Do I Need a Fronius Smart Meter?

Mark chats with Dan from Fronius Australia about why a Fronius smart meter may be worth adding to your solar installation. From battery simulation to exposing the sins of your power consumption to export limiting, they explore the benefits as well as pitfalls of not having one.
Hit 'Like' and 'Subscribe' before you go if you found this helpful. Thanks for watching!
☀️ Looking to go solar in South-East Queensland? We're happy to help! Contact us today.
🌏 It's great for the planet, and even better for your wallet.
🌐 www.mcelectrical.com.au
📱 07 3268 3836
🇦🇺 Brisbane, Australia
Featuring Mark Cavanagh and Daniel Sheahan from Fronius Australia

[@jordanc3233]

My left ear really enjoyed this video, thanks!

[@SmartEnergyLab]

Great content... sounds like only left channel is recorded but no problem hearing you both.

[@mcelectrical]

Thanks Glen, I didn’t notice that. We’ve just started the interview style so I’ll look into that.

[@johntrappett58]

My Fronius Smart Meter really started proving its worth once I got my Tesla. Now using a cloud based app called Charge HQ I can direct excess solar to charge my car. Charge HQ connects to my Inverter, thanks to the Smart Meter it knows how much excess solar is being produced and it also connects to my Tesla and adjusts the Charge rate accordingly... and it does this continually, adjusting the charge rate inline with the current amount of excess solar.

[@mcelectrical]

Yeh, that’s what I use too, it’s ideal. Turns out I’m working on a video comparing Tesla + charge HQ and the Fronius ev charger at the moment. :)

[@twinrotors]

Really like what your doing Mark and team!

[@mcelectrical]

Thanks! I think I need to get Dan in for a few more episodes!

[@sparz14]

Love all your videos Mark. All the information and transparency is great. I've got my solar install booked in with you guys later this month and can't wait to be able to measure all this stuff. I'm going to love it.... but my wife will hate it haha

[@mcelectrical]

Ha, I’m sure your wife won’t have to put up with as much as my wife deals with. I’ve been nerding out monitoring various EV chargers at home the last few weeks. My wife doesn’t seem that excited about it.

[@brandonvernet]

Friggen awesome video guys - very informative and easy to understand. Ordering my smart meter now.

[@mcelectrical]

Glad it was helpful!

[@thomaslawrence1]

Hi, I have a 6.6kW system with Fronius Gen 24 5KW. Do I still need to install a fronius smart meter to view the consumption, generation and export to grid? The installer was saying fronius gen 24 comes with option to view consumption, is it true? My system is not yet connected to the grid, waiting for the energy provider to install the smart meter for grid connection.

[@degrandewallyn47]

Hello, i have a a Fronius system Gen24 + smart meter ts 65a-3 in the first days i was able to see the direct consumption in the graphic (History tab) sinds a day there is a delay on the graphic update (History tab) it updates till a serpent time in the day after it stays blank for the rest of the day and just updates the day after. Is this normal ? Or what can be done about this? Thx for the input .

[@izmirfication]

Hi, If it's not allowed to feed to the grid , how can I cable/configure the wiring of a single phase operating house unit like a heat pump to benefit from the PV when my house gets energy from the grid with a 3 phase supply electricity, Can I determine which phase to take it as a reference phase for the smart meter to feed it from pv to the house electricity consumption unit

[@byrondixon4648]

That was really good gents. I've just been quoted $350 as an 'upsell' for this meter. I think it might be worth it now. Hopefully my wife is happy to watch this too 🙂

[@mcelectrical]

Thanks. Definitely worth it. If your wife watches it she will join the 1 percent of my viewers who are female 😂.

[@byrondixon4648]

I put the video on for my wife.... And she didn't make it to the end😅

[@whereswa11y]

Yes... we all need one

[@whereswa11y]

Or possibly two

[@lincolnshillington1822]

Looks like a great thing to have. It's a shame that this couldn't be built into the inverter, rather than having to need this as a separate component

[@mcelectrical]

It gives flexibility, some customers want a CatchPower Solar Relay with their solar system instead of a Fronius Smart Meter to feed their surplus solar to their hot water system.

[@chrisyoung7362]

Hey Mark all the way from the UK. Do you prefer this or the solar edge monitoring, Im only used to the view of solar edge which looks great but having reliability issues and decided to go for Fronius

[@mcelectrical]

Solaredge monitoring is great for picking up a failed solaredge optimiser. It’s a disaster of a product. I prefer fronius :)

[@Z-add]

In the simulation tool. It always showed 78% self sufficiency even after choosing a bigger battery

[@mcelectrical]

Is that because you don’t produce enough solar during the day to cover your night time load ?

[@JamalHashe]

This is very handy indeed. Just a question about the 5KW limit, I have a 8.5KW inverter, does that mean the inverter can only operate at 5KW? Can you please explain a little bit more on this and how it works.

[@mcelectrical]

No but it depends. If it is a single phase inverter, and you are in Australia, then it is likely that you cannot send more than 5kW back to the grid. But If for example your house was using 1kw of power, then the inverter would produce 6kW. 1 to your house, 5 max to the grid. If you have a 3 phase inverter then you will be able to export everything to the grid.

