Possible fault in PV generation meter after system installed 2 years.

[irosie22]

Hi All,
I read through all threads and can't seem to find this topic so apologies if I've missed one where is has been discussed.

Got a phone call from a customer today saying that when they went to submit their annual ROCs reading from their generation meter, it was only showing 34 units. The 4kw system has been installed 2 years so of course I was stunned. Once I started asking questions it soon became clear that the inverter had been relocated by another spark (with no PV experience) and they connected everything up wrong. In the process, they have reset both the generation meter and the inverter. The problem is they've lost any proof of their generation. They gave a reading of approx. 4028 units in April last year which was submitted to OfGem, proof the system was generating until it was moved. We've never had this happen before where both the meter & inverter has reset. Now we're not really sure where is will leave the customer as they've effectively to start from scratch. Has anyone had a problem like this before where they've had to swap a faulty generation meter or anything? Just wondering how to approach this with OfGem.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Pete999]

Hi All,
I read through all threads and can't seem to find this topic so apologies if I've missed one where is has been discussed.

Got a phone call from a customer today saying that when they went to submit their annual ROCs reading from their generation meter, it was only showing 34 units. The 4kw system has been installed 2 years so of course I was stunned. Once I started asking questions it soon became clear that the inverter had been relocated by another spark (with no PV experience) and they connected everything up wrong. In the process, they have reset both the generation meter and the inverter. The problem is they've lost any proof of their generation. They gave a reading of approx. 4028 units in April last year which was submitted to OfGem, proof the system was generating until it was moved. We've never had this happen before where both the meter & inverter has reset. Now we're not really sure where is will leave the customer as they've effectively to start from scratch. Has anyone had a problem like this before where they've had to swap a faulty generation meter or anything? Just wondering how to approach this with OfGem.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Any idea as to why the inverter was moved?

 

[irosie22]

Any idea as to why the inverter was moved?

It was moved to another wall as they needed to create a doorway apparently.

Is it possible that the meter could be running backwards if it was wired wrong?

 

[Pete999]

Not into Solar, I was just interested, wait for a few hours most of the more knowledgeable Solar Gurus will be home then, after a pint or three of course.

 

[Gaz92552]

Have you seen the meter or just going off what the customer said? I know some meters have a button you can press which will cycle through readings, so might just be user error. Digital meters can't go back, it would just freeze and whatever reading it was at.

 

[irosie22]

Have you seen the meter or just going off what the customer said? I know some meters have a button you can press which will cycle through readings, so might just be user error. Digital meters can't go back, it would just freeze and whatever reading it was at.

Yes, we've seen the meter because they sent through a picture today. It's a Landis & Gyr E110. There are no buttons to press, the display just shows what has been generated so far. On the day of installation, the opening reading was (00000.68) that was Oct 2015. A reading was taken and submitted a year ago approx. 4028 (I got that info from their ROCs agent)
Today the meter is showing 00034.18!! We are baffled. If the meter had of been replaced, this would make sense, but it hasn't because the serial number matched the one we fitted.

 

[Gaz92552]

That is bizarre. Maybe they did wire it in reverse and the meter is faulty and been counting down since then? Need to test the meter and check the connections at least to see what's going on.

 

[irosie22]

Upon further investigation we have found the problem. Whatever the spark has done, he's damaged the inverter. Although it's not showing a fault light, it seems it won't generate above 18w and keeps clicking like its starting up. It seems they've really done a number on it, everything has reset, including the meter as the reading was still the same this morning.