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My online account daily usage section hasn't updated but I have smart meters - what is issue?



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Userlevel 7

This is very interesting, 

 

There is an obvious difference in the (all be it small amount of) gas usage for the 20th, compared to that day in July, not just AM but PM. But one day’s comparison, we’ll need to look at this with a few more days to get a better picture together. It’s so useful to have this online… just temped to make it (yet another) new topic. 

 

One thing to point out for now is it’s a user interface change. The data, based on readings, shouldn’t be effected. 

 

Have you noticed the comparison between periods is now different? We’re getting mixed feedback about this as well, but the change was apparently made as “the former line graph was confusing due to the mixed nature of bar and line chart together”, so it seems like it's a tricky one to get right from a visual point of view. 

 

New method of usage comparison display

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +2

Well the good news is:- my IHD now tells me it’s 22:55.

The bad news is, I don’t know which day… nor why the afternoon sun is still shining. Yes, I live in the Westcountry, but it’s not that far west!

The IHD has no HAN symbol on the display (as we’d expect, since it isn’t communicating). So I went to look at the Comms Hub, but the HAN indicator is still on slow-flash, which it should be if you’re still receiving gas readings of course.

Whilst at the meter-box, I noticed something else…

… or, more correctly, I didn’t notice something else:

Woe is me - I am undone !

Returning to the strange pattern of gas usage, I’ve just manually checked the daily reading (used for billing) against the sum of the HH readings for each day over the past week:

 

That seems to be within the margins of error for such low daily usage.

 

I really can’t spent time doing this check across further days because I’ll be manually adding 48 readings per day.

However, I have a solution.

I still have here a brand new CAD IHD which we never got paired.

If we did now pair it with my Comms Hub and my WiFi, would it enable me to extract usage data from the relevant memory locations in a format where they could be passed to a spreadsheet?

Or do I have an over-optimistic expectation of what the CAD version might do?!

Userlevel 7
Badge +2

Hmmm - @Tim_OVO ‘s gone quiet.

Perhaps I’ve finally induced a stack-overflow within his cerebral processor by putting too much technical information in one Post. :wink:

This morning my IHD tells me it’s 20:14. Perhaps it thinks that’s the year

Userlevel 7

Well the good news is:- my IHD now tells me it’s 22:55.

The bad news is, I don’t know which day… nor why the afternoon sun is still shining. Yes, I live in the Westcountry, but it’s not that far west!

 

 

:joy:

 

This morning my IHD tells me it’s 20:14. Perhaps it thinks that’s the year

 

:rofl:

 

The IHD has no HAN symbol on the display (as we’d expect, since it isn’t communicating). So I went to look at the Comms Hub, but the HAN indicator is still on slow-flash, which it should be if you’re still receiving gas readings of course.

 

 

From my excellently made SMETS IHD guide:

 

Is the IHD showing the correct time?
 

If it's not showing the correct time, the IHD is not paired. See that guide above for info on how to pair it, @Transparent - it varies depending on the model. And before you ask, I don’t know why a previously paired IHD can become unpaired. Anyone else fancy a fruit cocktail? :pear::pear::pear:

 

Userlevel 7

Whilst at the meter-box, I noticed something else…

… or, more correctly, I didn’t notice something else:

Woe is me - I am undone !

 

 

 

This is a concern, is that the service head? And have you tampered? We might need to do something about this….. let me check.

 

As for a CAD, was this provided to you by the engineer that fitted the SMETS2 smart meter? Any chance of a photo so I can pass it on and confirm if it’s actually going to work with your meter. I didn’t think we did them anymore….

Userlevel 7
Badge +2

That’s the top of the Service Fuse @Tim_OVO.

I didn’t check it after the last (3rd) Installation Engineer came here (Nov ‘19?). Have a look at his final photo if you want to check.

No, I haven’t tampered.

a: I don’t need to pull the Service Fuse to access the Consumer Unit because I have a separate 100A Double-pole breaker in situ.

b: If I’d removed power from the Comms Hub, you would’ve received an Alarm Notification via DCC… which you would’ve responded to, of course!

I don’t need you to send an engineer here just to fit the cord and seal. I’m on first-name terms with the Area Technical Manager of my DNO. I’ll ask him to call in on his way home from his office at my Primary Sub-station, less than a mile away.

