Fronius Smart Meter vs Solar Analytics

Hi all,

From my understanding, the SMart Analytics and Fronius SMart meter is an additional cost to your quote?

Isnt there a standard monitoring application that you can use from your phone which will tell you these key things:
How much my unit is producing and at what times
How much is being sent back to the Grid
How much electricity is being used at home and at what times?

I think im really just after that information. Would the standard monitor tool show me this or do i need to buy some sort of monitoring device?

Hi @tikelz

That’s a really good topic. Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of insight into it, hopefully others will chip in.

My understanding - ‘smart meter’ can mean incredibly varied things. I think the only consistent thing about them is that they are digital energy meters, but their functionality can range significantly.

I guess the first question is, do you already have a smart meter at your house, and how much do you know about it? I think the only possibility of getting the monitoring you want without additional equipment, would be if you already have a smart meter that has that functionality. Otherwise, there are plenty of options besides the Fronius smart meter, but you would need some sort of hardware to get that data.

There is a bit about the Fronius smart meter at the bottom of our Fronius review:

Hope that helps
Marty

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

Hi,

I have had a solar quote for 20 x 325W Q Cell Q Peak Duo-G5 panels with a Fronius inverter and smart meter for $7140. Is this a reasonable price?

I am also wondering if the Fronius smart meter is necessary/worth it. We already have a smart meter and it takes $500 off the price if we don’t require the Fronius smart meter.

Thank you.

Hi Sarah,

Yes that’s a good price for some of the best quality panels and inverter.

I think you might be confusing your existing ‘smart meter’ used by your electricity retailer to measure and bill your consumption with an ‘energy meter’ which is used to measure your solar and household consumption.

The Fronius ‘energy meter’ (also called a smart meter) is used in conjunction with the solar inverter. It’s a clever device which let’s the system monitor the solar energy used by your household appliances as well as how much excess solar energy is exported and purchased from the grid. This information is really handy to see how your system is performing and would be important if you are considering getting a battery in the future.

Below is a chart from my home over a day which shows how much energy I’m generating (green) and buying (red). Yes this was a very cloudy crappy day. This is the type of more detailed information you can see if you get the extra energy meter. I recommend it.

There are additional add-on energy meters such as Solar Analytics which are also a really good option as they work on 3G and are often more reliable.

Great, thank you for your help :slight_smile:

Here is a new article which describes the importance of consumption monitoring using an energy meter like the Solar Analytics system.

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