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Why Your Prepaid Electricity Meter Might Trip (or Tamper) With Solar

Why your prepaid electricity meter goes into Tamper Why you may need to change your prepaid electricity meter when installing solar Why you must use a registered electrician for your Solar Installation With the KRN Rollout in full swing, ahead of the looming 24 November cut off date, consumers are panicking. “We also find many …

  • Why your prepaid electricity meter goes into Tamper
  • Why you may need to change your prepaid electricity meter when installing solar
  • Why you must use a registered electrician for your Solar Installation

With the KRN Rollout in full swing, ahead of the looming 24 November cut off date, consumers are panicking.

“We also find many enquiries coming in from people who have prepaid electricity meters that go into tamper especially in the presence of solar installations that are grid tied,” says Straton Solar.

Many prepaid meters are not compatible with solar installations and trip or go into tamper mode when they sense any electricity being fed back into the grid. What frustrates consumers even more is that they will then need to contact their electricity/prepaid meter supplier to issue a tamper reset code.

“We have come across a number of consumers with a tamper problem related to solar installations. In a few of these situations the electricity eskom or municipal supplier has, in desperation, bypassed their own prepaid meters whilst a solution is sought,” continued Straton.

Common reasons why a prepaid meter might trip or go into tamper mode in the presence of a solar system:

  • Reverse Current: The biggest issue is that some prepaid meters are not designed to handle reverse current. This happens when your solar panels generate more electricity than your home uses, and the excess power flows back to the grid. The meter may interpret this as tampering and trip. This situation is referred to as SRE: Significant Reverse Flow detection.
  • Meter Sensitivity: Some prepaid meters are very sensitive and will trip even with a small amount of reverse current. This can be a problem even if your inverter is set to prevent reverse current.
  • Power Fluctuations: Even if your inverter is set to prevent reverse current, there may still be some power fluctuations that can cause the meter to trip. This is because the meter is designed to detect changes in power flow, and even small fluctuations can be interpreted as tampering.

Before we give possible solutions lets be brutally honest:

  1. Any Grid-Tie solar system is a notifiable installation to your local municipality.
  2. If you have a credit meter you will not experience this problem and will not mind waiting for a smart meter to be installed.
  3. If you have an existing prepaid electricity meter you must apply (and pay for) a Smart Meter from your municipality.
  4. The installation must be signed off by a registered electrician with a wireman’s license.

Smart meters are in short supply across South Africa so be prepared to wait after applying and paying.

What Can You Do?

If your prepaid meter is tripping or going into tamper mode after you install a solar system, there are a few things you can do:

  • Contact Your Electricity Provider: The first step is to contact your electricity provider and explain the situation. They may be able to help you troubleshoot the problem or provide you with a new meter that is compatible with solar systems.
  • Check Your Inverter Settings: Make sure that your inverter is set to prevent reverse current. If it is not, you may need to adjust the settings.
  • Install a Solar Meter: A solar meter can be installed to monitor the flow of electricity from your solar panels. This can help you identify any problems that may be causing the meter to trip.

“What we have done for a number of our clients waiting for replacement of prepaid electricity meters with smart meters is to install a number of lamps in such a configuration that they will consume feedback before the power hits the prepaid meter and trips the meter,” says Straton.

Should you require a schematic of how this is done then contact Straton Electrical here: https://straton.co.za/contact

It’s important to note that not all prepaid meters are incompatible with solar systems. Some meters are specifically designed to work with solar, and they will not trip or go into tamper mode. If you are planning to install a solar system, it is important to check with your electricity provider to see if your meter is compatible.

Solar Inverter next to Prepaid Electricity Meter. Photo: Straton Solar (with a bit of AI Assistance!)

Video: Why Your Prepaid Electricity Meter Might Trip With Solar

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