How Does A Smart Meter Work With Solar Panels

Solar panel owners should have a pv generation meter that shows how much electricity their system is generating.

How does a smart meter work with solar panels.

With a smart meter installed a household will be able to tell its energy supplier exactly how many kilowatt hours kwh it s sending to the grid. If you are on a net feed in tariff scheme your net meter measures your household s electricity and the electricity generated by your solar pv system together. Solar panels are designed to store energy and convert it so you can use it in your home. The second shows power coming in from the grid and the third shows power going out from your solar into the grid.

One is a test screen where all lights are on. Typically the screen notation with 001 shows power coming in and 002 shows power going out. You produce excess energy it reduces the amount of energy measured on your bill by the same amount the meter spins backwards. Check whether your smart meter and in home display will work fully with them.

With smart meters utilities can measure and value your solar production any way the regulators let them. If you choose to get a smart meter installed it will only be able to display the energy. The main issues some people have reported when coping with a combination of solar panels and smart meters is that the meters connected to the solar panels are analogue meters or what we like to call dumb meters. Bi directional meters have three display screens.

A smart meter won t stop your solar panels working and generating electricity and it won t alter the amount of electricity you get to use. Furthermore the same is valid for the export of solar energy back to the grid. If you re getting a smart meter installed make sure that your supplier is aware you have solar panels. The answer to this question depends up to a point on what you mean by interfere.

Although you may already have a current smart meter installed at your property it would still need to be changed or altered to accomodate for a bi directional digital meter. Your electricity company reads the meter and calculates any surplus electricity fed back into the grid. Most smart meters will make a recording of your electricity exports on a half hourly basis allowing suppliers to adjust their rates based on nationwide demand. With analogue meters the default is 1 1 net metering.

The microgeneration source connected to the export smart meter will provide accurate information to the energy supplier to provide an accurate bill based on how much energy you have imported and exported. Smart meters have been designed to be able to work with solar panels and other microgeneration.