Night saver meter with PV panels

jonny_b

Hi Guys, has anyone with PV panels switched their electricity meter to a night saver meter and if so, have you seen a reduction in electricity costs?

Edit: interested to hear from people who do not have a pv battery installed.

KCross

jonny_b wrote: »

Hi Guys, has anyone with PV panels switched their electricity meter to a night saver meter and if so, have you seen a reduction in electricity costs?

Edit: interested to hear from people who do not have a pv battery installed.

Its a strange question because there is no right or wrong answer and no direct connection between having SolarPV(with or without batteries) and having a night rate meter.


A night rate meter is used if you have the ability to turn things on at night (appliances, electric car, heat pump etc).

So, its down to your specific circumstances and usage pattern.

e.g. I can tell you that Im saving a huge amnount of money by having a night rate meter(and I am) but that has no bearing on what you may or may not save. You need to monitor your own usage and then decide if its right for you.

markpb

PV covers most of our daily electricity consumption right now (April + May) and the battery keeps the house going for a few hours at night - actually all night if the dishwasher or washing machine aren't running. We switched to night rate to charge the EV, solar doesn't make a dent in that at all.

As KCross said, you need to monitor your usage and your bill. If PV can't cover your needs and if you can push some heavy appliances to night time (more than 3 units per night I think), then go for a night rate meter.

jonny_b

Thanks for the replies. I will monitor the meter in accordance with the night saver times and see if its worth the change.

Calahonda52

markpb wrote: »

PV covers most of our daily electricity consumption right now (April + May) and the battery keeps the house going for a few hours at night - actually all night if the dishwasher or washing machine aren't running. We switched to night rate to charge the EV, solar doesn't make a dent in that at all.

As KCross said, you need to monitor your usage and your bill. If PV can't cover your needs and if you can push some heavy appliances to night time (more than 3 units per night I think), then go for a night rate meter.

Do you arbitrage by charging the battery at night at NR?
it not quite arb, but you know what I mean?

If you could make money charging batteries the ESB would be doing it...

markpb

Calahonda52 wrote: »

Do you arbitrage by charging the battery at night at NR?
it not quite arb, but you know what I mean?

I don’t think it’s an option on our Solis system. You can only charge the battery from PV.

unkel

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

If you could make money charging batteries the ESB would be doing it...

They are doing it. And have done so for many decades

not with li-ion, or lead.

Are we counting pumped hydro and fossil fuels here?