Howdy @lob184 !

Yup, we can definitely try to figure this out, you came to the right place. Please could you post some photos of your meters, as this really helps us to understand how everything has been set up and provides a lot more context to work with.

Thanks!

Also… @Lukepeniket_OVO I think I might need your input on this one.

Sounds like you might have a pretty complex set-up and I’m not sure whether that non-moving reading might indicate a faulty meter.

If you’re having trouble submitting any readings on your online account or OVO app this is worth raising to our Support Team who can register the readings for you. If one of your readings isn’t changing it might also be worth considering a smart meter upgrade which might solve this unused register issue.

Let us know if you’ve been in touch with the team or need any more advice - We’re always happy to help here where we can. 

Please see attached photographs.

What do reckon then, @Blastoise186?

If you haven’t already, it might be worth contacting our Support Team to double-check there’s no fault indicated by the red LED showing in the bottom photos there, @lob184. 

Either way we’d highly recommend looking into upgrading the 2 separate meters for a single Economy 7 smart meter which we now offer as a 5-port meter. These are compatible with storage heaters and other off-peak appliances that were originally operated on a separate meter.

Let us know if you need any more advice on how to go about requesting that upgrade! 

Ah yes, these are examples of those old Ampy meters from 2005, prior to L+G buying them out.

I’d agree that it seems strange one of the meters is showing an index of 00001 and a red LED, so this is almost certainly a fault unless it’s a coincidence that it was blinking at the exact moment the photos were taken. What I also find a bit strange… Is why two different meter models? You’ve got an Ampy 5235D-N from 2007 and an Amply 5196D from 2005, which is somewhat unusual. The latter is the one that appears to be “dead”, especially as it doesn’t seem to show Rate 1 properly.

Given that both of them are basically at least 15 years old at this point - give or take a few months - they’re probably due for re-certification anyway, which would involve replacing the meters. It shouldn’t be too tricky, except for the fact that it might be a fun experience for the lucky engineer who gets that job. 

I had a smart meter installed in March. The IHD monitor has never kicked in ( phoned OVO twice - they said it would take 6 weeks) have not been getting any bills so went to read it manually. And couldn't. Display stays at 00000. They are sending an engineer out in May. But my question is how do they know how much electricity I have used?

Hi ​@Jancy55 , if you have any photos, someone might be able to help - there are various display options and some might show zero.

Without a reading, I would guess that they would look at historical usage 

That’s odd. Have the six weeks since installation now passed?

What sort of meter do you have? A clear photo of it would help a lot. There are usually several different readings shown on a smart meter, so it’s important to be taking the right one.

The device fitted to the top of the meter is the communications hub (CH), which is supposed to see to connecting the meter to the home network (HAN) that includes the IHD, and to the smart meter network (WAN) via which the supplier gets its data. There are a number of small LEDs on the CH to indicate the communication status. What are yours doing? The ‘normal’ state is for two or three of them to be flashing slowly (once every 5 seconds).

Have you found your online account?   

Yes had it installed on 6 March. OVO is sending out an engineer. The display is 0000 and does not change when I press the button ( following instructions given on OVO - read your smart meter) if my meter is not giving any reading, how can they bill me. 

There is not anything on top. That is the meter. The red light flashes when I press the blue button. 

Getting a bit more detail on your display photo, it looks like you are seeing the screen for an EXPORT reading rather than import (usage).

You should be able to see further info on other screens. Pressing button ‘A’ scrolls through the different options. You are looking for an ‘Active Import’ (or TOU1) screen and reading

I should have explained that I am on 2 tariffs. One for heating/water - other general. The heating tariff one tariff one on meter,  seems to be showing kilowatts used ( 374) which is more than I used in January February combined yet my heating has been off since 6 weeks! When I press for other tariff 2 it does not show anything. Or for 3 or 4. There is a price of £27.50 coming up  and that is everything. I am completely confused. What I want to see is actual.meter readings such as I had in the old meter.

Ok so the meter does have a reading, just not what you expect.

It sounds like the meter might not be configured for your dual tariffs. 
If you’ve got a reading for TOU1 then that will be the total reading, just like previously - not just for the month.

TOU2 should show your second tariff. If not configured correctly, all the usage will be shown on TOU1.

You can ignore any TOU3 and 4 screens.

If you can see your correct tariffs on your OVO profile page, you should be able to get OVO to reconfigure the meter to show both.

The price you see is probably in pence (27.50p) not pounds which might be your price per kWh 

I have reached the same conclusion. But if that is my usage on both tariffs,  am I being charged at the higher rate for water/heating? Can't get OVO, they are shut today! Said they would send an engineer out in June yesterday!