 

The CAD was sent to me by Ben. He just never got around to calling me to get it paired!

Userlevel 1

OK, looks like my meter has stopped transmitting to OVO a few days ago, and thus my online reporting has stopped. I can usually tell when my IHD clock starts to drift away from my wall clock as it’s not the most accurate timekeeper and has a daily drift which is kept up to date with daily sync.

The last automated reading was on the 17th and an estimate on the 19th. Are there some buttons to push to make it all work again?

Thanks.

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +1

Hi @MajorSqueeze ,

Thanks for getting back to us again. Sorry to hear that you’re still having trouble. It’s possible that you’ve been hit by another temporary issue, but hopefully we can help you get this sorted. @Tim_OVO is currently working on a few things to help with diagnostics, but I’ll let him know about your issues.

It’s tricky to know for sure as to why your meter has failed again, so it might be worth having a chat with the support team to check whether they’re seeing any signs of life. If you could snap some pics of your meters and IHD though, I can try to help you out a bit.

Userlevel 7
Badge +2

Just to properly finish the story: my Distribution System Operator visited me and installed a seal on the 100A Service Fuse.

As this is a safety issue there is no charge. The DNOs obviously want people to contact them in such cases, and cost would be a disincentive.

After 5 satisfactory, trouble free years with OVO. This hopefully, slight problem has arisen.

No gas usage for the 3rd August also no half hourly details for the 2nd and 4th August.

Any thoughts please.

Pete

 

 

Sorry that should be August

Userlevel 7
Badge +1

Hi there @PeterW .

I think I have some possible theories on this one, but I need to try and narrow them down a bit first. Please could I see some photos of your meters and IHD in your next reply if possible? If you could also fill out your profile, that would be great.

Thanks!

Userlevel 7

Me too, albeit for different days, in the last week:

 

28 Jul: gas consumption can’t be less than zero

 

1 Aug, 3 Aug: my daily gas consumption is in fact close to 10 kWh every day

In my case, the half-hourly data are there, and confirm that consumption on these three days was indeed close to 10 kWh.

There’s clearly a problem/inconsistency in the way Ovo software processes and displays the data they have.

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +1

Thanks!

Yup, SMETS1 Secure Liberty meters there (Secure Liberty 100 Electric, Secure Liberty EG4v11 Gas) and an S1 Chameleon IHD3-CAD-PPMID. Based on the latest data from SmartMe, it’s quite possible that your meters are currently being migrated to DCC and this could explain the missing data right now.

It might be worth contacting OVO and asking the Support Team to run SMETS Commands to grab Instantaneous On-Demand Meter Readings from your meters. If they’re currently in communication with OVO, this should get a result back pretty quickly.

You might also want to do a Smart Meter Health Check as well and the team might request this. I’ve put some more info below for you, in case that helps.

If you still get stuck, we’ll be right here.

Thankyou for the excellent reply, so reading between the lines could I say

Leave it for the time being and it will sort itself out.

Pete

Userlevel 7
Badge +1

No worries. And yup, that should sort itself out after a few weeks. But if you still don’t see anything after six weeks from know, please flag this up with the Support Team and they’ll take a look.

Userlevel 1

Ok, so I’ve just got round to reporting this, but my smart meter sends stopped around the 21st July. This time my portable device is also just repeatedly rebooting because it can’t connect to the meter outside. Not sure if my meter needs a prod with a stick again.

Userlevel 7

Welcome back @MajorSqueeze,

 

Sorry to hear the smart meter is having some communication difficulties again. We’re having a few technical issues at the moment which are affecting the usage pages of your online account, however as you’ve also noticed an issue with you In-Home Display rebooting it does sound like it could be a separate issue.

 

Have you completed a smart meter health check yet? If not that might be the best place to start, you can find the full details we’d need to check on the meter model specific topics below - 

 

SMETS1 Secure Smart Meter Health Check

SMETS2 Smart Meter Health Check

 

You can forward the results on to the Support Team who’ll let you know the next steps to get things sorted (hopefully no more prodding with a stick will be required!) :thumbsup:

 

Userlevel 2

Hi All,

I’m back again!

