Built a house, got a solar roof, have questions

[mahjongguy]

My solar dealer did a good installation of a 9.5 kilowatt system. They have submitted an application to PEA for sellback. I assumed they also requested TOU but they tell me No, that is up to me.

 

PEA installed a mechanical 3-phase meter, so the vendor set the system never to output more than the real-time load.

 

Q. - Why didn't PEA install a digital meter? Many of my neighbors in this new mooban seem to have solar, but not all, yet every one of them have digital meters. The developer has no intelligible answer, nor does the solar vendor.

 

Q. -  I've looked at the TOU rate tables. For a house that probably would average just over 1,000 Kwh per month but instead will be more like 400 Kwh because of the solar, would getting TOU be worth the effort?

 

Q. - I paid more than 4,000 baht for the mechanical 3-phase meter. If I get TOU and thus a digital meter, I think it will cost about another 8,000. Does that sound right?

 

Q. - The solar vendor told me just now, months after we moved in, that PEA won't issue any sellback contracts until every property in the mooban has been sold. Could that possibly be true? 

 

Thanks.

[hotandsticky]

You could do with someone like @Bandersnatch coming along

[Crossy]

Can you post a photo of your meter? Export meters don't have to be electronic.

 

We have members who have been waiting years for their export meters, so maybe you don't have one yet!!

 

Try removing the no-export setting and seeing if the meter goes backwards (but don't let a PEA employee see it!!)

 

[Bandersnatch]

4 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

You could do with someone like @Bandersnatch coming along

I chose not to join the Solar Rooftop feed-in program as at the time the rate was a Buy-Back at 1.68 Baht/KWh. It has now been raised to 2.2 Baht. I had single phase electric as I planned to go off-grid. The max PV was 5kW with 10kW for 3 phase. Inverters had to be on PEAs approved list.

 

This was a few years ago and may have changed.

 

When I bought my first EV I did look at TOU because I was told that I couldn’t use solar with the supplied EV charger.

 

I don’t think TOU makes sense unless you have a high nighttime load like EV charging.

 

PEA rules vary by office and even within the same office. Not much you can do about it.

 

I have had my meter changed 5 times as it wasn’t moving they thought it was broken. I have been accused of breaking the meters with my solar even though my grid connection is permanently switched off. I have also been accused of spinning the meter backwards (to the same reading every month) each time I ask for a digital meter. Over 5 years now still waiting.

 

 

 

 

[mahjongguy]

13 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

I don’t think TOU makes sense unless you have a high nighttime load like EV charging.

In our case, that seems like a very sensible conclusion.

[mahjongguy]

56 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Can you post a photo of your meter? Export meters don't have to be electronic.

....   See below.

 

Try removing the no-export setting and seeing if the meter goes backwards (but don't let a PEA employee see it!!)

 

On the day the the solar vendor activated the system, it was lunchtime, bright and sunny. We took a quick look at the meter running furiously backwards (at over 7 Kw) then hurried back to set the system to No Sellback.

 

 

 

 

[Crossy]

OK, that's a standard "dumb" (despite it being made by Smart TTC) 3-phase meter.

 

I'll put money on it going backwards on export (if you do try it make sure the numbers count down too). Of course, this is not permitted, so don't get caught!

 

I bet the local PEA just ran out of electronic meters.

 

I'm pretty sure there's no extra charge for an electronic meter although they might charge you for one programmed for export metering.

 

 

 

[mahjongguy]

13 minutes ago, Crossy said:

I'll put money on it going backwards on export (if you do try it make sure the numbers count down too).

Interesting. We watched the wheel spin backwards for a moment but I didn't think to check the number wheels. But, I'm pretty sure the solar vendor made certain.

 

Okay, the overall picture is getting clearer for me.

 

Anyone ever heard this nonsense about no sellback until every lot in a mooban is sold? Referring to Chonburi.

 

 

[Sigmund]

Many house developpments managers in beach towns like Hua Hin or Phuket, refuse house owners to export their solar power within the developpment as the electricity passes through the developpment and not directly from the government. The managers obivously just want to make money with those paying inflated regular electricity bills and do not wish to hand back any perks to those who buy on leasehold and have absolutely no rights. Never buy a house in Thailand on leasehold as you just get screwed by the developpers usually, especially in farang run housing projects. Not all of course, but many.

[Crossy]

2 hours ago, mahjongguy said:

Anyone ever heard this nonsense about no sellback until every lot in a mooban is sold? Referring to Chonburi.

 

I saw a post recently with a very similar looking issue, of course I can't find it now 😞 

[mahjongguy]

Input yesterday from the solar vendor: at some point (when?) the developer will transfer ownership of the transformer to PEA. Two hundred and seventy days later, PEA will begin replacing any mechanical meters for customers who have applied for and are waiting for TOU and/or sellback. But, only if the province has the funds on hand at that time.

 

My Thai partner says the government recently announced that they have completed a program of switching two million meters to digital models.

 

So, good thing it's not urgent that we get TOU and/or sellback. I'll be dust by then. 

[bluejets]

I'm surprised to see PEA even entertain time of use arrangement.

 

In Aus at least, if you want a battery system with grid feedback, you don't get a penny for what you feed back to the grid.

I expect they apply the "have your cake and eat it too" as not being acceptable.

 

Off topis perhaps but I see one of the WA energy suppliers wants to offer people $100 to allow them to turn off their feed back when and how they(the energy supplier) see fit.

Age old problem, energy suppliers have no way of regulating what is coming into the grid, short of turning off feed back.

Oversight, don't think so,overruled by pollies more likely.

So much for green planet, this at a time when energy is in short supply and hot summer on the horizon.