Solar Panel grid tie in and Electric Meter

[john10001]

Just wondered if anyone can tell me if you can just connect a solar panel via a grid tie-in inverter to your electric supply or is it not possible to simply do this with all electric meters? Do you need to have a new meter installed to have a grid tie-in solar panel?

The meter I have I believe is fairly modern it is a digital one. On the meter it says "Landis Gyrt Yedl 5235A"

 

[JohnD]

it is not usually a DIY job.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

You will need a generation meter with isolation from the consumer unit. and inverter.

Untitled

• PrenticeBoyofDerry
• 28 Apr 2013
• 1

 

[Taylortwocities]

Youir meter will need to be a specific type that effecively runs "Backwards and forwards".you will bneed to ask YEDL if the meter you have provides this function and the cost of changing it for a suitable one.

Are you hoping to benefit from the Feed in Tariff (FIT)?

If so, please be aware that for you to qualify for FITs, the installer and the products you use must both be certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS). The tariffs you receive depend on both the eligibility date and, for solar PV, your property’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating.

 

[pjcomp]

Most of what Taylor said, but the metering involves two meters - your existing one and a new one. The new one clocks the output from the solar panels (generation meter) before the power goes through your consumer unit and either powers your house or is exported to the grid.

The second meter is your existing one. If you have a modern digital meter, then during periods when you are exporting and not importing power, the meter will stop. If you have an old analogue meter (with the spinning wheel), during net export periods the wheel will usually go backwards but the numeric counter will just stop. If the analogue meter is old enough, the numeric counter will also go backwards.

In the latter case you could tell your supplier about this "problem", on the other hand it's theri meter and they should know what's there and it's up to them to come and change it if they want to.

As Taylor points out, you can't just stick up your own e-bay panels and tie them in - when solar panels (or other microgeneration schemes) feed power into the grid it is relevant to the supply system and the suplier needs to be aware of what's going on.

PJ

 

[Lectrician]

For small scale PV, your energy provider will calculate what to pay you for 'selling back to the grid' using a percentage of what your generation meter shows.

On larger scale PV, the meter will be changed to an import/export type which shows what lecky units go in AND out on two seperate readings (or more, depending if you have different rates too).

For a simple domestic, your normal lecky meter is retained, but only used to charge you for units you use from the grid. The new 'generation FITs' meter is used to pay you your FITS payments for each unit generated (irrespective of if you use them or they are exported), and your supplier will then use this figure to also 'guestimate' how much you export.

Not all suppliers are the same though. Some may change your meter to an import/export type in any case, not just for larger scale installs.