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Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs)

Last Post by Transparent 3 years ago

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Derek M

(@derek-m)

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Joined: 5 years ago

Posts: 4427

01/05/2022 8:39 pm

@transparent

I would suggest that you explain all the abbreviations that you keep using.

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Transparent

(@transparent)

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Joined: 4 years ago

Posts: 2669

02/05/2022 7:35 pm

Posted by: @derek-m

I would suggest that you explain all the abbreviations that you keep using.

Good point. Anyone else reading here, please do the same and intervene if I use a term which I don't explain.

In this case I'd like to offer a new diagram, which I hope goes a long way towards explaining my technical terminology... and also where it fits in the overall picture:

Save energy... recycle electrons!

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Derek M

(@derek-m)

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Joined: 5 years ago

Posts: 4427

02/05/2022 8:56 pm

Hi @transparent

A belated welcome to the happy band of moderators.

With your indepth knowledge you may be able to help with a problem I am having with our IHD.

We had both electricity and gas smart meters installed several years ago, and both worked fine until the other year. The electricity data displayed on the IHD is still working correctly, but the bargraph displays for the gas are no longer being updated correctly. The other year I shutdown our gas boiler completely for approximately 3 months during the Summer period, and since then this problem has existed.

I initially contacted the manufacturer of the IHD, who were not particularly interested and suggested I contact our supplier (now Octopus). Octopus suggest various things to try, none of which worked and are supposedly going to send a replacement IHD, for which I am still waiting.

Do you now where the data from the meters is actually stored, and collated, to produce the bargraphs available on the IHD?

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heat-pump-newbie

(@heat-pump-newbie)

Reputable Member Member

Joined: 4 years ago

Posts: 170

02/05/2022 9:18 pm

@derek-m You may find an answer from one of the volunteers on the OVO forum - you don't have to be an OVO customer to join. I'd be very surprised if there's a question about IHDs he can't answer!

https://forum.ovoenergy.com/

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Transparent

(@transparent)

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03/05/2022 10:37 am

Posted by: @derek-m

Do you now where the data from the meters is actually stored, and collated, to produce the bargraphs available on the IHD?

Yes. Simon and I did some exploratory investigations on this on the OVO Forum last year, although much of that is held in a private area called the Tech Treehouse.

The meter readings for gas and electricity are held in your Communications Hub, bolted on top of the electricity meter.

The gas meter wakes up every 30-mins to send its cumulative total to the Comms Hub and then goes to sleep again. Since the data transfer takes a finite amount of time, this is added to the 30-mins, making the whole process take around 30m,3sec. Thus the gas meter updates gradually 'creep forwards' in relation to the half-hour clock in the Comms Hub.

Your Energy Supplier supplies two further bits of data to your Comms Hub: the gas tariff (standing charge & usage) and the Calorific Value (CV).

The Comms Hub uses that data to calculate the gas usage in kWh, rather than cubic-metres, and the price, which includes the standing charge for the day including VAT at 5%.

It's the result of those calculations which get shown on the IHD.

Since your IHD continues to show electricity usage, it isn't faulty, and the wireless link is ok.

And since I'm assuming you're being billed for gas by Octopus, the gas meter and the Comms Hub are also functioning.

So the reason you aren't seeing gas usage on your IHD will be down to software.

Either your Comms Hub needs the SMETS-reset command being sent to it (the software equivalent of a kick-up-the-pants) or it needs the tariff/CV data refreshed.

The minimum permitted CV is 37 MJ/m³ but if, for example it were zero by mistake, then it would appear that no gas was being used.

HTH

Save energy... recycle electrons!

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Derek M

(@derek-m)

Illustrious Member Member

Joined: 5 years ago

Posts: 4427

03/05/2022 10:52 am

Hi @transparent

Thanks for the info.

So who do I chase to get the comms hub reset?

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Transparent

(@transparent)

Illustrious Member Moderator

Joined: 4 years ago

Posts: 2669

03/05/2022 11:05 am

Only your Energy Supplier, Octopus, have the access rights to send the required commands and data.

I'd suggest that you email them with a link to the 'diagnosis' I've written above. Their Customer Support staff are unlikely to know that level of detail, but they'll be able to follow the logic which I've applied.

Save energy... recycle electrons!

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