Clean energy sources like solar can help reduce waste and better manage how we consume energy. 

However, as more and more home and business owners utilize solar panels, there are increasingly beneficial systems to utilize. Behind the meter systems are one of them, and it’s important to understand all that they entail. 

If you’re looking to fully understand all of the elements of behind the meter systems, you’re in the right place. 

What does ‘behind the meter’ mean?

To fully understand what ‘behind the meter’ means, it’s important to know what energy meters do.  

Within a solar panel system, an electric meter measures the electrical energy use of a home or business. They provide accurate billing to customers, often communicating directly with the local power company. 

Thus, ‘behind the meter’ generally refers to the position of an energy system in relation to its electricity meter. Seems simple, right? There are a few more elements of these systems to understand. 

‘Behind the meter’ refers to energy production and storage systems that supply homes and buildings with electricity. The energy that is produced and/or stored by these systems is separate from the grid and does not need to be counted by a meter before being used, so they are positioned behind the meter. 

Typically, residential and commercial solar panels are considered to be behind the meter, as well as those battery energy storage devices we defined earlier. 

Some of the most fundamental components of behind the meter systems include:

• A solar array that helps capture energy from sunlight.
• Wind turbines to help capture wind energy.
• Behind the meter storage system to store electricity from the RE components and any that is bought from the grid.
• A control system to help manage the production, storage, and delivery of electricity.

So, what do these systems accomplish? Fundamentally, behind the meter systems aim to: 

• Reduce the carbon emission and footprint of the building by generating electricity from renewable sources.
• Reduce the electricity bill costs or the amount of electricity purchased by the building.
• Take the building “off the grid” for some or all of the working day, reducing pressure on the local electric grid. 
• Provide power conditioning and uninterruptible power supply characteristics for the entire building.
• Eliminate blackouts to the building and provide uninterruptible power supply during grid failures.
• Eliminate the damaging effects of brownouts on the building.
• Allow the owner to buy electricity at the lowest possible purchase rates.

Now that we know the basics of behind the meter systems, let’s explore how they differ from front of the meter systems. 

Behind the meter vs. front of the meter

“Front of the meter” is a term you also may encounter when understanding your solar panel’s operation. 

As opposed to behind the meter, front of the meter refers to a stand-alone system that sits in front of the energy meter, and feeds power directly into the grid system.

A stand-alone system can be an independent on-site energy load, allowing the owners to sell 100 percent of the power generated directly to the utility.

So what is considered front of the meter? Essentially, anything that provides energy that must pass through an energy meter before it can be utilized. All energy generation and storage systems, as well as the power lines that distribute the energy, are considered front of meter. 

If your home or business receives energy from the electric grid, it comes from a front of meter system.

What is behind the meter storage?

Though we know that solar panels can still work in cold, snowy, or rainy weather, they are most efficient with access to unobstructed sunlight. Because of this, solar panel owners utilize some form of energy storage to capture and hold energy for later use.

Energy storage holds the energy produced during intervals of sunlight, ensuring that a household will not run out of power on days where weather is unfavorable. Many power system operators, utilities, and developers utilize different forms of energy storage. 

One example of such storage is a battery energy storage system, a device that charges or collects energy from the grid or a distributed generation system, and then discharges that energy later to provide electricity when needed. 

So, what does this have to do with behind the meter systems? 

Behind the meter energy storage is a type of unit that can store energy generated by a behind the meter generation system, such as a wind turbine, a solar PV, or Combined Heat Power (CHP) unit, and then release it when it is needed. 

Solar panel owners can utilize energy storage that is behind the meter, meaning that it is connected to the energy distribution system on the customer’s side of the utility’s service meter. 

Behind the meter systems do not sell power back to the grid, but instead use it all for the building it’s tied to. 

Behind the meter advantages and disadvantages

While there are many reasons why behind the meter systems are favorable for use in some buildings, there are a few drawbacks as well. Let’s dive into the benefits. 

• Behind the meter systems help to directly reduce the amount of energy purchased by the building, which is estimated to cut electricity bills costs by 80%.  

• Behind the meter system allows the user to access electricity from renewable energy sources, typically both wind and solar. It has the grid which acts as a backup. Owners can also access electricity from the energy stored within the battery or behind the meter storage system.

• Behind the meter smart controllers continually monitor all the energy sources as well as the load being drawn. It can help to regularly determine the amount of electricity being generated and drawn as well as the ‘state of charge’ of the storage system. Behind the meter systems then use the information to receive energy from renewable sources, supply energy directly from the storage system to the load and if necessary, and buy electricity from the grid when the grid electricity supply price is lowest.
  
  In addition, solar energy is not just tied to the load of the building, and the system owner can create an additional source of income regardless of whether the building is occupied or not. 

