Questions and discussion about solar, batteries, and electrification
Active Stream have confirmed that the document linked below is in error for MK7A2 meters installed in South Australia, and they intend to correct the document.
We confirm that all contestable metering is set to Eastern Standard Time (EST) as per the National Electricity Market rules. NSW, QLD and SA all have EST applied, even during daylight savings time, however the data is adjusted in the back end to correct the time.
Regarding your meter reads, we apologise for the confusion caused. For SA meters, registers 53 and 63 are not applicable and apply to Premium Feed In Tariff (PFit) sites in NSW. We will inform the team and amend our reference guide accordingly.
Customers in SA should refer to registers 1, 3, 7 and 13. All other registers are for information only.
01 time/date
03 total energy consumed by house
07 total energy consumed by hot water
13 Excess energy exported by solar
Please note that all reads are cumulative.
We hope the above addresses your query. If you have further questions or require clarification on the above please let us know. Many thanks.
"Active Stream is an accredited Meter Provider and Meter Data Provider, which provides digital metering devices and data services to energy retailers, distributors and other business in the NEM."
"Established in 2014, Active Stream Pty Ltd (Active Stream) as a wholly-owned subsidiary of AGL Energy Limited, delivers a complete end-to-end digital meter solution that includes meter supply, deployment, maintenance, data collection, management and support. Our digital metering solutions enable businesses to fully realise the benefits of advanced metering technology to deliver their services more efficiently and offer innovative products to better meet the needs of current and future energy consumers."
How to Read Electricity Meters - Consumer Guide
The linked complete document above is published by Active Stream and is a very clear guide on how to read AGL smart meters in South Australia. The following is a summary of the document.
Definition of Terms
Export Energy | Electricity that is generated by the customer and delivered back to the network |
Import Energy | Electricity that is drawn from the local distribution network and consumed or used within the customer’s installation |
Net Metering | A metering system that measures the energy imported from distribution network and/or excess energy generated and exported into the distribution network |
Gross Solar Metering | A metering system that measures the total electricity generated by the solar panels or other generating systems |
Energy | All the energy readings displayed on meter the Meter LCD display are in Watt hours |
PFIT | Premium Feed‐In Tariff |
Note: The definitions above are based on customer’s point of view.
Model MK7C
The table below shows meters LCD Label and Description.
LCD | Description |
01 | Standard Current Date and Time |
03 | Excess energy consumed by customer |
13 | Excess energy exported by customer |
Model MK7A2
Author's Note:
The green button is the boost button and can be used at any time by holding it in for several seconds until you hear a relay click in and see "ConnECt" on the display. This will power the hot water (controlled load) for two hours from the grid. Controlled load cannot be powered from solar batteries, only from the grid, and it is recorded by register 07, so I assume one is paying controlled load rates during a daytime boost. You cannot stop the two hour timer once initiated, so if you don't wish to run it for the full two hours you can isolate the hot water by switching off the hot water circuit breaker after the required time. Remember to turn the breaker back on after boosting for normal off-peak night time operation. You can boost multiple times in one day but there is no specific indication of boost being on. The easiest way to test if boost is on is to turn the hot water breaker off and on and see if the "1000 imp/kWh" LED either stops pulsing, or at least, slows down significantly, and then goes back to the previous rate.
The button below the green button is used for scrolling through the LCD display registers.
I have amended the table in accordance with Active Stream's correction.
The table below shows meters LCD Label and Description.
LCD | Description As Per Configuration |
01 | Standard Current Date and Time |
03 | Excess energy consumed by customer |
13 | Excess energy exported by solar system |
07 | Total energy consumed by customer’s hot water |
43 | Not applicable in South Australia |
53 | Not applicable in South Australia |
63 | Not applicable in South Australia |
Note: Some of the old meters will only have 4 LCD displays (i.e. 01,03, 07 and 13).
Model MK10D
The table below shows meters LCD Label and Description.
LCD | Description |
01 | Standard Current Date and Time |
03 | Excess energy consumed by customer |
13 | Excess energy exported by customer |
Cancelling a Controlled Load boost.
On my Mk7A I activated the Controlled Load boost as described - easy. I confirmed the CL was in boost by long-pressing the clear-coloured lower button until the voltage and current values appeared. The first value is the grid voltage - around 230-255v. Another brief press of the same button scrolls up the Main Load current (MLI) - either a positive value if there is an appliance or lights on inside the installation - or a negative value if the solar is producing more than the house is cunsuming. Another brief press scrolls up the CL current (usually between 10-15A depending on the waytage of the HW element). To cancel the CL Boost I returned the screen back to time/date, then pressed both buttons simultaneously - and heard the relay click off, and the display message confirmation. Then juat repeat the voltage/current reading steps above to prove that CL = 0A.
i wish that plumbers used tgis feature to verify that a water heater is functioning correctly - quick, easy safe, and no tools required.
Hi RBro,
Thank you for sharing this information as I'm sure many members will find it useful!
For any further information, Active Stream can be contacted directly on 1300 669 245.
Regards,
Le
I was informed by meter guy installing meter 3 is what I use during day from panels and 1 is what I have to pay from grid. I have solar and Mk10d 3 phase meter which am told is net meter.
Is this correct info?