Smart Meter Installed

[EEVblog]

My net energy meters have been replaced with a new fangled Smart Energy Meter as we call them in Australia.
This gives the option of potential time of day usage using other energy providers that offer low cost off-peak energy rates for battery or EV charging.
I presume I can connect the IR port on the front for capturing the data?

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OGYexV34vCU

[darkspr1te]

Search you fav tech store for Win7/8/10/11 USB to IR Infrared Optical Adapter for Energy Meter IEC1107 DLMS kWh Meter
if you are wanting wireless then there is a Tuya based device for that but it requires the smartlife/tuya home app and pulling data to other sources is hard.
if you have a HomeAssitant setup then use https://community.home-assistant.io/t/electricity-smart-meter-optical-ir-port/327517/7


darkspr1te

[nali]

That IR port is more or less the smartmeter version of a UART0 debug... engineers can upgrade the firmware and do a bit of poking around through there. Don't expect anything tasty though, they're properly locked down.

[Gyro]

Do they not provide you with home displays (IHD) in Australia? They do in the UK, which give you individual and combines energy information if you have a smart gas meter too.

They're by no means perfect, but they can provide a fair amount of statistics.

Eg.




They communicate over Zigbee.

[woofy]

The home display that came with my smart meter was pretty minimal and the meter doesn't monitor everything I wanted anyway.
I built an ESP based energy monitor that can take up to 8 CT clamp inputs. This sends an MQTT message to Home Assistant every 10 seconds, measuring current, power direction and mains voltage.
I'm currently monitoring 4 items, Grid, Solar, Battery and EV charging. The smart meter would only give me grid info so I didn't bother with it, though I can see what its up to on the monthly reports from Octopus.
Unless grid info is all you require, an energy monitor may be a better option.

[Someone]

Do they not provide you with home displays (IHD) in Australia?
....
They communicate over Zigbee.

Not sure anyone had them provided for free, but displays were/are available for the meters with zigbee (which is not all of them ). Uptake is minimal/non-existent, yet people with solar love their phone apps for some reason.

[EEVblog]

Do they not provide you with home displays (IHD) in Australia? They do in the UK, which give you individual and combines energy information if you have a smart gas meter too.

They're by no means perfect, but they can provide a fair amount of statistics.

Nope, not a thing here AFAIK

[Someone]

Do they not provide you with home displays (IHD) in Australia? They do in the UK, which give you individual and combines energy information if you have a smart gas meter too.

They're by no means perfect, but they can provide a fair amount of statistics.

Nope, not a thing here AFAIK

Well known enough for the government to talk about them:
https://www.yourhome.gov.au/energy/connected-home
and it was supposed to be one of the main benefits of smart meters:
https://www.awa.asn.au/resources/latest-news/community/engagement/smart-meter-technology

[Jeroen3]

The IR port may blast some data every x seconds. You can get readers for those.
Yours has IEC 62056-21

The frame may look like this

Code: [Select]

/ISk5\2MT382-1000
1-3:0.2.8(50)
0-0:1.0.0(101209113020W)
0-0:96.1.1(4B384547303034303436333935353037)
1-0:1.8.1(123456.789*kWh)
1-0:1.8.2(123456.789*kWh)
1-0:2.8.1(123456.789*kWh)
1-0:2.8.2(123456.789*kWh)
0-0:96.14.0(0002)
1-0:1.7.0(01.193*kW)
1-0:2.7.0(00.000*kW)
0-0:96.7.21(00004)
0-0:96.7.9(00002)
1-0:99.97.0(2)(0-0:96.7.19)(101208152415W)(0000000240*s)(101208151004W)(0000000301*s)
1-0:32.32.0(00002)
1-0:52.32.0(00001)
1-0:72.32.0(00000)
1-0:32.36.0(00000)
1-0:52.36.0(00003)
1-0:72.36.0(00000)
0-
0:96.13.0(303132333435363738393A3B3C3D3E3F303132333435363738393A3B3C3D3E3F303132333435363738393A3B3C
3D3E3F303132333435363738393A3B3C3D3E3F303132333435363738393A3B3C3D3E3F)
1-0:32.7.0(220.1*V)
1-0:52.7.0(220.2*V)
1-0:72.7.0(220.3*V)
1-0:31.7.0(001*A)
1-0:51.7.0(002*A)
1-0:71.7.0(003*A)
1-0:21.7.0(01.111*kW)
1-0:41.7.0(02.222*kW)
1-0:61.7.0(03.333*kW)
1-0:22.7.0(04.444*kW)
1-0:42.7.0(05.555*kW)
1-0:62.7.0(06.666*kW)
0-1:24.1.0(003)
0-1:96.1.0(3232323241424344313233343536373839)
0-1:24.2.1(101209112500W)(12785.123*m3)
!EF2F
^{(such frames also contain unique identifiers, careful)}

