We still have a Ferraris meter for some 2 years, but I know some with a smart meter. We all live in Belgium. According to this brochure there is ‘user port for consumption information (P1)’ and a ‘user port for advanced detection and control applications (S1)’.
Could this P1-port be used to control an energy diverter? It would be nice if the cost for another energy monitoring system could be avoided. I’ve searched mk2pvrouter, but I couldn’t find the combination ‘smart meter’ and ‘P1’ or ‘S1’.
Firstly, the Mk2PVRouter is a totally self-contained system, it relies on nothing else to operate. Secondly, Robin Emley’s experience of smart meters is they differ - there is no consistent standard relating to how they operate, either from country to country, or manufacturer to manufacturer. I know he offers different software to customers in France because French meters behave differently.
The Mk2PVRouter will respond to a change in the energy flow within 2 mains cycles (40 ms), so to successfully emulate this level of performance, you will need to get the same information from the meter within the same time scale. I cannot see anything in the document you referred to that indicates the rate at which the information is updated. I think this will be crucial if you need to accurately divert the energy.
I have found that the P1-port sends its electricity data every second (gas every 5 minutes). But that info was on an unofficial website. And I didn’t find more detailed information about the smart meter ‘Sagemcom S211’ or ‘Sagemcom T211-D’. But I guess the frequency on the P1-port will be too low anyway to use for PV diversion .
The S1-port has a higher frequency (=?) but I don’t think it provides output that can be uses for PV diversion. I only read about “Sampling of the sine-wave voltage”.
The “no consistent standard relating to how they operate” is very unfortunate . But thanks for your quick answer!
@Robert.Wall, I’m still interested in all the possibilities for PV diversion.
I wonder if a watt controller like this Camparo could help avoiding import too much electricity of avoiding a peak in power (important in Belgium as we have a capacity tariff: the higher power demand during a quarter, the higher the bill). The usage is at camping sites or boats where you sometimes need to limit ampère. I’m not sure if it will work to avoid importing electricity. If the inner working is by very quickly switch between full power and 0 power, then it should be quick enough to be within a mains cycle. On the other hand: if such a watt controller doesn’t switch off a fuse at a boat or camping site, the full power might also not be detected by the smart meter.
At least that’s how I understand things. Suppose you have 700 Watt exporting and you switch on an electric boiler of 2000 W where a watt controller doesn’t switch fast enough, the smart meter will see 1300 W importing at one moment and again 700 Watt exporting.
Another possibility could be a power regulator like this Kemo M240. By using a control voltage or by using a PWM signal, you could automatically have a finer control of the power output. I don’t know if the controle voltage or PWM have a different internal working.
As for my findings at the moment (with the important remark that some might still cause a high peak at the smart meter ):
A cheap time clock can be used so that eg. an electrical boiler switches on when chances are higher you are exporting PV.
A watt controller (eg. Comparo of about 90 EUR) can manually limit the maximum power the appliance gets. I can be combined with the previous option. I didn’t find a simple watt controller that can be automated.
Some power regulators (eg. Kemo M240 of about 50 EUR) can be controlled by a control voltage or by PWM so that you have a finer control of the power the appliance gets. It adds complexity as you have to buy and build something to control it and to know how much power is exporting.
A totally self-contained system (eg. Mk2PVRouter of about 150 EUR or more).
I’m afraid there is little I can add to what I wrote nearly 2 years ago. The Mk2 PV Router is now manufactured by new owners in France (mk2pvrouter.com), they might well have a better knowledge of the smart meters used in Belgium and be in a better place to advise you.
This is how I understand your problem: The tariff you pay for all energy is based on your peak demand. Do you know how long the peak must last in order to be recognised as a genuine peak - is it over ½ cycle, 1 cycle, 1 second, 1 minute, ½ hour? until you know this, you do not know which types of power control will allow you to comply with the rules. The only sure ways - in the case of your boiler - will be to have either (1) several heating elements which you select by switching, or (2) a variable transformer to control the voltage, or (3) a transformer with many output voltages which you select with a switch. And all of these are impractical, heavy or expensive. There is one device I know of (and I have forgotten the name) which chops the mains at very high frequency, then filters the output to give you a smooth sine wave but at a lower voltage. However, this is heavy (because of the filters it has), expensive and I’m told it is prone to failure.
You have a very difficult problem, and without knowing exactly how your supplier determines what you will be charged, it is hard to suggest a solution.
Just looking at the information of the Kemo M240 and the link to the datasheet. Intended use: “Control of ohmic or inductive loads at 230 V/AC 50 - 60 Hz, up to max. 10 A current consumption. The electrical loads must be suitable for phase angle control.”
I know… first about to find some time and looking up and reading some more information.
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