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Cate123
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September 11, 2025
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Can smart meters be faulty and show too much usage?!

  • September 11, 2025
  • 17 replies
  • 555 views

I had a smart meter installed at the beginning of July.  It’s in dumb mode as there isn’t enough WAN in the village where I live.  

Prior to this, I was sending monthly meter readings to Ovo and, on average, I was using 33 kWh a month.  So, it was rather a shock to see that I used, on average, 86 kWh a month since getting the smart meter.  In addition, we had lovely weather in the two months since getting the smart meter, ie. not the middle of winter when you expect your energy usage to be greater.  

Any thoughts on this would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks, Cate

 

Best answer by Abby_OVO

Hey ​@Cate123 

 

I’m glad to see a good few of our lovely users have already stopped by with some helpful advice here! I hope you’re finding it helpful so far.

 

Nukecad mentioned something that made me think about the overall comparison of the usage pre and post smart meter installation and a common issue with traditional meters and solar panels is that they can cause the meter to clock backwards, creating inaccurate usage data as the meter isn’t able to record it correctly unlike the smart meter can.

 

This is why we encourage anyone with solar panels and a traditional meter to have the meter upgraded if possible, even where WAN may be out of range, so that you can still make the most of accurate usage tracking due to technical capabilities the smart meter has that the traditional ones don’t when it comes to export data.

 

We actually have a topic which may be helpful here that explains this also:

 

 

I wonder if this is what’s caused what looks like a lower than expected usage previously while the traditional meter was incapable of understanding the export/generation.

17 replies

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juliamc
Rank 20
juliamc
Rank 20
September 21, 2025

Hi ​@Cate123 I’ve a load of questions !

Can you tell me a bit more about your heat pump ? Some photos of the outdoor unit, pipework into the house, hot water tank and the controller would be great. When you say you’re switching it on and off for the hot water, how are you doing that ? Are you using the heating yet ? Heating your water will be the biggest load on the heat pump.

Julia

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Cate123Author
Rank 5
September 22, 2025

Hi ​@juliamc  and thanks for your email.

I’m attaching some photos…

I switch the hot water cylinder on and off on the control panel on the cylinder itself - can be seen in photo.

I’ve not used the heating yet - tbh, the setting up of the system by the company was really traumatic - I had to get heating engineers out for multiple problems the most dramatic one of which was when the thermostat on the hot water didn’t appear to be working;  I was away for the night, came in the following morning to find steam shooting out of various outlets across the room….

So, I will have to sort myself out and switch it on at some point, but not yet….

 

Abby_OVO
Community Manager
Abby_OVOSolved
Community Manager
September 22, 2025

Hey ​@Cate123 

 

I’m glad to see a good few of our lovely users have already stopped by with some helpful advice here! I hope you’re finding it helpful so far.

 

Nukecad mentioned something that made me think about the overall comparison of the usage pre and post smart meter installation and a common issue with traditional meters and solar panels is that they can cause the meter to clock backwards, creating inaccurate usage data as the meter isn’t able to record it correctly unlike the smart meter can.

 

This is why we encourage anyone with solar panels and a traditional meter to have the meter upgraded if possible, even where WAN may be out of range, so that you can still make the most of accurate usage tracking due to technical capabilities the smart meter has that the traditional ones don’t when it comes to export data.

 

We actually have a topic which may be helpful here that explains this also:

 

 

I wonder if this is what’s caused what looks like a lower than expected usage previously while the traditional meter was incapable of understanding the export/generation.

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juliamc
Rank 20
juliamc
Rank 20
September 22, 2025

I’ve not looked at Samsung hps until now but I’ve just watched a YouTube video showing how to look at the COP (coefficient of performance) of the system. It is always useful to know how it’s running. The video is  https://youtu.be/rdOkQc1qKIM?si=gfaC4smElrZWh3yX  and it shows how to view weekly energy consumption and weekly energy generation. Divide generation by consumption to get the COP.

Their figures are 56.1 kWh /17.4 kWh = 3.22 (COP doesn’t have units as it’s a ratio).

If you’re a data nerd (like me) you could keep a spreadsheet of this info over the coming weeks particularly as we’re getting into the heating season.

I’d be very interested to know what your COP is !!

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Cate123Author
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September 25, 2025

Hi ​@Abby_OVO and thanks for your message.

 

I was one of those to experience a meter running backwards!  Initially - like most people, I’m sure - I couldn’t quite believe it!

I do now have a smart meter - an Ovo colleague kindly told me that I Could have one but that it would be in dumb mode.  This means that I have to give Ovo manual readings every quarter.

 

Many thanks

 

Cate

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Cate123Author
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September 25, 2025

Hi ​@juliamc and thanks for your message.

 

Am I sad if I say that I found your attached video really interesting?!  I’ll certainly be saving it and looking at it again.  

 

I’m also interested in calculating the COP.  Initially, I was thinking that this would only be worthwhile once I’m using the system for heating, but I’m now wondering if it would also be interesting / worthwhile at the moment, when I’m still just switching the system on periodically to heat a tank of water? 

 

Many thanks, Cate

    juliamc
    Rank 20
    juliamc
    Rank 20
    September 25, 2025

    Hi Cate

    It’s a slippery slope !! You start with one interesting video and before you know it you’re hooked !

    Yes - definitely keep a note of the COP for hot water, it’s a good way to see how your system is performing as the weather changes, and if you make alterations in the way you run it.

    I don’t know if you can get separate figures for hot water and heating, once you start using that.

    Julia

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