has w

958538
Chris_OVO
Community Moderator
5 months ago
R
New Member**
RosmyNew Member**
Posted in Home and heating
Daily Carbon Forecast

Why Ovo Carbon forecast is not working today? I always follow the advice given on the Ovo website to know when it is cheaper yo use energy but today Ovo has not informed us what to do! Please, help!

506
juliamc
Carbon Catcher***
5 months ago
Peter E
Plan Zero Hero
Peter EPlan Zero Hero
Posted in Home and heating
A New Chaos - A Greener Future / The Immersion HeaterBlog

Updated on 02/10/24 by Shads_OVOThe earlier parts dealt with the car and the benefits of installing an air-air heat pump (AAHP)  and this part deals with the immersion heater which I initially thought would not be viable but  you can either have a small cost benefit or trade that for a significant decrease in the gas usage.   An immersion heater is just a heater. It has a COP of 1 which means that you only get out as  much heat as what you put in as electrical energy. We could use a heat pump with a COP of 3+  to heat the water in the hot water cylinder but I’m just exploring what the benefits are, if any,  of just using an immersion heater as they are relatively cheap to buy. We have a hot water tank  (in a system boiler) which is fed by a cistern in the loft and it’s a vented system. The tank  heating at the moment takes place with the gas boiler. This is because it is generally too  expensive to use electricity to heat water. The electricity price per unit can be around 25p on the S

29113
Peter E
Plan Zero Hero
5 months ago
S
New Member*
spacebiscuitNew Member*
Posted in Home and heating
Mitsubishi Ecodan U4 Error Code

Hi all,I have an 11 year old Mitsubishi Ecodan that is showing a U4 error code on the control panel. I’ve looked up the error code:Open or close circuit Ecodan thermistors (TH3, TH32, TH33, TH6, TH7, TH8) – open or close circuit or disconnected from main board.Does this require a straight swap out of the main power baord?Thanks in advance.  

1061
Chris_OVO
Community Moderator
5 months ago
S
Carbon Cutter*****
Srd02601Carbon Cutter*****
Posted in Home and heating
Best OVO package for old THTC system of heating?

 I was subject to an erroneous transfer, last March 2023. It has taken this long to get a new account number etc. So they are offering me a Simpler Energy package??  I used to have THTC as my storage heaters and hot water took advantage of the cheap rate at night and certain times of the day. Is this Simpler Energy the best package to have????Any comments/recommendations are greatly appreciated! 

4238
Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
5 months ago
A
Anonymous
Posted in Home and heating
Ecodan QUHZ-W40VA (with thermal store) delay returning to heating after DHW cycle?

HiI have an Ecodan QUHZ-W40VA with a thermal store. After much technical assistance from Mitsuibishi, some installation tweaks and fine tuning by me, the system o/a is performing well. The COP is acceptable, the running costs are low and generally I’d say setup suits the house.Like other heat pumps, mine prioritises DHW. It’s programmed to heat the water once each day. The problem is that I have an experienced a delay before the the heat pump fires up after DHW cycles?The DHW (in my case the water in the store) is usually heated to around 50C. but the HP won’t re-start until the residual heat in the system (according to the thermistors) has dropped to match the heat flow temperature. For example if the flow heat temperature is say 30C or less, the cooling can take a very long time. It’s less a problem when it’s very cold, and more so in the shoulder seasons. Has any one else experienced this? Mitsi say it’s just not a problem and all is working as it should be.

827
Chris_OVO
Community Moderator
5 months ago
S
New Member**
stuartiannaylorNew Member**
posted in Home and heating
heatpump install, check the insulation

As you will see in the 1st some sections they didn’t even bother to peel off the adhesive ply. 

806
Chris_OVO
Community Moderator
5 months ago
M
Carbon Cutter****
Michael D HendryCarbon Cutter****
posted in Home and heating
Tapo smart switch - why is my schedule change not working?

I received a couple of Tapo P110 smart switches when I joined, and used one in my garage to control the charging of my plug-in hybrid car. This worked fine when the power move range was 16:00 to 19:00, but repeated attempts to change the schedule for an “off” period of 18:00 to 21:00 have failed. I’ve even tried setting 16:00 to “on” and 19:00 to “off” to override the old settings, but to no avail.Needless to say, I’ve tried a factory reset. Michael

41516
Shads_OVO
Community Moderator
5 months ago
R
Carbon Cutter*
Raze1000Carbon Cutter*
Posted in Home and heating
Scheduled water heating Mitsubishi Ecodan

I currently have dhw set to heat max 50c and a max temp drop of 10c with a run time of 90 minutes and restricted mode of 30 minutes. Seems to work fine.Wondering about scheduled times though.If I set it to heat early in the morning and again Mid to late afternoon so as to take advantage of any solar power, would that be more economical? I like to know what takes precedence, say for instance the water temp dropped to about 44c just before the second scheduled time, would the water be heated again at that scheduled point or just skip it until the next scheduled time the next morning?Mitsubishi Ecodan with Solar PV

4115
R
Carbon Cutter*
5 months ago

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