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Forum Index : Solar : "Smart" Meter
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| brucedownunder2 Guru  Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548 |
Hello ,Yesterday Energex installed a new "smart" meter. I asked the tech if there is any instruction booklet and he just gave me a blank look . Then asked him to explain the workings ,again a blank look. He ain't got a clue ,he admits,nice guy anyhow. Tells me they are installing hundreds of e-meters on solar installations , 4 techs in the gold coast region are flat out with a 10 day lag. Does anybody out there know the functions to look at or a booklet that I could download,it is constantly reading lots of parameters,but I don't know what the symbols mean.. I'm saving around 25 % off my daily consumption of average 16 Kwh, so 4 Kwh per good day from a 1 Kw system. It should pay for itself in 157 days (only outlay was $355 ). Bruce Bushboy |
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fillm Guru Joined: 10/02/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 730 |
Bruce , I would check what your supplier is crediting you for the solar power , I think you will find in QLD it is only 20c a Kw , to get the higher rate you have to produce more than you use .. PhillM ...Oz Wind Engineering..Wind Turbine Kits 500W - 5000W ~ F&P Dual Kits ~ GOE222Blades- Voltage Control Parts ------- Tower kits |
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| brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548 |
I checked the meter this morning after 1 day and 1 night it showed 10 Kwh ,,so with my solar's 4 Kwh ,that is about what I average use (14 Kwh). I will never get any money back , my grid use will be less. I'm happy with that. Bruce Bushboy |
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| brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548 |
But , I would be happy if I know how to read the meter,,so many symbols,,, Bruce Bushboy |
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| micke Newbie  Joined: 25/10/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 15 |
What is the brand and model of the meter? |
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| brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548 |
Thanks Micke,, EDMI ATLAS 2000-1010 After reset it shows Kwh 's and because I'm on 3 phase ,I guess the 3 readings are from each phase .. But adding these up is way over my useage,I think . So , what I use per day from the supplier is what I'm most interested in .. Bruce Bushboy |
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| Dinges Senior Member  Joined: 04/01/2008 Location: AlbaniaPosts: 510 |
Bruce, below is a link to the manufacturer; the support section of the website (where you should be able to download a manual normally) is under construction. They may be able to help you if you contact them directly by phone or email. http://www.edmi-meters.com/ BTW, the burden of supplying a proper manual for your equipment is on the company that sold you the product, not the actual manufacturer. I'd hold the seller accountable for supplying you with the required manual you need to be able to use this meter. Peter. (<-- hates it when his tools are smarter than he is.) |
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GWatPE Senior Member Joined: 01/09/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2127 |
Hi Bruce, this meter is similar function to the one installed by ETSA on my place. The model you have is newer, and has a few more features. I think you will find that the unit has a sequential type display, with a couple of modes. I used to record the kWhr readings and use these in daily comparisons. I have found that the utility companies are reluctant to give out software to record what is going on. the unit will at best give the current/power passing across the sensors, and accumulated kWhr in each of probably 4 registers. The brochure gives a full wrap of functions. As I have fouind, the units do not give the full picture, as only the net figs are recorded. I prefer to record the total power produced from the solar, the power consumed in the house, etc. I calculate the net and other useful info, and have a rapid data access and plotting system. I found that since automating the recording and data display, compared to manual recording with spreadsheet display that I get a better appreciation for system behaviour and performance. These units are intended to help the billing aspect, and not the user. The manufacturer has an info brochure. I did not get any manual from ETSA for my smart meter either. Had to work out what the S1,S2,register03,07,09, alt etc meant. There will be a logical display sequence. Gordon. become more energy aware |
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| micke Newbie Joined: 25/10/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 15 |
Hi Bruce I'm mot fimilar with these meters as ergon energy uses Ampy meters. Although there should be an ID sticker/label on the meter which identifies what registers are programed into the meter and what they register. 
The ID number is the number displayed in the left hand side of the display and identifies the registers, you can scroll through by pressing the display/select button. There will be extra information displayed which is not identifed on the label. The extra information is usually line voltages, currents, frequency and instaneous power. From my experience no manual is shipped with these electronic meters as each meter can be programmed differently depending on different tariffs and locations but there should be a ID Label. The 3 readings that you are refering to are possibly Total kWh Import for each phase, if you want a daily total will have to read the meter daily and subtract the previous days reading to get a daily total. Mick |
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| rgormley Senior Member Joined: 22/02/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 245 |
hey bruce and others if you get bored....I have a live webcam (well 1 min delay) that shows the screens from my meter updates every 1 minutes or so it will toggle through all the stats and i just sit at 8pm every night from the comfort of my room and record the live view from my web cam as it scrolls through the numbers on the meter http://home.exetel.com.au/rgormley/ http://home.exetel.com.au/rgormley/ |
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Andybear Newbie Joined: 26/07/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 6 |
Hi Bruce, Energex put a meter in for me a couple of months back. It does little other than give the KWh used, and then cycles to a negative number. eg-20, indicating you have returned 20Kwh to the grid. I think we get 44cents per Kwh. Have not been billed since the installation Edit: Looks as though we have different meter! Sorry Cheers all Andybear  When in trouble delegate. When in doubt mumble |
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| GWatPE Senior Member Joined: 01/09/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2127 |
Hi Richard, the webcam is a bit like watching paint dry. Gordon. become more energy aware |
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| rgormley Senior Member Joined: 22/02/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 245 |
