AIO Export Data Wildly Inaccurate

Hi all, I have a single AIO and Gateway that is misreporting the export data on the GE Portal and all the reports. The solar generation data appears to be fine.

I have a Myenergi Zappi with a CT clamp that also measures the incoming and outgoing supply. The GE export figures for yesterday as an example were 2.3kWh where as on the Myenergi portal it shows 5.4kWh for the same period.

If i go a few days further back so the export data appears on Octopus portal, the Myenergi and Octopus data almost match but the GE portal data is always less than 50% of the other data providers. I even did a test and checked the actual Smart Meter and that also matches the Myenergi and Octopus numbers.

Has anyone else had and resolved this issue? I have tried to contact GE support numerous times but never manage to get a response, its been ongoing for 12 months now.

I guess i should also look at the meters inside the actual gateway to see what they are reporting.

My custom home dash ignores the GE portal data and uses a combination of Myenergi and Octopus so hasn't really bothered me until i signed up with Axle. Axle takes the incorrect data from the GE portal, so each time I lose about 60%.

Cheers for any advice

Ian

Skull Axle takes the incorrect data from the GE portal, so each time I lose about 60%.

Axle should use the information from your smart meter, not the Givenergy portal, I think you are wrong on this bit of your issue

Thanks, I will check with Axle.

As an example, 3rd March was an Axle day for me 4:30pm to 5:30PM - Octopus has this 17:00 - 17:30 2.38 kWh exported
Axle has 0.69kWh exported for the same period which matches the GivEnergy portal

Very odd

Axle have confirmed the data they get is from the GE system, they have no access to the smart meter data.

Looks like i'm, stuck waiting for a fix from GE sometime never

Skull hmm... That's interesting... In other threads it's been pointed out that axle is incompatible with IOG. One problem is that only one provider can register as DRS provider. I wonder if Axle are using GE data as fallback? (I'm assuming that if you have a zappi, you're perhaps on IOG...)
(Axle could possibly also get more accurate data from Octopus API.)

DD In other threads it's been pointed out that axle is incompatible with IOG.

Interesting - I'm on IOG and it worked ok the other day

CW It may well work but when Octopus find out they can back bill you as it breaks the T&Cs for IOG.

Skull One thought... is your smartmeter configured to report consumption half-hourly, or only daily ? If they latter, perhaps they can't get isolate the export for the event, which is why they had to use other means.

Half hourly.

Axle support did confirm though they only get the data via the GivEnergy API and not the actual smart meter data

This sounds like an installation error, where is the GivEnergy CT clamp in relation to the MyEnergi one? Do the export times correlate just not the magnitude? That might indicate it is poorly located.
The other possibility is the clamp was installed backwards and export and import are flipped but that would cause you many more problems like battery not discharging to cover demand.
Either way you should probably get your installer back.

the GE meters are both inside the givgateway, whereas the myenergi ct is in the electric meter box itself.

The times match just the numbers are significantly lower. Its not just the export figures, I've noticed the import is also less than 50% of the total import.

Im currently exporting at 2.8kW based on the myenergi data but the GivEnergy system shows 1.02

Todays data so far from the myenergi data (which matches the octopus smart meter data) ⬆ Exported 7.7 kWh ⬇ Imported 11.7 kWh

The GivEnergy Data for today is Export Today 2.70kWh Import Today 4.50kWh

Does this broadly match your setup?

Incoming Supply
|
Smart Meter
| \
ME CT Gateway inc GE CT
| |
Zappi All In One

Apologies for the formatting I cannot see how to mark the text as preformatted in this forum.

Incoming Supply - Smart Meter - Myenergy clamp - GivGateway

Its almost like the CT Meters ratio are misconfigured - but no idea

pwdst Ahh yes it does

It wasn't super clear to read with the whitespace collapsed. I should maybe have tried to do a diagram using the Galaxy Ultra Pen (it would be nice if it was actually useful for something).

Skull I’m wondering if there is a misconfiguration of your CT clamp, so its recording direction OK but a scaling factor is wrong. But you’d think that this would mean you’d see the battery discharging at a slower/faster rate than required to meet house load if this were the case?

Does sound like one for GivEnergy support. Am quite surprised that Axle do the payments based on inverter data, but given its a beta service at the moment, maybe this is an OK compromise ?

There are different CT clamp impedances. The wrong one will neatly scale its readings. EM115 and OM115 CTs are not the same.

Slartibartfast thats sort of what I thought, but what I don’t understand is how the inverter works if it’s the wrong CT clamp or the wrong CT clamp configuration.

