PECO Generation meter off by 207 KWh from mine

[itnetpro]

Hi all,

I had a system installed by Astrum Solar on October 4th of this year. I bought the system and it's NOT a lease. They installed 40 Canadian Solar panels with Enphase M215 inverters. I just received my bill and it came in 140 KWh lower then what my system is showing. So I did some investigation work and was able to determine since installation of the second out meter they shorted me 207 KWh. I first compared what the website was telling me to their numbers then started watching my revenue grade GE meter compared to what PECO's meter is showing and was able to confirm something is wrong. I live in the Philadelphia suburbs. I'm not sure where to start with this. PECO did instal brand new meters. Would you suspect my system is wrong or the utility company meter is wrong. Is there any type of possible wiring issues that could cause this or would this be a single item failure from either my meter or their meter. Furthermore, who should I approach first?

John

[Naptown]

Who shorted you
And we're the meters within 4% of each other.
2% is the accuracy median of revenue grade meters.
If you are getting this from Enphase that is not revenue grade and will be off a bit.

[itnetpro]

Let me put it this way. If my calculations are correct and I have been double checking daily now. The PECO Solar meter is anywhere from 15-25% lower then my GE Revenue grade Solar meter. In the last two days alone my meter registered around 26KWh while Peco registered only 19KWh.

[Naptown]

Then have both meters checked and calibrated or replaced as necessary

[inetdog]

Let me put it this way. If my calculations are correct and I have been double checking daily now. The PECO Solar meter is anywhere from 15-25% lower then my GE Revenue grade Solar meter. In the last two days alone my meter registered around 26KWh while Peco registered only 19KWh.

Just to be completely thorough: are both meters in the GTI circuit only?
We have had some threads where the owner was trying to compare production numbers to sell-back numbers and not accounting for local loads.

[itnetpro]

Just to be completely thorough: are both meters in the GTI circuit only?
We have had some threads where the owner was trying to compare production numbers to sell-back numbers and not accounting for local loads.

I'm not sure I understand how all this works. The comparisons I am making are between my meter and the PECO out meter. They use a two meter setup with my local utility company. My understanding is their out meter is the meter thats counting my production then the in/out are compared and I'm billed accordingly. What happens to the difference my 3rd meter shows i'm producing and PECO's out meter? Does that 140 KWh just disappear or is it actually used from the home lowing their estimate of my total usage for the month. I appreciate your education on this.

I contacted PECO and they insist they test all their meters and theirs is accurate. They make you jump through hoops to get it tested. I will have to write a letter and include a check and hope they decide to take a look.

John

[Ian S]

I'm not sure I understand how all this works. The comparisons I am making are between my meter and the PECO out meter. They use a two meter setup with my local utility company. My understanding is their out meter is the meter thats counting my production then the in/out are compared and I'm billed accordingly. What happens to the difference my 3rd meter shows i'm producing and PECO's out meter? Does that 140 KWh just disappear or is it actually used from the home lowing their estimate of my total usage for the month. I appreciate your education on this.

I contacted PECO and they insist they test all their meters and theirs is accurate. They make you jump through hoops to get it tested. I will have to write a letter and include a check and hope they decide to take a look.

John

Generally, the utility monitors what you take from the grid and what you send to the grid. The latter is usually less than what your separate solar meter indicates because your home normally uses some of your solar production. The circuit is set up so that your home needs are first accommodated by your solar production; if your home needs more than that, then it takes from the grid and the POCO measures that. If your home takes less than your production, then you send the excess to the grid and the POCO measures that. The solar meter in contrast measures your total solar production, nothing else.

[itnetpro]

Generally, the utility monitors what you take from the grid and what you send to the grid. The latter is usually less than what your separate solar meter indicates because your home normally uses some of your solar production. The circuit is set up so that your home needs are first accommodated by your solar production; if your home needs more than that, then it takes from the grid and the POCO measures that. If your home takes less than your production, then you send the excess to the grid and the POCO measures that. The solar meter in contrast measures your total solar production, nothing else.

So let me see if I have this straight. So I calculated the actual generation for the 29 day period at 940 KWh and the actual usage should be between 900-950 KWh. So when the out meter runs during the day its not accounting for house use first only the portion going back to the grid. That would mean that my home used 140KWh during the month while solar panels were generating power back to the grid. The 800 KWH used according to PECO bill (100KWh-150KWh) lower then my estimated usage for the month is actually not the total my home consumed over the corse of the month. It's only the amount I took from the grid. So therefore would it be logical to conclude if I add 800KWh PECO claims I used with 140KWh difference between my Solar production meter and their meter I get 940 (+/- 10KWh) used total for that month?

Another quick question, on my PECO bill it says "Out W/O flow through" for my out meter. What does that mean?

Really appreciate the education!

John

[Ian S]

Comments in bold.

So let me see if I have this straight. So I calculated the actual generation for the 29 day period at 940 KWh the solar production meter on your house as well as the Enphase data should give you the same number within a kWh or two and the actual usage should be between 900-950 KWh. So when the out meter runs during the day its not accounting for house use first only the portion going back to the grid. yes, that and the amount you take from the grid is all the electric company is interested in for billing purposes as far as your solar is concerned. Your solar production meter is used for determining other things like REC's. That would mean that my home used 140KWh during the month while solar panels were generating power back to the grid. The 800 KWH used according to PECO bill (100KWh-150KWh) lower then my estimated usage for the month is actually not the total my home consumed over the corse of the month. It's only the amount I took from the grid. So therefore would it be logical to conclude if I add 800KWh PECO claims I used with 140KWh difference between my Solar production meter and their meter I get 940 (+/- 10KWh) used total for that month?Assuming you are on net-metering where the utility subtracts what you sent to the grid from what you took from the grid to get the billable kWh then yes, your total usage is the sum of your solar production plus the net number of kWh billed. Note, the latter could be a negative number.

Another quick question, on my PECO bill it says "Out W/O flow through" for my out meter. What does that mean? I have no idea.

Really appreciate the education!

John

[bcroe]

Net meter display

My new net meter has a cell antenna. The display scrolls down 9 items. I understand some, but not the KWH needed. Here is what I see. The items 6 & 7 didn't do much at first; perhaps logging the numbers for a while would tie them into energy flow : Bruce Roe

1 cellular test
CELL

2 meter serial #
145 043314

3
103 83

4 date
11.25.13

5 time
17.05.20

6 related to KWH ??
04 03302
TOTAL KW H

7 related to KWH ??
05 01484
CUM
KW


8
411 9 r25

9 display segment test
888 88.88.88
PREV SEAS
RATE ABCD
CONT CUM
RESETS MAX
TOTAL KWARH
AbC 240LIP

[mchhabria]

Hi John. Did this get sorted. I am also based in philadelphia suburbs and wanted to get in touch with people who have solar. Thanks MLC

[Sunking]

Hi John. Did this get sorted. I am also based in philadelphia suburbs and wanted to get in touch with people who have solar. Thanks MLC

You gotta be kidding digging up a 3 year old thread. The OP has not been back in 3 years. Maybe a ghost will answer your question. Don't hold your breath.