Basically contains all counters and most recent instantaneous measurement. Obviously above example is a three phase meter, probably a dutch one.
OVer here it's called DSMR (dutch smart meter requirements) or the P1 port (customer facing port) often also available as rj11 on meters here.
The field codes are called OBIS Codes, and should be universal.

It was made available so we can check the meters functionality and get immediate insight into consumption. Also to interface appliances that require tariff switching, since the PLC tariff switch signal was turned off. Many EV chargers use it for to dynamically limit their current to prevent overloading the main fuses.

Try it! Maybe yours has those features as well.
Or your government is like, "ah who cares, we don't need that" judging by the deplorable state of distribution panel you have over there 

[IanJ]

I got a Smart Meter installed a couple years ago but then unbeknownst to me it started failing to Tx back to my energy company (Scottish Power).
Then, in the meantime I switched providers (Octopus) when I got my battery installed and before I could switch to the battery efficient Octopus Tariff they needed to confirm my Smart Meter was working as was routine.
They told me it wasn't and so began 6 months of back and forth, engineers visits etc, and eventually they switched it out for a new one........which also didn't work!
I was told maybe it could be due to location of the meter and maybe it needed moved.
One last ditch effort I called them and happened this time to get a tech savvy dude.......and I went through everything with him and lo & behold it turned out there were 2 meters associated on my account......and they were trying to read the 'other' one. So, as soon as it was deleted off my account and they tried reading the new one.....it worked.

A lot of folks 'hate' smart meters but really......the benefits are awesome.

Here's my install below. House stuff, Solar, Battery, and my own modbus equipped meter which I got installed (green illuminating LCD) as I hate using loose CT's.

Ian.

[nali]

@IanJ what was the issue with the meter? I'm curious as I'm about to go the same route but having issues with my current electricity supplier (British Gas). Their service / support is absolutely dire, the worst I've encountered by a country mile.

This house had an old SMETS1 meter when we moved a couple of years ago, but to compound that it was installed by another providor so they have no means to access it to read or upgrade it. After 6 months of bullshit I forced them via the Ombudsman to swap it which they've now done. Trouble is they've managed to mis-configure the system so the in-house display now thinks it should be showing a gas reading. It is reporting electricity useage though as I can see it via my online account.

Lies / excuses/deflections are all boilerplate responses, so far have included:

Turn it off & on, then leave it for 1 week
They take 1 month to fully synchronize via the network
It's too far from the meter (it's about 2m away)
Maybe it's picking up readings from next door (we live in a village with no gas supply in the area)
I've escalated to our back office specialists
<1 month silence>
We'll send you a new display

As soon as they "action" something like escalate to another team, they close the case and email thread. Fucking muppets.
[/rant]

[coppice]

I got a Smart Meter installed a couple years ago but then unbeknownst to me it started failing to Tx back to my energy company (Scottish Power).
Then, in the meantime I switched providers (Octopus) when I got my battery installed and before I could switch to the battery efficient Octopus Tariff they needed to confirm my Smart Meter was working as was routine.
They told me it wasn't and so began 6 months of back and forth, engineers visits etc, and eventually they switched it out for a new one........which also didn't work!
I was told maybe it could be due to location of the meter and maybe it needed moved.
One last ditch effort I called them and happened this time to get a tech savvy dude.......and I went through everything with him and lo & behold it turned out there were 2 meters associated on my account......and they were trying to read the 'other' one. So, as soon as it was deleted off my account and they tried reading the new one.....it worked.

