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What does the pylon symbol mean on my Chameleon In-Home Display (IHD) 6?

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I cannot find any reference to the electricity pylon symbol  in any of the guides to theIHD 6 display .I am guessing it is indicating that the solar is exporting .any help on this would be good.

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Best answer by Tim_OVO 30 June 2022, 11:48

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Tim_OVO
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Updated on 12/06/23 by Emmanuelle_OVO

Hi @Massey - great question this, we do smart meters and IHDs pretty good here on the OVO Forum, so we always welcome the chance to fill any content gaps!

 

I can see that for the Chameleon 3 In Home Display (IHD), the ‘pylon’ icon shows on the screen if you generate your own energy, (like solar panels), and you’re a net exporter to the grid at that time. This is an important point, because if you’re generating your own electricity, it’s offset against what you use. So net means you’re generating more than you’re using.

 

The amount of energy being exported in kWh will show on the IHD and the live value in £ will show as zero as there is no cost to you for exporting electricity.

 

I’ve not been able to find any info about a IHD6 showing this. @Blastoise186 is one of our smart tech expert members. Also let me ask @EverythingNeedsAUserName @hambrook @PeterR1947 in case they have an IHD6 with their solar…

 

I’ve seen this before and it is indeed an indicator that you’re currently exporting spare electricity back to the grid.

Not every supplier enables it though.

 

Carbon neutral - we need a community to get there! My green tech: Aclara SGM 1411-B smart meter, Chameleon IHD6
PeterR1947
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I think it must be a supplier specific option, I’m with GE UK on the V2G trial and the Chameleon just shows zero usage when exporting

Blastoise186
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I’ve seen this before and it is indeed an indicator that you’re currently exporting spare electricity back to the grid.

Not every supplier enables it though.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
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Gosh I'm out of date. My IHD is a pipit! Minimal information and impossible to make it stay on the electricity kW screen. 

 

3.99kW solar 2015, 12kWh batteries 2022, Tado.
Blastoise186
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Yeah, the Secure Pipit 500 is pretty old these days, but nowhere near as old as the Chameleon IHD2 (yes, such a thing really exists!).

To the best of my knowledge, the Exporting to Grid icon is an undocumented feature of the Chameleon IHD6 and IHD7 which indicates when you’re exporting back to the grid, but not all suppliers enable the feature and it also relies on the paired Smart Meter knowing when Exports are taking place. If you’re exporting through an independent Export Meter instead, there’s a possible chance the icon might never show up.

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I've no pretty symbols, but the pipit shows a negative figure when exporting, and a zero cost per hour. 

 

3.99kW solar 2015, 12kWh batteries 2022, Tado.
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Hi,

I’ve just had smart meter 2 and chameleon ihd installed by EDF 

Have solar panels fitted (FIT era ) and at the moment (cloudy day) the pylon logo is showing and display about 800 kw and zero cost . 
Appears to confirm  previous comments and I wait for a sunny to really study things. 
 

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I get my energy from EDF, but i have Solar Panels with OVO Energy. I have recently had smart meters fitted and the smart meter is showing the pylon symbol. I understand this means that you’re currently exporting spare electricity back to the grid. My question is why has EDF got access to my Solar panels? I get payments from OVO quarterly for the energy that the panels provide, if EDF are exporting will i now not get payments from OVO? My smart meter is a Chameleon. 

Blastoise186
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Hi @Cazbob ,

Your Smart Meter was not manufactured by Chameleon because Chameleon Technology doesn’t make Smart Meters. They instead make In-Home Displays (IHDs) that are used with Smart Meters. The actual Smart Meter is on a wall in the same place as your previous meter was in.

The pylon symbol on the IHD is indeed an export indicator. However, in your case EDF does NOT have access to that at all. It’s been triggered because the meter on the wall has detected exports and broadcast a notification of that event to the IHD. If you don’t have FiT/SEG with EDF, then they will NOT be the ones paying out for your exports. Since you said you have FiT/SEG with OVO, it will still be OVO that pays out for your exports.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
BPLightlog
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Hi @Cazbob , I presume you’re talking about the IHD (in home display) rather than the smart meter itself. 
The Chameleon IHD will indicate when there is power being exported but this has nothing to do with your incoming supply contract. 
The indicator is simply for your information and you import power and export power will be as you’ve got them set up. 
Edit: crossed post with Blastoise

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Thank you, sorry i am new to this and of course its the in home display that i was referring to. Could you possibly tell me if its normal to not be able to see how much my usage is per hour while the pylon is showing? Also i can not see how much per hour my gas usage is at all.