[@priyangakaru]

I have an exisiting pv system (10 yrs old) with a sunnyboy inverter. If i am extending my pv system with 2x new inverters (now total of 3ninverters), will one smart meter be sufficient to monitor all three inverters?

[@mcelectrical]

Short answer, you need solar analytics with the hardware. Long story, you may be better off switching to one inverter.

[@stever669]

Hi Mark, Great video. Interestingly I’ve been finding that when I get my electricity bill from retailer my solar export in the electricity bill matches the Fronius smart meter data/solar web but the import from the grid on the electricity bill is grossly different from the Fronius smart meter data/solar web. Is there an explanation for this? I do have a 13.8kWh BYD HVM on my Gen24 Symo 10kW and I notice that sometimes it exports battery power to the grid for short periods every now and then (almost to make up for momentary grid import when the house load rapidly changes). I’ve emailed Fronius about it but haven’t received a response as yet. Any insight you could give would be greatly appreciated. Steve

[@mcelectrical]

Hey Steve, wouldn’t expect it to match exacly unless you run a report from the day it was read. Then you have estimates that can mix things up. But assuming you have all of that sorted, I don’t know what could be going on. The smart meter is accurate. Maybe your bill is wrong?

[@stever669]

@@mcelectrical Hi Mark, Got a response from Fronius: Please notice that the precision of our Smart Meter is likely lower than the precision of the Grid meter. Moreover, we use 5 minutes average measurement, which for low values can affect the result a bit (the higher the measured consumption, the smaller the error percentage). Steve

[@johnbatistaBavaro]

Good morning, I have a 5 kW Huawei inverter and I am thinking of adding a 10 kW Fronius symo and I would like to know if I install a Smart meter, can I manage that the complete system does not inject more than 10 kW into the grid? Thank you for your help

[@mcelectrical]

Yes, that’s possible. But you’d have to check with your local installer if that is compliant with local grid requirements.

[@pi1325]

Can you please make a video where you explain the displayed information on the fronius smartmeter's screen? For example: what does it mean when the meter shows -0.1 kwh on L1, 1.2 kwh on l2, -0.1 on l3

[@mcelectrical]

Interesting. I’d suggest ignoring the screen. I’ve never taken much notice because I can’t see how is useful. But I’ll ask fronius if they see some value in it.

[@pi1325]

@@mcelectrical it is very usefull when you have a 3 phase inverter. The app tells you that you have used all energy from solar, but infact you have imported from the grid. And this is only shown by the utility meter and smart meter screen. The app lies if you have a 3 phase inverter, as the inverter will send the requires energy equal to all phases, and there is no 3 phase inverter that is able of dynamic feedin.

[@PeterMann683]

Hi @mcelectrical I have had my Fronius Smart Meter replaced but the consumption figures seem to be reading way too high when the solar panels are producing, for the same amount of appliances running in the house. eg when there is no panel output the consumotion is between 300 & 500 watts, but when the panels are producing 4 kW the consumption is 4.58 kW, for the same number of appliances running. Does the Fronius Primo Gen 24 Inverter use a lot of electricity when it's cranking?

[@mcelectrical]

Hi Peter, it just sounds like your smart meter has been wired wrong. It’s adding solar to your consumption. I’d get the sparkie back.

[@petermann7445]

Ah, great, you saved my bacon again, thanks Mark, really appreciate you answering these questions.

[@petermann7445]

​@mcelectrical hey Mark, the sparkie's coming back today, but I wondered if the extra consumption showing from the Fronius Smart Meter would also be reflected in the big energy provider's Smart meter ie. Am I paying extra for the extra consumption or is it just showing incorrect information in the app?

[@mcelectrical]

Hi Peter. The fronius “smart meter” has nothing to do with the energy providers Smart meter. It’s just inconvenient naming. So it will have no reflection on your bill.

[@nidchandra]

Hi Mark, just wondering if the fronius smart meter is compatible with other inverters?

[@mcelectrical]

Hi, no but just about every string inverter has its own version of a smart meter - or consumption monitor.

[@edijsegli527]

Hello Fronius 3phase Smartmeter calculate in "summary" calculation method or each phase? 3phase grid connection.

[@mcelectrical]

Hi, it doesn’t show production or consumption of individual phases. It just shows total of all three phases combined. But you can get voltages and currents of each individual phase.

[@andym8450]

Hey Mark, Thanks again for another great video. We got your company to price up some solar at our townhouse. We have been told or roof is to small. Any suggestion? Is there any alternative ways or new tech coming soon? Thanks mate!!

[@mcelectrical]

Hi Andy, nothing really coming as far as I know. You can always just run just a several panels on a roof , but it’s just not cost effective. If you’d like to tell me your last name here, or drop a chat message on our webpage - mcelectrical.com.au, I can double check what advice my team gave you.