A lot of folks 'hate' smart meters but really......the benefits are awesome.

I think you just described why so many people hate them. Your experience is not uncommon. You'd think that after the first couple of weeks of the plebs getting nowhere fixing problems, they'd get someone competent involved. It seems it typically takes more like the 6 months you experienced. Unless you have local generation, or a specific time based tariff demand profile, like heavy EV charging overnight, its hard to see a material benefit they bring to most domestic consumers. I say this as someone who spent a lot of my time over a number of years involved in the metering business, implementing various features that were being asked for, and looking into how they are used. Why do you think the utilities are OK with a meter not reporting regularly for months? Could it be that even the utility couldn't care if these things work or not?

[IanJ]

@IanJ what was the issue with the meter? I'm curious as I'm about to go the same route but having issues with my current electricity supplier (British Gas). Their service / support is absolutely dire, the worst I've encountered by a country mile.

This house had an old SMETS1 meter when we moved a couple of years ago, but to compound that it was installed by another providor so they have no means to access it to read or upgrade it. After 6 months of bullshit I forced them via the Ombudsman to swap it which they've now done. Trouble is they've managed to mis-configure the system so the in-house display now thinks it should be showing a gas reading. It is reporting electricity useage though as I can see it via my online account.

Lies / excuses/deflections are all boilerplate responses, so far have included:

Turn it off & on, then leave it for 1 week
They take 1 month to fully synchronize via the network
It's too far from the meter (it's about 2m away)
Maybe it's picking up readings from next door (we live in a village with no gas supply in the area)
I've escalated to our back office specialists
<1 month silence>
We'll send you a new display

As soon as they "action" something like escalate to another team, they close the case and email thread. Fucking muppets.
[/rant]

So, under Scottish Power I believe the original meter went faulty....hence comms was failing.
Then when Octopus installed the new meter after I switched to them, and it wouldn't work, it finally dawned on me that maybe the Octopus operators were trying to connect to the original meter (long gone) because they were both appearing as listed in my Octopus login.
I had mentioned this several times before but it FINALLY took a really good non-foreign tech savvy Octopus operator to listen to what I was saying 'again' and go away and look into it. He phoned me back within 10mins with the words "it's done, I can see your meter data now, all good".
PS. I never mentioned that I had also tried emailing the CEO of Octopus (google search for his email) and I got a personal reply saying they would get it sorted......and they tried, but a month later everything slowed down again. Only my persistance got it fixed in the end.

Ian.

[EEVblog]

Do they not provide you with home displays (IHD) in Australia? They do in the UK, which give you individual and combines energy information if you have a smart gas meter too.

They're by no means perfect, but they can provide a fair amount of statistics.

Nope, not a thing here AFAIK

Well known enough for the government to talk about them:
https://www.yourhome.gov.au/energy/connected-home

Maybe a state choice thing, I have never been offered such an option.

[Gyro]

IHDs do make you look at your energy consumption. You tend to get quite paranoid, hunting for your night time 'base load', number of appliances left in standby, lights left on etc.... This phase typically lasts 2-3 weeks before acceptance and resignation set in.

[EEVblog]

IHDs do make you look at your energy consumption. You tend to get quite paranoid, hunting for your night time 'base load', number of appliances left in standby, lights left on etc.... This phase typically lasts 2-3 weeks before acceptance and resignation set in.

I already have this with Solar Analytics. But it would be nice to have a dedicated low powered LCD desktop display.

[IanJ]

IHDs do make you look at your energy consumption. You tend to get quite paranoid, hunting for your night time 'base load', number of appliances left in standby, lights left on etc.... This phase typically lasts 2-3 weeks before acceptance and resignation set in.

I already have this with Solar Analytics. But it would be nice to have a dedicated low powered LCD desktop display.

