Hi,

I really want a smart meter so I can export energy back to the grid. However, my energy supplier tells me that there is no SMWAN Coverage in my area, so will not offer me a Smart meter.

Smart meters are installed in houses in the wider area (1km) and  I have a 3G/4G signal inside my house from Three (as I am based in the South of Britain, I guess I would be using the Telefonica network).

1. Does the Smart metering signal only use certain mobile providers?
2. Is the SMWAN Coverage data accurate and should it be updated?
3. Can I ask my Energy provider to test the signal at my property?

Thanks

Hi,

I really want a smart meter so I can export energy back to the grid. However, my energy supplier tells me that there is no SMWAN Coverage in my area, so will not offer me a Smart meter.

Smart meters are installed in houses in the wider area (1km) and  I have a 3G/4G signal inside my house from Three (as I am based in the South of Britain, I guess I would be using the Telefonica network).

1. Does the Smart metering signal only use certain mobile providers?
2. Is the SMWAN Coverage data accurate and should it be updated?
3. Can I ask my Energy provider to test the signal at my property?

Thanks

Hey @leprous !

I can answer those for you. :)

1. Yes, the Southern Territory (and also the Central Territory that got rolled into Southern) use the O2 Network as part of the Cellular based Telefonica WAN (Three is not part of this system I’m afraid). For the Northern Territory, it’s a Long-Range Radio based system running on the Arqiva WAN for which no mobile networks are involved
2. Generally, yes. I think it’s heavily influenced by O2 coverage in general and is updated regularly
3. I believe you can ask for this. They’ll usually do it remotely first but some might agree to send an engineer out to test the signal on-site. The signal is always tested on-site during an install, upgrade or replacement job as part of the installation process.

You are indeed in the Southern Territory if you’re in the South of Britain, so you’d be under the Telefonica WAN.

Three isn’t part of Telefonica - it’s owned by Hutchinson 3G UK Ltd (with a very complicated chain of ownership above that!) instead and they use their own infrastructure.

Many Thanks, very informative. I think I need to check my O2 coverage.

Its hardly worth the bother 4p per Kwh they pay, better off to buy a battery to use your solar power overnight or to charge your car.

This seems like it could be beneficial to you then: https://octopus.energy/smart/flux/

It won’t be any use if there’s no WAN Coverage though. :)

Octopus pay me 15p per kWh and if you're on their Flux tariff you can get about 40p.

 @M.isterW - I’ve just looked that up and it’s a great deal if you have the battery capacity. I’d get 36.85p if I could export during the peak hours!  

My smart meter doesn’t connect to the WAN in my rural location. I cant get access to the great EV charge rates on offer. I have 4G mobile available but in scotland needs to connect through other means. Any ideas on how to get problem resolved if smart meter cant connect for the half hourly updates… apparently cant even get new meter for economy seven which although more expensive than EV rates would still be cheaper at night to charge car… 

There are different signals used for smart meters @GMJ265 there’s a bit of a walk through here 

There has been some advances in low signal areas more recently, with additional aerial design and also a ‘linking’ of several meters to get signals passed from one to the other. If you’re in a really remote location, it may well be that the network can’t reach you but it’s worth asking if there’s an update available. Incidentally, do you happen to know if you have a 1st or 2nd generation meter? The newer versions help. 

It’s a smets2 it was changed about a year ago after much hassle to ensure that it wasn’t a meter issue with the previous one and once eliminated left me with only a connectivity issue… technologically a 4G connection might work nut in scotland it has to be radio wave connection… wondering what idiot decided radio wave connectivity in the most mountainous part of the UK was a good idea? Or why the technology that could work cant be used because of some lunacy about having to use an unworkable tech? Crackers!

It’s more about using a secure method to transmit the signal. 

And up in Scotland, the Long-Range Radio method actually has better coverage than the O2 network used for the Telefonica WAN down south would have. It’s all about what works for the many.

If an electric Smartmeter Wan and Han flash every 5 seconds should it be communicating with the energy supplier to send meter readings.

I live in an old mill apartment building (7 floors - North England) with thick walls and the Smartmeters are located in a ground floor room. Almost all Smartmeters flash every 5 seconds but a number of residents advise the energy company can’t receive readings blaming a poor signal. A number of these residents are tenants so there are regular changes in tenancies.

So if the Wan and Han flash every 5 secs. is the signal good enough and is the problem with the meter and or DCC ?

Hi @Robert44 

Those LEDs do NOT indicate signal strength or whether the Site is communicating with a Supplier - only that the network is functional.

There’s one way to check beyond what you’ve said.

What does the lookup tool at https://homebrew.n3rgy.com tell you? Please don’t post personal info to the Forum though!

Thanks. I actually have not got a Smartmeter yet.  I was trying to find a way to see if a Smartmeter would work in my flat.

A number of residents/tennants advise that the energy company blame a poor signal but some meters work in Smart mode.

I wanted to try and check if a Smartmeter would work for me prior to applying for one. Is there a way to check this ? 

Yes. That’s done as part of the booking process. There’s also options like AltHAN and Dual-Band Comms Hubs that can fix certain issues regarding range between the meter and you.

Note! All meters are in a ground floor room

Easy. AltHAN will cover that no problem once it becomes ready to go again.

No flat here can use an IHD, althogh At-Han will help here when it becomes available.

What will a Dual Band Hub do for the Wan signal.

Dual-Band Comms Hubs affect the HAN only, not the WAN.

So how does the booking process take into account my local conditions:

-old mill building

-thick walls

-ground floor central meter room

-issues from resident/tennants

Do they (OVO) take into account current issues at these flats? 

I get the impression OVO only want to make a sale/installation.

It’s based on the data known to OVO and DCC at the time of the booking. A secondary check is done during the install itself - but it’s impossible to know absolutely everything in advance.

An aborted install actually costs OVO money, so it’s in their interests to get it right.