Why am I still drawing power from the grid when my solar is cranking

[MdM]

Hi,

I have recently install solar and AGL (via some subcontractor) upgraded my meters to Active Stream smart meters. When I look at the AGL app, during the middle of the day, with nothing running and solar cranking (currently I am generating at over 4.5 kw) the app says that I am still drawing power from the grid? How can this be possible. It also says I am selling loads of power to the grid (for a pittance) but why should I still be drawing power from the grid?

Also I have both T11 and T33. Should my solar system be powering both of these networks ie. I want to ensure the solar is power the pool pumps where possible.

On my T11 meter I can see a reading for both 03 and 13 however on my T33 meter I can only see a 03 reading. Should I only consider the T11 meter's 13 reading?

Mark

Mark 

[Schander]

Hi Mark,

I'm commenting on the first paragraph, but defer to AGL on the other.  When you first got your meters upgraded, your installer should have advised you to have the meter reconfigured.  Did you already get this part sorted out with AGL yet?  Because a hypothetical situation could be that the Solar Panel System is installed, generating electricity, but the smart meter hasn't been reconfigured to allow for Feed-In to the grid.

You can also review a detailed usage meter request (via the App) or you can contact AGL's team for more information.  You should see a Feed-In-Tariff kWh and the usual Grid consumption.  If you don't see anything for the Feed-In-Tariff, then you need to confirm that your smart meter was indeed reconfigured.

[Manly4eva]

You sound like you are in the exact same situation as me. I have been chasing my tail with AGL for months over this. If the pool was on it own T33 circuit it will never run off the solar. I have been recording my usage every hour and have found that the code 7 on my smart meter is not for hot water as stated but actually my pool pump. Yours may be different as I have 2 in my meter-box. My hot water has been wired to its own separate meter.  I ran my pool pump via an extension cord to a standard socket from the house and the pump was running from solar power. Code 7 didn't move. When i connected the pump back to the switch in the pump room the code 7 started to move again. You will need to either install a separate power-point to run the pump from mains power or have it redirected into your mains supply at the meter-box.  This is something AGL and/or the contractor fitting the meter should have done. My feed in tariff was massive and my controlled load went up because the pump was running every day bypassing the solar. My pump runs from 10 am until 3 pm. ( see photo below . yellow is feed in and blue is usage ) I am still waiting on AGL to contact me back. Another issue is the meters send information back to AGL in blocks. If your house has a microsecond loss of power, which is extremely common the AGL app will read as an estimate read not actual read. It is a true read but because of the microsecond power loss they must show it as estimate.

[Sades22]

I too am drawing from the grid when I have just installed new panels adding to my old with 60 panels now producing plenty of power for us. Our battery has only on one occasion not had enough to cover us overnight and we generally have 40-50% or more remaining in the battery at 7am. 

Why am I pulling anything at all from the grid when I always have plenty of power in the battery?  After investing $40k (before government rebates) we expected to almost never draw anything from the grid yet we do every single day. 

We were with another power company and still had a $200 monthly bill because their systems didn’t recognise our GoodWe battery so we thought switching to AGL would solve this problem but it seems it hasn’t. And the app just keeps telling me my consumption “is pending “ but my GoodWe app shows me consumption as well as a huge amount going into the grid. So AGL is making lots of money reselling the power we generate for them, yet we are still drawing from the grid! Does anyone have any idea how to solve this or what might be wrong?

[Schander]

This sounds like it is likely to be a system setup issue as opposed to retailer issue.

Here are a few things worth checking.

Battery reserve setting
If your battery is still at 40 to 50 percent at 7am, the system may be holding some charge for backup. When it hits that level, it stops using the battery and starts pulling from the grid instead. Check your GoodWe app for a setting like minimum state of charge or backup reserve.

Operating mode
Make sure the system is set to self use. Some modes hold charge in the battery or send more power to the grid instead of using it overnight.

CT clamp or metering setup
If this was set up wrong, the system can misread what your home is using. It may think there is extra solar and export it, while you are still drawing from the grid. That would explain why you see both at the same time.

Circuits connected to the battery
Not every circuit in the house is always connected to the battery. Some parts of the home may still rely on the grid, depending on how it was wired.

Battery and inverter limits
The battery can only supply so much power at once. If you turn on high load items like a kettle or oven, the system may briefly draw from the grid to help.

It is best to get your installer to check the system settings first. This is usually where the issue sits.

Once that is confirmed, you can check with AGL that your meter is set up correctly for solar exports. That affects billing, not when your home uses the grid.