Model Railway Forum

Evening All.

Are smart meters compatible with solar Panels? I get regular emails from my supplier asking when they can fit a Smart meter. I have solar panels on the roof and am not sure how they would "talk" to the Smart meter!

John

If you google the question the answers are all yes.

Nine Elms wrote: ↑Mon Oct 18, 2021 6:41 pm Evening All.

Are smart meters compatible with solar Panels? I get regular emails from my supplier asking when they can fit a Smart meter. I have solar panels on the roof and am not sure how they would "talk" to the Smart meter!

John

Let us know how you get on. I've got panels but no smart meter. At one time there was a lot of talk about incompatibility but maybe the newer ones are OK. Cant really see the point of them to be honest.

What panels or meters. We have smart meters. They do their job and nobody has to call round to read them.

It is essential to have a Smart electric meter to manage the input from the Solar Panels. The Smart meter records and reports the Kilowatts generated by the panels and the amount returned to the Grid. I have had my Solar installation for 7 years and they have proved very profitable and the Smart Meter totally trouble free. I read the meter every 3 months and get a credit to my account. The normal electricity consumption is reported back to the supplier automatically so they do a check read annually and my bills have always been spot on. There seems to be many urban myths about Smart Meters which I find utter nonsense...........HB

I concur Howard.

cadman wrote: ↑Tue Oct 19, 2021 12:06 am It is essential to have a Smart electric meter to manage the input from the Solar Panels.............

Sorry, not true at all. I too have solar panels, for about five years now. It comes with it's own monitor that gives me all the infomation you mention. The only thing it doesnt do is send meter readings to my supplier but that is no hassle for me. Early smart meters stopped sending readings when you changed supplier, which until very recently, I did regularly. Unfortunately, the latest hike in gas prices has caused havoc in the supplier industry and better deals cant be found at the moment. I wont be installing a "smart" meter till I have to.

I got a smart meter cos I got sick of being asked if I wanted one! I was told that meter readings would be a thing of the past - not true. When I asked the meter reader why he was still visiting to read my meter he said he didn’t know. A likely story. Before getting a smart meter we would turn the heating up if it was cold. Now we see how much energy we are using so we don’t turn the heating up but remain cold and miserable instead. So, they work - you definitely use less fuel!

We don't have solar panels and our smart meter (Series 1 - electricity) gave up the ghost years ago. Reading the meters is a little ritual I go through each month - it takes about two minutes. I have been with Octopus for the last eighteen months and find them a first class supplier. I have asked for smart meters, but they have not been back to me yet. We have double glazing (which we might replace) and cavity wall insulation and an insulated loft and the heating kicks in some evenings at the moment, but it is still fairly warm outside - and you can always put a jumper on

Bandit Mick wrote: ↑Tue Oct 19, 2021 9:35 am I got a smart meter cos I got sick of being asked if I wanted one! I was told that meter readings would be a thing of the past - not true. When I asked the meter reader why he was still visiting to read my meter he said he didn’t know. A likely story. Before getting a smart meter we would turn the heating up if it was cold. Now we see how much energy we are using so we don’t turn the heating up but remain cold and miserable instead. So, they work - you definitely use less fuel!

We don’t use the monitor that tells you what you are using. Why would you be cold and miserable, what on earth is the point of that. As Barry suggests if you’re cold wear something warm.