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Hi @Cazbob , I presume you’re talking about the IHD (in home display) rather than the smart meter itself. 
The Chameleon IHD will indicate when there is power being exported but this has nothing to do with your incoming supply contract. 
The indicator is simply for your information and you import power and export power will be as you’ve got them set up. 
Edit: crossed post with Blastoise

Thank you, yes you are right about the display, senior moment.

BPLightlog
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Thank you, sorry i am new to this and of course its the in home display that i was referring to. Could you possibly tell me if its normal to not be able to see how much my usage is per hour while the pylon is showing? Also i can not see how much per hour my gas usage is at all.

When you are Exporting, your import will be zero - therefore no cost/hr at that point. 
It can only be importing or exporting, not both. 
For your gas, it depends if the gas meter has connected to the network (it sometimes takes a while) or if your IHD is on the set screen to show that. You can set the ‘home’ screen from the menu on the IHD once the data is live. 
Incidentally, can you see your gas usage on your account page? The info on the IHD for gas only updates every half hour, not as often as the electricity 

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so if i understand that right, does it mean that i am still being charged for the electricity that i am using but i just cant see how much per hour? My gas just shows how much i have used so far today, not per hour, so difficult to see how my heating costs per hour so i can limit it. Also my meter was fitted on 24th Jan, but the readings are a bit erratic, in as much as one day when i used a lot of different things like power washer, washer and dryer power tools etc, and my usage was £4.06, but on another day i was out all day and didnt use anything and the usage was £6.76. It just all seems very confusing

BPLightlog
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Not exactly @Cazbob . If your system is exporting then it is supplying what the home needs at that point meaning that your import is zero .. costing zero at that point. Your electricity usage will depend on the sun on each day so you will see quite a change depending on the weather. 
Gas is not as flexible in reporting. The meter is battery powered for its data and so it doesn’t show in the same way. 
Also if you have gas heating, presumably that will depend significantly on the outside temperature and so will vary a fair bit. 

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So, and im so sorry if i sound thick, on a dull day i am paying for all usage, but on a sunny day i am not? please accept my apologies for not getting it and i totally understand if you dont want to answer. i prob make it very hard for you, not intentionally. 

BPLightlog
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So, and im so sorry if i sound thick, on a dull day i am paying for all usage, but on a sunny day i am not? please accept my apologies for not getting it and i totally understand if you dont want to answer. i prob make it very hard for you, not intentionally. 

Not a problem .. we’re here to try to help. 
Thats the thing with solar, when the sun’s out then the panels will supply quite a bit of your usage (so you won’t pay for that part), without battery storage of course, you will pay for overnight and similarly you’ll pay for more on a dull day. 
Hope that helps

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BPLightlog
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Just another thought @Cazbob , I’m not sure what systems they fit (manufacturer and type) but there should be a monitor for your solar inverter. If you get a view of that, it can show you the variations during each day of solar generation and home energy usage. 
Mine looks like this at this point today 

I also have graphs for each day and summaries by day and month

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oo thanks, i will get other half to look for that, not seen anything myself though

 

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So, and im so sorry if i sound thick, on a dull day i am paying for all usage, but on a sunny day i am not? please accept my apologies for not getting it and i totally understand if you dont want to answer. i prob make it very hard for you, not intentionally. 

Not a problem .. we’re here to try to help. 
Thats the thing with solar, when the sun’s out then the panels will supply quite a bit of your usage (so you won’t pay for that part), without battery storage of course, you will pay for overnight and similarly you’ll pay for more on a dull day. 
Hope that helps

thank you, its getting clearer, a tad lol. i am almost 70 and it takes a bit of getting in this old head lol. but thank so much for your help

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