yes it`s not that interesting other than having live values that i can read at work, more so my interest value than anything... ah yes, but if the paint is getting wet outside (ie: when it`s raining) "I" don't have to get wet if i want the log the meter values. well I like the concept anyway.... Cheers!  |
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| GWatPE Senior Member Joined: 01/09/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2127 |
Hi Richard, I will stick to remote desktop. I can view all my logged data now from the comfort of inside. I did not realize how powerful it is. It is the same as sitting in front of the Logging PC. You actually control the logging applications remotely. I can now be on the net, and check what is happening now, or yesterday etc, and look at and even compare the graphed data from multiple sources. I may not even need to make a combined database. This is certainly better than my old system of manual transfer of data to a spreadsheet for viewing. Gordon. become more energy aware |
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| Seedar Newbie Joined: 28/07/2010 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1 |
Hi Gordon, So how do you automatically log your power use data ? I have a new import export meter from ETSA and would love to be able to do that or at least be able to see what I am currently using and ideally contributing back to the grid. All I can seem to get out of it is the total used and total contributed. thanks, Seedar |
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| VK4AYQ Guru Joined: 02/12/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2539 |
Hi All It looks like these smart meters are designed to keep us dumb. Bob  Foolin Around |
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SSW_squall Senior Member Joined: 20/03/2010 Location: AustraliaPosts: 111 |
These smart meters are at the very least quite enigmatic, if not too smart for there own good... Been doing abit of planning on installing an electric boosted solar hotwater system for a friend as they have a pissy little 100L system and are always running out of hot water. They have a small 1kW grid tied solar PV system with an import/export meter. To make the most out of the solar water heat it is really quite important to set up the timing of the electric boost, such that it doesn't heat at the wrong times (during the day) but heats early in the morning. So I've been doing abit of research into HOW the smart meter controls the off peak hotwater and when it switches on or off The smart meter they have has a button on the front which allows an 1 shot boost, but this is charged at peak rates (i think). I found some cryptic note in a document on the ETSA that stated that you would have to call ETSA to get the off-peak time switch adjusted. If this is the case that would be really quite annoying, as our house has an old disc meter which has a separate clockwork mechanical time switch, which is at least adjustable. I've set it up so that it complements the hot water delivered by my wood fired flue heating system. Does anyone else know more about it than this?? AB Einstein: Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler |
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| neil0mac Senior Member Joined: 26/12/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 210 |
Are you forgetting that the 'boost' only works when the water temperature is low? So, it should only turn on during the day if the sun is hiding - which would probably be appreciated by all. Alternative is to switch the circuit breaker off? |
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| SSW_squall Senior Member Joined: 20/03/2010 Location: AustraliaPosts: 111 |
Hi Neil, It does depend abit on your lifestyle and when you typically use the greatest amount of hot water, for showers and baths ect Assuming the solar hot water service is sized appropriately, you should be able to get away with only one boost per day (unless you have guests ect) For example: If you typically have showers at night then a boost in the late afternoon at say 4pm, this will ensure the water is hot ready for use. In that case it would then be unhelpful to have a boost set to come on early in the morning (at 5am) as this would heat the water and deny the solar heating system the oppourtunity to do so during the course of the day. We normally have our showers in the morning so i've set the boost to come on at 3-5am, but have eliminated the afternoon boost. In this way our slow combustion wood fire heats the cold tank during the evening when we have the fire going and the off peak power finishes the job. So it is advantageous to be able to set the time switch to maximise the solar out output and therefore reduce the grid energy costs AB Einstein: Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler |
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KarlJ Guru Joined: 19/05/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1178 |
neil0mac there are lots of different setups for electric hot water systems twin element,mid element bottom element etc they can be connected so the bottom element is on night rate and top on "boost" which is normally connected to the "normal" peak supply. The solution for your mate is a din rail time switch HPM PN HL03730 or equivalent, and then you can set it to turn on at any time during the off peak period. 300L tank is the min size for solar and if there is no gas then an instant electrics should be considered (standing heat loss for a 300L tank at 70deg is 2.9KW/day (not kw hr in this case Gordon as we're talking an energy loss over 24hrs) thus you'd be wasting at normal electricity rates 0.60c just is what is lost to the surrounding air. Some facts smart or time of use meters Phillm listen up too! as your post about 0.20c for the power you make is pretty inaccurate at best. $0.44 is the Feed In Tarrif rate in QLD and ANY instant in time you make more than you use you will get paid that FIT. EG now -standby power 200W/hr generation 700W/hr getting paid for the 500W/hr at 0.44c 10seconds later turn on the pool pump 1200W/hr use 700W generation paying for 500W at ~0.20c. turn the pump off turn on the TV use 500W/hr generate 900W/hr get paid the balance. over the course of a day if you were smart about you usage you would identify and turn off all un-necessary loads (standby power) get it down to 100W/hr and you're doing alright. when you are out shopping and the house is in standby mode you'll be feeding in that power AND getting paid for it. You guys aren't alone this is a very common misconception about how it works ie used 10 made 4 thus i must have made no money. similarly 10+4 does not necessarily mean you used 14 either. it means (in terms of the smartmeter) you got paid for 4KW/hr and you paid for 10KW/hr at times you were contributing to your use by means of the solar thus you may have in fact used (EG only) 20KW/hr for the day but 6KW/hr was fed directly from Panels to load internally thus no import or export. SO in summary if everything else is turned off then basically your house is GROSS exporting as there are no loads. They should build houses like hotels with a MASTER switch at the front door that shuts down everything except the fridge....and the generation  Luck favours the well prepared |
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