Note sure if Dave's EDMI meter has the HAN network protocol built in for use with an IHD since not all of them do.......might be worth looking into it and if it does then just buy an IHD and pair it up.

Ian.

[coppice]

IHDs do make you look at your energy consumption. You tend to get quite paranoid, hunting for your night time 'base load', number of appliances left in standby, lights left on etc.... This phase typically lasts 2-3 weeks before acceptance and resignation set in.

I think existing IHDs are pretty useless for 99% of people. However, the complete cluelessness of the average person about the relative consumption of different appliances makes me have some hope that a better form of showing the speed at which the bill is going up could make some difference to their behaviour. My mother in law burnt her hand on our wok that was on full power (maybe 5kW of gas) a few years ago, because she was trying to save energy by not turning on the 20W of LED lighting on the extractor hood. I thought it weird that she regularly cooked in dim lighting, but I had no idea why until that moment. Even places where there should be some basic technical knowledge, like mythbusters, have had some bizarre things. Like investigating the meme that fluorescent lights consume almost all their energy as they start up. That was never a meme. The actual meme is accurate. Fluorescent lamps suffer most of their wear and tear during warmup. Few people seemed to twig that they'd got the meme wrong.

[Someone]

Do they not provide you with home displays (IHD) in Australia? They do in the UK, which give you individual and combines energy information if you have a smart gas meter too.

They're by no means perfect, but they can provide a fair amount of statistics.

Nope, not a thing here AFAIK

Well known enough for the government to talk about them:
https://www.yourhome.gov.au/energy/connected-home

Maybe a state choice thing, I have never been offered such an option.

You said Australia, a false generalisation. Perhaps look outside your backyard before trying to make big claims? How hard would it have been to simply say "I've never seen one" or "not something I had the option of" ?

[EEVblog]

You said Australia, a false generalisation. Perhaps look outside your backyard before trying to make big claims? How hard would it have been to simply say "I've never seen one" or "not something I had the option of" ?

[EEVblog]

Display has now changed in the retailer portal.
I just get a daily import/export figure. And it just pegged some constant value for all previous days before the install.

[tszaboo]

We had a lot of EDMI meters in Belgium. MK7B as I recall was the standard.  That is quite a bit different layout than this.

By the looks of it, your meter has 4 outputs. "TB2" "TB3" "TB4" and infrared.
TB3 is permanently connected to a logger/modem. It's RS485, so technically you can tap into that. I don't know if they would consider that tampering.
On the other hand TB4 is supposed to be the RS485 as well, so I would stick a converter or a scope on that and see if there is any communication going on there. For the Dutch market, they report it on the serial port every 10 seconds.

[Someone]

You said Australia, a false generalisation. Perhaps look outside your backyard before trying to make big claims? How hard would it have been to simply say "I've never seen one" or "not something I had the option of" ?

[MEME]

Or perhaps you could not walk into discussions and drop narrow minded nonsense that is factually incorrect? Only takes a tiny bit of explanation/framing from you, and then you'd not be wrong.

[EEVblog]

We had a lot of EDMI meters in Belgium. MK7B as I recall was the standard.  That is quite a bit different layout than this.
By the looks of it, your meter has 4 outputs. "TB2" "TB3" "TB4" and infrared.
TB3 is permanently connected to a logger/modem. It's RS485, so technically you can tap into that. I don't know if they would consider that tampering.

There is an anti-tamper tag on the front preventing removal of the panel to access this stuff.

[EEVblog]

You said Australia, a false generalisation. Perhaps look outside your backyard before trying to make big claims? How hard would it have been to simply say "I've never seen one" or "not something I had the option of" ?

[MEME]

Or perhaps you could not walk into discussions and drop narrow minded nonsense that is factually incorrect? Only takes a tiny bit of explanation/framing from you, and then you'd not be wrong.

What is your problem?
I said "Nope, not a thing here AFAIK". I literally included "As Far As I Know" which indicates that I didn't know for sure, just that I had never heard of it and that obviously invites other people to correct me.
Do you think I care that I'm wrong? Seriously?