• In instances where any excess energy is fed back into the grid, it helps to balance power supply and demand, even as it generates additional revenue in the process. Though in some jurisdictions that have a Feed-in-Tariff, it is generally prohibited to have a single system that can both sell electricity to the grid and also use it internally.

Though behind the meter systems have a lot to offer, there are a few drawbacks that are important to know. Excluding backup generators, behind the meter systems have a single source of energy: the electric grid. 

Since the building is limited to a single source, it poses several disadvantages. The owner must accept:

• Whatever price structure is imposed by their jurisdiction.
• Whatever brownouts are happening in the location.
• Whatever blackouts that location experiences.
• Random and damaging power ‘spikes’ that can affect or even destroy electronics.

What are ‘behind the meter’ energy systems?

There are a few common types of behind the meter energy systems to be aware of: microgrids, on-site generation, and on-site energy storage. 

Microgrids

Microgrids are small grids that can run independently of the national electricity grid and are used to power a small number of buildings. They typically consist of generation, a transmission system, and sometimes battery storage.

Microgrids can be powered by distributed generators, batteries, and/or renewable energy sources like solar panels. A microgrid is beneficial to communities for a few reasons.

Namely, a microgrid can provide backup support for the national grid in case of emergencies. It can also be used to cut costs, use less, or adopt more sustainable energy sources.

On-site generation

On-site generation refers to any energy generation on your property which can be used on the premises, including home solar panels or small wind turbines. 

It is a form of decentralized energy, enabling a home or business to make and use its own energy at a particular location, rather than buying that energy through the grid. In some cases, a business may be able to sell any surplus energy it makes back to the grid. 

Examples of on-site generation include solar panels, wind turbines, and diesel generators and other traditional equipment fired by fossil fuels.

On-site energy storage

On-site energy storage refers to energy stored in a battery that goes directly from the battery to the home or building.

These resources can serve as both consuming power while charging, and electrical generation by releasing power while discharging. Energy storage comes in a variety of forms, including mechanical, thermal, and electrochemical (or batteries).

Energy storage systems typically contain these components: storage technology, power conversion (to convert the form of the incoming and outgoing energy), heat management, and software and controls. 

Behind the meter: final thoughts

All in all, behind the meter is a technology that can significantly change the future of power generation across different industries. Energy costs make up a significant part of the household and national expenditure and, taking systems behind the meter could bring considerable benefits.

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Fronius Smart Meter Review: Can This Smart Meter Manage Electricity?

Fronius is a brand that is quite popular within the photovoltaic and renewable energy industry. Photovoltaic mainly entails the transformation of solar energy into electricity through the use of photovoltaics, commonly referred to as solar panels. Fronius is widely popular for its inverters as well as energy meter, the Fronius smart meter.

The Fronius smart meter is a product that aims at efficient energy management as well as transmitting technical and usage data to the grid. Smart meters are the new trend when it comes to tracking energy consumption in real-time as well as troubleshooting arising issues.

The reason why smart meters are critical players in energy management is that they provide an in-depth analysis of how you consume your energy as well as pinpoint some energy loss.

Is the Fronius smart meter worth the additional cost? Does it manage electricity? How are its features beneficial more than just any other smart meter?

It is highly likely that such questions are ringing somewhere in your mind, and it is understandable.

The article will provide a Fronius smart meter review in terms of how it works, the advantages of having one as well as the disadvantages.

However, before we divide in, what do you understand by energy management?

Energy Management Overview

Mainly, energy management refers to organized, systematic, and proactive energy production as well as minimized consumption of energy within a building. The reduction of energy consumption aims at satisfying both the economic and environmental balance requirements.

Governments across the globe are encouraging energy management practices. Most companies and individuals have turned to energy management as a way to minimize operational costs as well as expenses.

The various practices regarding energy management may differ from one person to another, but some key concepts remain constant across the board.

The are some general steps undertaken in any energy management practice. The initial step involves data collection regarding energy consumption. The collection of this data is achieved by metering energy consumption.

After collecting the data, the next step requires the identification of the various opportunities that can be utilized to save energy.

Identification without taking any actions won’t save any energy. The third step will involve taking measures to fill the identified gaps. Finally, the last step requires progress tracking of the actions taken.

The progress tracking assists in building up well-framed analytics to check whether energy is being saved and used appropriately. Energy management facilitates better utilization of the existing power, and smart meters happen to be at the center of the entire process.

With smart meters, one can effectively achieve the outlined four steps, namely collect, identify, act, and track. The current worldwide projections indicate that energy demand is expected to rise as the supply shrinks.

It is veritable that energy costs are deemed to increase, hence the need for efficient energy management. Thanks to the smart meters as they greatly aid in achieving the desired energy management levels.

What is a Smart Meter?

Technology advancements have been a critical force in the evolution of several electronic devices. In the current era of “smart” devices, we have seen lots of gadgets evolve from enormous to smaller yet highly efficient tools. So what exactly are smart meters, and how are they different from the traditional meters?