When in Eco mode, the inverter tries to balance the measured grid power to zero. If the inverter sees power flowing in from the grid it will discharge the battery at a suitable rate for the battery discharge to meet the house load, and grid import is zero. Likewise if the inverter senses power flowing to the grid it will reduce battery discharge and start battery charging by a power level to net out to zero.

So if the CT clamp is wrong/misconfigured and is recording a scaled value of actual power flow, I’d expect that the power from the inverter wildly shoots up and down, under and over shooting the required power level.

In the GivGateway I have 2 x GEM120CTM's.

In terms of battery settings, i just use ECO mode and dont seem to notice any issues there.

I have a custom dashboard that compares the givenergy data to the myenergi and also my fox invertor. The fox shows slightly higher solar generation due to the conversion to the AIO but the GE and FOX solar data are fine. Its the incoming and outgoing data thats usually around 60% down on the real figures.

I have been trying to contact GE Support for 12 months now, my installers wont look at it as they say its a GE issue and only they can resolve it.

In a desperate attempt to try and get to the bottom of this, I uploaded my meter data to an AI platform and the feedback I got was;

There's your proof in black and white:

Meter 1 (GEM120CTM) says: 4.60 kWh exported today
myenergi (smart meter accurate) says: 12.5 kWh exported today
Ratio: 36.8% — the GEM120 is reading at exactly 1/3 of actual

This is now beyond doubt a CT ratio misconfiguration. The meter is consistently reading at ₃₇% of actual. The reactive energy change of 2.30 kVArh is exactly in the same ratio — everything is scaled by the same factor.
The factor is almost exactly 1/2.72 which is suspiciously close to 1/3. If the CT clamp is a 100A/100mV type but CT1 is programmed as 33 or 35 instead of 100, you'd get exactly this.

Skull generally I am highly sceptical of anything an AI platform says, especially when it uses words like proof and beyond a doubt, but I think we all had concluded that it looked like a CT configuration issue.

I believe your installer can change the CT configuration, but if they're not interested in looking at it ...

Could try posting on the givenergy facebook group, some givenergy employees lurk there are can intervene. Make sure you quote the givenergy support ticket number you'd have got when you emailed in a ticket

36.8% - "reading at exactly 1/3 of actual"
I'm not great at maths but...

I've not read all the way back up but there is something that causes miss reads in the gateway - do you have the Bypass breaker switched on (up) in the gateway by any chance?

This means that some of the flow can get back out to the grid without going through the metering which would cause this kind of thing? It's also quite dangerous being left on as your AIO will try and fulfil the demand of the entire street if there is a power cut.

geoffreycoan Does sound like one for GivEnergy support. Am quite surprised that Axle do the payments based on inverter data, but given its a beta service at the moment, maybe this is an OK compromise ?

Pretty sure its not legal. If it were then Octopus/other suppliers would have to accept those readings and they don't.

hoggy had a look in the gateway and compared to pictures online, noticed there was a cap with a screw over the bypass switch and the switch was in the down position. Mine however doesn't have the cap and my switch was in the up position.

Flicked the switch down and suddenly the data is starting to match!! Amazing. I've never messed with that switch before. What does it even do? Could that be why when we have a power cut my AIO goes offline and the LED turns RED?

So you can guess what kind of bodge job my installers did then.

Thanks to all for the help and suggestions

It is there if the gateway "brain" or relays fail - such that if that happens you are not stuck without any power at all. It bypasses the gateway internals straight out to your existing fuseboard - hence why it allowed current to flow past the meters in the gateway unmonitored.

It (the breaker) should always be down (off) position unless the above has happened. Your also supposed to turn the AIO off while it is in the up position as it allows the AIO to backfeed into the street in a power cut (which the guy fixing the cable would not be very happy about)
And finally - yes it's why your AIO will go into fault on a power cut as your then trying to power everyone else's house too (we'll every 3rd house anyway)

You will probably now find that the RCDs in the gateway or fuseboard may trip when going on or off grid - this dodgy bypass 'fix' has been known to be used instead of fixing the problem (which is uprating the RCDs in the gateway to 100mA)

hoggy Thanks, i'll check them and get an electrician out to swap them over.

Skull it only needs doing if things trip when it goes into island mode.
If you want to try it (and I'd do this with people out the house else they tend to get upset when the Internet goes off) is to just turn off the main grid incoming supply breaker (far right one in the gateway from memory) and see if the house stays on!

hoggy And the most amazing thing about this, is how generative AI got it so absolutely spot on with its diagnosis 😜

Skull There's your proof in black and white:

Meter 1 (GEM120CTM) says: 4.60 kWh exported today
myenergi (smart meter accurate) says: 12.5 kWh exported today
Ratio: 36.8% — the GEM120 is reading at exactly 1/3 of actual

This is now beyond doubt a CT ratio misconfiguration.