I don’t seem to have daily usage for my electricity. This has always been the case since going live.

Is there any remedy?

 

Userlevel 7

Hi @TheEpicBlob and good post here - a few questions to help us triage and advise:

 

  1. Still an issue today?
  2. This is the app, are you getting the same issue on the browser version
  3. Have you had any communication or signal issues with your smart meters in the past?

We’ll be along later today to see your reply and get back to you!

Userlevel 2

Hi @Tim_OVO,

Yup, still occurring today on both app (iOS) and web, web screenshot below.

No real issues, I get the occasional message asking to submit a meter reading as there’s been LOS.

Ive got an IHD connected to meter and to WiFi which I believe (maybe wrong) fills in the gaps/provides faster data acquisition?

 

Userlevel 7

Thanks for confirming this info, @TheEpicBlob 

 

I’ve moved your comment over here as it sounds like the issue might be covered by this existing thread’s 'best answer’, which I’ve copied below:

 

Updated on 12/03/21:  Missing smart meter readings or usage data on the online account are usually due to a temporary smart meter communication drop out.  See this topic to diagnose meter comm issues with your Aclara or Honeywell/Elster (SMETS2) smart meter, and this topic for your Secure Liberty smart meter. 

Half Hourly usage data missing (daily chart)

These section (which isn’t used in any of your billing or charges) is vulnerable to communication drop outs if something happens to prevent the meter sending your reading for that half hour period. For any missed half hourly periods, the usage will be averaged out once comms has been restored. This shows as a number of bars being the same size. 

Daily usage data missing (monthly chart)

This section can also see communication drop outs, even if there’s half hourly data available that day. It needs a reading at around midnight to be able to populate that day’s usage. If you’re seeing missing usage on either meter for that day, see if any of the half hourly bars are missing for the end of the day. Communication is usually restored by itself, and any missed daily periods will be averaged out when this happens. This shows as a number of bars being the same size. 

One last thing, did you know you can access your online account via your browser or via our OVO App! Download for Android or iOS

 

 

Userlevel 7

Thanks for confirming this info, @TheEpicBlob 

 

I’ve moved your comment over here as it sounds like the issue might be covered by this existing thread’s 'best answer’, which I’ve copied below:

 

Updated on 12/03/21:  Missing smart meter readings or usage data on the online account are usually due to a temporary smart meter communication drop out...

Half Hourly usage data missing (daily chart)

...For any missed half hourly periods, the usage will be averaged out once comms has been restored. This shows as a number of bars being the same size. 

Daily usage data missing (monthly chart)

This section can also see communication drop outs, even if there’s half hourly data available that day. It needs a reading at around midnight to be able to populate that day’s usage. If you’re seeing missing usage on either meter for that day, see if any of the half hourly bars are missing for the end of the day. Communication is usually restored by itself, and any missed daily periods will be averaged out when this happens. This shows as a number of bars being the same size...

 

 

Finding my attention drawn to this post of @Transparent, from March this year, I’m inclined to observe that this “self-correcting” behaviour, where average usage came out right even if there are missing usage bars (whether on daily or monthly plots) is something that we seem to have lost in recent weeks/months. Usage graphs on My Ovo don’t do this in the way that I remember (and recognise from @Transparent’s description).

Missing data seems to cause (even) more of a problem for Ovo/Orion now than it did back in March (when some of us tried quite hard to help find a solution). My experience in recent months has been that other DCC users (i.e. people/companies authorised to access smart meter data) often have the data that are missing from Ovo.

Userlevel 2

@Tim_OVO, I may be a little slow currently (early in the morning), but my meter is a E470 Landis+Gyr with a Toshiba SKU2 (Cell + Mesh) and not those listed above.

It could be that I just need to wait for the data to be received, but it’s been about two months and there’s nothing on there at all; I can see that the meter is communicating as you seem to be getting daily usage under the monthly tab (however, I suspect this is just fuzzing the usage it’s received so it looks like daily usage but seems far to consistent and will sometimes show a few pence the following day to correct a manual reading).

I’ll be honest, the meter is in a terrible place being in a basement flat, under a concrete drive with what I assume rebar holding it up, so no wonder it struggles with signal sometimes. 

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