[@andym8450]

@mcelectrical hey mate I sent a msg on the Web pages chat. Cheers

[@whereswa11y]

Mark, I have 6kw of APS panels before adding 6.66kw / Fronius/BYD 19kwHr. What I would like to know, has the bug with that 4 way power display been fixed yet? The bug is this. When my old panels are producing MORE than the house is using, the house/load is exporting power. There is no running dots showing power coming out of the house. Not the Fronius GEN 24 is super smart and grabs that extra power and stuffs it into my battery rather than letter Energex have them. Kudos for the smart meter + GEN24.

[@mcelectrical]

Hi Wally, do you have 2 smart meters? In this setup you would need 2. There are no bugs as far as I am aware but I can check with Dan.

[@whereswa11y]

@@mcelectrical Mark, here is a screen capture I did for you this morning. And feel free to use the video any time too. I will put the link in the next comment as KZbin loves to eat comments with links

[@whereswa11y]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3qkaYBvfZeeY6c

[@whereswa11y]

@@mcelectrical Hi Mark, it seems the previous upload didnt work. so I have done it again.

[@whereswa11y]

@@mcelectrical kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3qkaYBvfZeeY6c

[@anthonyking4932]

Solar Web archive data is currently broken for Gen24 inverters.

[@mcelectrical]

Yes! And didn’t we get a lot of calls about that! Nice to know our customers are using their monitoring. I think we’re back up again now.

[@twinrotors]

So…purchase a catch solar relay or a fronius meter?

[@mcelectrical]

Glad you’ve been following! If you want to heat hot water with surplus Solar, then catch power does both. However, catch does not have a 3 phase version out …. Yet

[@unners]

@@mcelectrical Would using a Catch solar relay instead of the fronius meter impact the smarts of the Wattpilot EV charger?

[@zoldrin]

my got damn ear done blocked again

[@youtubevanced4900]

If it’s so important why isn’t it built into the inverter?

[@mcelectrical]

Because it needs to be in a different location electrically and physically from the inverter. It needs to be wired at the main switch of your house, and that data is sent to the inverter.

[@youtubevanced4900]

@@mcelectricalThanks for the info. Much appreciated.

[@Z-add]

Bring someone from SMA.

[@mcelectrical]

Yes! Coming in to next several months.

[@Fritsvrolijk]

Same thing with Homewizzard 30dollar

[@mcelectrical]

Yeh, there are cheaper products that do basic consumption monitoring. This one isn’t available in Australia from what I can see, but others are like solar analytics and cortex. But homewizzard is 69 pounds, which isn’t much cheaper than the smart meter- and you then need to pay for installation. I’d be surprised if this gives the same scope as the Fronius smart meter, for example, integration with all the inverter’s voltages etc, the battery tool and export limit functionality.

[@PeterMann683]

@@mcelectrical Hi Mark, sorry to jump in here but I couldn't get the tag to work: I have had my Fronius Smart Meter replaced but the consumption figures seem to be reading way too high when the solar panels are producing, for the same amount of appliances running in the house. eg when there is no panel output the consumotion is between 300 & 500 watts, but when the panels are producing 4 kW the consumption is 4.58 kW, for the same number of appliances running. Does the Fronius Primo Gen 24 Inverter use a lot of electricity when it's cranking?

[@mysty0]

As far as Im concerned for the price of the Fronius Gen24 the smart meter functions should be built in like they are with every other Inverter right down to the cheapest nastiest no name brand, only Fronius has the arrogance to sell you an Inverter and then tell you that you have to buy the On/Off switch separately. And analytics? Yea, thats extra again.

[@mcelectrical]

Hi Mysty. Not sure I understand. A smart meter (or consumption meter) has to be a separate item from the inverter because it’s installed in a different location. Every inverter I know sell it as a option, except for the inverters that don’t have the option. The Solar.web data on fronius is free and the best by a long shot in my opinion. You can upgrade with more features on Solar.web, but it really isn’t necessary. I’m not sure exactly what you have been told but you may have been mislead.

[@mysty0]

@@mcelectrical so I have the Fronius Gen24 and Wattpilot being installed with BYD LVS Batteries and Jinko's new 54 Cell panels, although they dont look like Jinko's, they look cheap and nasty.. anyhow, the Smart Meter comes with or do I need to have that added extra? Because im worried if I dont get it installed at the time of installation nobody will install it. Solar installers are really stressing me out atm. Pretty much want to sell the one product they buy bulk, wont install what the customer wants, refuse to do anything other than whole installations so trying to get small modifications after the fact is a joke. The arrogance and contempt at which they treat the customer base. I go with a group from out of town for the install, because they sell me the system I wanted above, it was $9000 cheaper than local who was pushing Goodwe aggressively. So now I wont even bother asking any local installers if anything goes wrong because I already know know they will not do any fixes or will make astronomical quotes for small repairs. The whole industry is a joke, basically if you have a small idea what you want just call and ask who they sell and if its not who you want just move on. Honest solar installers dont exist, the industry is plagued with greed as if it isnt already profitable enough. Right now the panels have been installed on the roof and on my north facing side they have two rows with the upper row over lapping the lower row causing permanent shading. The fact I as a customer has to argue with gaslighting installers telling me it will be fine and theyve done lots of installs that way is a joke, if I didnt catch it nothing would have ever got done about it and the system would have been good for nothing