Thanks for the helpful photos. They look familiar - I have the same type of meter.

The meter is the whiter bit of what you see, with the manufacturer’s label Aclara. The grey bit above that is a Standard 420 communications hub built by EDMI, the type used in Northern Britain. The two LEDs on it labelled WAN and HAN should be flashing at five-second intervals - are they?

It sounds like you have heating - space- and water - on the same circuit, which the meter should see to energizing only during offpeak periods. Is this what you see or hear happening?

This sort of meter is usually configured with four registers showing on the display, but for most users it’s only the first two that are in use. Their readings are shown on screens labelled TOU Rate 1 and TOU Rate 2. TOU Rate 1 should be the peak usage register, TOU Rate 2 the offpeak one. Repeated gentle presses of the blue button ‘A’ should loop through a number of screens. 

If nothing is being recorded on the second register, the meter hasn’t been configured properly. This will normally be done remotely, so long as the meter is communicating with the WAN. I don’t think there’s any need for an engineer visit unless remote configuration fails.

If you answer these questions, we should be able to suggest what you should ask Support to do:

1. Where are you located? The first part of your postcode is usually enough.
2. What tariff have you signed up for? You should have had a confirmation letter or email with details of the plan rates and timings if it’s a dual-rate tariff. If you have access to your online account, these details should be there on the Plan page. 
3. Can you tell what time (precisely) the water immersion heater switches on or off? I realize that this may happen in the middle of the night, so don’t bother with this if it’s not easy.  

It is only showing a reading at Tou1 - Other Tou readings, it has 2,3 and 4 are all showing 0000s. The rate per kw showing, is for Tou1.However the usage for Tou1 00367kw, is far and beyond what I would normally use on "ordinary" usage,excluding heating and water. Looking back on one years electricity bills, confirms this. So the usage on TOU1, seems to be combined. Now that I am clearer about what is going on ( thanks everyone) I will give OVO a ring once they are open. 

Thanks. You forgot the other details I asked for …  Location is important, because the timings for multi-rate plans vary so widely from place to place. The offpeak period for Economy 7 starts at 11 pm in some parts of the country, but not until 1 am in others. Economy 10 has variously five hours offpeak from midnight or three from 4.30 am.    

We’ve seen far too often that unless Support are given really clear instructions for what needs doing, they don’t manage to get the job done properly.

In your case, either you’re signed up to the wrong tariff (I’d expect one of the Economy plans) or the meter tariff switching table hasn’t been set to the tariff you are signed up for. This table dictates at what times the offpeak register starts and stops recording. 

They might get those two things right, but then there’s the question of when your heating circuit is energized. It’s vital that this circuit is switched on and off at the same times as the tariff changes to offpeak and back to peak, because otherwise you could end up paying peak rate for heating. That’s why I asked whether you can tell when that circuit is live.   

Whether the little green LED lights are flashing as expected on the communications hub or not tells us whether your meter is communicating or not. Since your IHD isn’t working properly, that needs looking at as well. 

I am supposed to be on the domestic economy package which is 11:30 to 7:30 off peak. 

Wan and Han lights are flashing green.

My post code is IV

Thanks.

Inverness postcodes are all within the Scottish Hydro area (ID 17, GSP group _P). I think you’ll find that the Domestic Economy offpeak hours in that area are 00:30 to 08:30 during British Summertime.

You can see whether the load control switch (called the ALCS) in the meter is activating the switched heating circuit at the right times by checking the tiny icons right in the bottom right-hand corner of the meter display. Have a look before 08:30 and again after 09:00, because there should have been a change in the meantime. You could try getting a clearer photo of the display when you’re doing this; touching the blue button ‘A’ should light up the screen to make it more legible.

If the WAN and HAN lights are both flashing at 5-second intervals, there is a connection from your meter. This means that the meter should be sending data home to OVO and also to your IHD. Did you check your online account?

It also means that it’s likely that the configuration changes your meter needs can be done by remote control from OVO HQ, so there should be no need to wait until next month or the month after to get things sorted out.

The same probably applies to your IHD. What is it showing at the moment?

Thanks for that. Online account is only billing me for standing charge. Nothing else. IHD is not sending any information, it has been saying it's connecting to smart meter since 6th March! 

It sounds like there are a few things to get sorted on your account. If you follow Firedogs info on the meter, that will be a step forward.

There's also a check you can do for the meter (if you’ve not already tried this). Read through this guide and fill in the form which sends details back to OVO. 

For meter readings, it’s the meter that sends readings to the supplier, not the IHD.

Don't know if you’ve tried rebooting your IHD?

You need to remove its power (switch off or take batteries out) - wait for about 2 mins before putting power back on.

yes have done that.