As well as a GE system, I have an Ohme Pro EV Charger. Ohme have contacted me to say the charger is reporting line overvoltage conditions (along with data). I reported this to Octopus who say I should report it to the DNO. I have had a go but am getting nowhere as a consumer.
Any advice as to how to do this?
My DNO is SSE.
GE inverter logs also show high line voltage at the times reported by Ohme.
Typically 250V+ during the night.
Call 105 and report out of spec voltage.
alan_johnston I found the fault reporting line for my DNO (which in my case was UK Power Networks)
Top tip: do NOT make the call in the afternoon as when they send someone out, usually in a couple of hours, the over-voltage will most likely have dropped off already and then its a longer explanation of the issue. Do it in the morning when its predicted to be a sunny day
Don't quote me on this but I heard they install a device to monitor the voltage over 24 hours.
I've heard 7 days
And they apparently make you turn off the solar panels for that duration. 😱
For me it was 7 days of monitoring and yes they wanted my solar panels turned off.
I too had a monitor installed for 7 days but the solar was allowed to operate as normal during the test. It was all done start to finish in around 3 weeks and running OK ever since.
If you have solar panels its a good idea to get a Voltage Optimiser fitted. It allows you to set the voltage from 220v upwards and keeps it stable. Mine is typically 228v now, prior to the VO it was 256v. The extra volts that you don't use go back to the grid and saves you money because its fitted before the meter.
I thought voltage optimiser were a big con.
They shouldn't be used as a crutch to keep your inverter going - see safety concerns thread here
Short answer - it's a two way street, you pushing export out through one just adds to the network overvoltage going into your neighbours.
I was just doing a bit of research into Voltage Optimisers, they seemed too good to be true so smelt like a con to me.
Lots of solar companies pushing them but not a lof of consumer testing/advice. A good honest summary of how they work and the potential benefits of VO’s is here - in short, its only fixed load appliances such as motors, incandescent lamps, refrigerators etc that benefit. Things like kettles and ovens will just take longer to heat up so no benefit.
Turned up two articles on MoneySavingExpert including a Big Clive test and another person sold a PV+ optimiser - spoiler, after taking measurements they proved it didn’t work as promised, had it removed and got a full refund.
It seems GivEnergy make voltage optimisers as well
Better to get the DNO to turn your supply voltage down. Any penefits of VO’s seem limited
I have read some things about them since installation but after spending mega money on my hifi kit im taking no chances. Having a stable income is piece of mind.
If you are concerned about your expensive HIFI being hit by spikes or overvoltage, then you should run it off a pure sinewave UPS which isolates the mains and generates a perfect 50Hz 230V AC. Don't use a cheaper stepped sinewave which merely clips the voltage and can cause more problems than it fixes.
geoffreycoan
Octopus have also suggested using the fault reporting line.
Checking the Ohme report and GE inverter data, the over voltage is overnight for me.
PaDav6 ive done it now. Do you have a link to what youre talking about?
I did have an Anker Power Station 757 which could be used as a UPS with a pure sinewave output upto 1500w but after 8 months they said it shouldnt be used with expensive kit or medical equipment. I got a full refund.
Marren2016 You do not pay for volts, the measure of power consumed is watts.
alan_johnston Checking the Ohme report and GE inverter data, the over voltage is overnight for me.
I had the same problem. I got over voltages during the day but I also got them late at night so clearly couldn’t be solar related.
The GE inverter data in the portal was very useful to show the DNO engineers this, but of course they still had to attach their monitoring device for a week.
And afterwards they agreed I was over-voltage and turned the supply voltage down at the transformer. An hour’s power cut for half our village when they did that …. I didn’t tell the neighbours it was me that caused it!
geoffreycoan Luckily for me, there is only one other house attached to the Transformer that needed adjusting so it did not inconvenience a lot of people.
Solar output during the day can effect the grid voltage but the upswing at night is the low consumption causing there to not be enough draw on the transformer to keep the voltage lower.
Whatever the inconvenience of getting the DNO to measure and adjust it is worth it to get the grid in a good range as all equipment in the house will work optimally and judging by my Solar setup it has a major effect on it working correctly and as desired.
Marren2016 You would probably get away with a cyberpower UPS CP1600 depending on the power requirement. If you really want a clean audio power system then you need something like a PS AUDIO STELLAR POWER PLANT 3 or 12, but it will cost a couple of grand or more.
PaDav6 i dont have the space in my hifi unit for one of those, or the funds atm. The optimiser is doing its job holding the voltage steady, wether its a pure sinewave is something I cant see. Anyway I can monitor that?
Marren2016 You would need an oscilloscope to monitor the wave form, you can pick up a basic one these days for not very much money (£30-50) from Amazn or fleabay
geoffreycoan Engineer turned up today, read voltage at meter 252V. Read voltage with inverter disconnected, 250V. Went to substation and measured 250V. Also showed him the Ohme report and he was satisified they had a problem and would decide what to do about it.
Didn't leave any measuring equipment.
He did mention they might have to turn off the sub station for a short while but it would probably be at night.
alan_johnston Keep onto them.
When the DNO came out to me and measured it they said it was high but within limits. They then came back a day later and went up the pole and checked it there. Then I think it might have taken another call before they then came out and repeated the whole process and then put the measuring equipment in.
If he was satisfied with the Ohme report then hopefully you can get through the process quicker.
Since they reduced my transformer voltage last summer I think I may have only had a handful of over-voltage errors. I was getting them all the time and the inverter was shutting off for hours at a time. Wish I’d made the call earlier
Update: SSE did some tweaks at the main distribution sub station. They came back and installed measuring equipment at my meter beforehand. No need to turn solar off. Few days later they the tweaks. Then a few days later still they came back and removed the equipment. Line voltage has dropped a few volts so the peaks are now under 253V. There was no power cut either 🙂
253v is still high though, Id prefer it to be 240v personally.
I had high voltage issues last year and it was resolved same day. Maybe I got lucky but I reported it to western power and within 45 minutes they knocked my door to investigate. They tested voltage at the meter which at the time was about 251v but often went higher than this. I then showed them the inverter logs to demonstrate it was happening most days. He then checked voltage at the transformer down the road but was unable to reduce voltage. An hour later another team arrived, cut the power to most of the village and proceeded to replace the transformer. We now get a steady 235-242v. One thing I have noticed and maybe it is just a coincidence but my light bulbs around the house seem to be lasting a lot longer than they used to when the voltage was too high.
RHardie maybe it is just a coincidence but my light bulbs around the house seem to be lasting a lot longer than they used to when the voltage was too high.
Its not a coincidence. We had the same in a previous house.
Basically a 20:1 transformer and a bridge rectifier are built into LED bulbs so 240V gives a 12V output to the LEDs. Anything higher and the voltage on the LEDs increase, which reduces lifespan. Quality on the average LED bulb is pretty crap so they burn out pretty fast.
Marren2016 253V is the highest peak recorded since the tweaking. Looking at my inverter logs since the tweak, typically it sits around 242V but there is a big variation over the day.
If you installed a VO you can choose the voltage you want. £1000 is a lot of money but ive got piece of mind all my kit is safe. My LG E6 is irreplaceable and all the other kit is expensive to me. A VO is money well spent.