Hi @tikelz
The additional fronius smart meter is required to measure both the total household energy consumption and solar generation.
Without the smart meter you can only see the solar generation. This is great but you will not know if you are using more power than what is being generated. This is why you need the smart meter which needs to be installed in the meter box or switchboard. A cable then needs to be connected back to the solar inverter so this can cost a few hours of labour depending on how difficult it is.
Another good option is to use ‘solar analytics’ which uses 4G and doesn’t require extra communication cables from the inverter to the switchboard (ref image below). This will monitor and report to your smart phone app both the solar production and total energy consumption. It can also give alerts if it detects any performance issues. They are about $600-700 installed including lifetime subscription ($250)
The ‘smart meters’ in the meterbox is not the same as the solar smart meter. These smart meters are just used by the electricity retailers to measure your energy usage and bill you.
Hope this helps