A smart meter is a device that is built to record the consumption of energy and relay the data to the energy supplier for billing and monitoring purposes.

Besides data collection, smart meters can also provide detailed information on real-time energy consumption. Smart meters are the new trend of wireless and digital meters.

Smart meters are often associated with electricity, but they can also measure water or gas consumption depending on the manufacturer’s specifications. However, since the Fronius smart meter is an electricity meter, we will narrow our focus on electric energy.

Smart meters function on a two-way communication protocol between the metering device and the central unit. The device must at least record energy consumed hourly or more frequently and send the statistics to the monitoring grid.

The advanced metering is quite different from the traditional automatic meter reading in that the conventional meter reading did not enable two-way communication.

The enablement of two-way communication is a great plus for the smart meters as it connects the power supplier and consumer in a unified way, thus eliminating the need for a manual meter reading.

The real-time energy consumption is commonly displayed in kilowatt-hours on the screen of the device. Additionally, it can be accessed using a smartphone or any other device that can connect to the internet.

Fronius Smart Meter

The Fronius smart meter is one of the typical electric energy smart meters in the market. It is associated with solar electric power as it works together with the Fronius inverter.

Fronius smart meter measures the energy production from the photovoltaic system with a two-percent accuracy as well as power consumption.

The Fronius smart meter measures the current, voltage, and frequency of the electric energy as well as the running hours.

Additionally, the smart meter allows the user to have control over the amount of power they sell back to the grid. The smart meter awakens solar energy production to its glory days.

How The Fronius Smart Meter Works

Understanding the installation and basic working of the Fronius smart meter is quite easy.

Starting with installation, you can either do it yourself or outsource an electrician.

The steps for installing the smart meter include:

• First, mount the meter within the switchboard on your rail and then turn on the communication channel between the smart meter and the data manager.
• Afterward, the current transformers are placed on every phase to measure the current.
• Connect the fuses for the voltage measurements
• Turn on the smart meter to send data to the data manager interface
• Finally, confirm whether it is transmitting data and also whether you can view installation parameters from the solar web account.

The device communicates to the power grid and Fronius inverters through a protocol known as the Modbus RTU interface. The Modbus protocol precisely assists the Fronius smart meter to be in synchrony with Fronius inverters.

The smart meter is a bidirectional meter that has two main options; there is the 63A version and the 50 kA-3 version.

The 63A version of the smart meter exists in two models, the 63A -1 and 63A -3 models.

The 63A -1  strictly serves the single-phase applications, whereas 63A -3  serves the 3-phase applications.

On the other hand, the 50 KA-3 version is a 3-phase smart meter, usually connected to a power grid of 400v minimum.

Although 50 KA-3 versions are mainly crafted for 3-phase, they can also serve the installations that are both single and dual phased.

The Fronius smart meter has a built-in data logger that resides on the lower side of the inverter. The inbuilt data logger allows the user to visualize the performance of the monitoring system.

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Advantages of Fronius Smart Meter

Some of the Fronius Smart Meter pros include the following:

1. Visibility

One of the most significant benefits that Fronius smart meter brings to the table is the ease of access and clarity of the usage data. The users can see the amount of energy that they are using and when they are using it. The device enables households to avoid using more power than they need.

Albeit, it also boosts transparency between the power supplier and the customer. Both parties can view the actual amount of energy consumed; thus, the costs will be transparent.

Again, it can as well act as a historical record in that the consumers can compare their present versus past usage.

The visibility factor also enables the power supplier to monitor the entire electric system more efficiently.

It is beneficial since the real-time data it provides is important to balance loads along the grid as well as reduce power outages.

2. Minimized Expenses And Increased Savings

By the fact that the device enables consumers to avoid excessive usage of energy that is not necessary, this helps them to reduce electricity costs.

Traditionally, people used to receive bill estimates at the end of the month while with Fronius smart meter, people get up to date information of their current usage.

This fact enables many consumers to save on their electricity bills as well as streamline their financial plans.

3. Accuracy In Estimation

The Fronius smart meter eliminates the need to make estimates. Rigorously testing of the gadgets is performed before leaving the factory to ensure that they send accurate data when installed by the energy consumers.

Additionally, this eliminates the need for a meter reader to take or estimate the readings.

4. Encourages Cleaner Energy

The Fronius smart meter helps in the effective management of energy, thus saving energy. Secondly, the devices promote the use of solar energy which is clean and renewable. Broad adoption of solar energy will also reduce the dependence on power which is not eco-friendly.

On top of that, it also quenches the demand for new power stations that produce gases that pollute the environment. Besides, these gadgets will assist in curbing the emission of greenhouse gases from the power plant in existence.

These smart meters encourage the adoption of greener energy as well as pollution reduction.

Disadvantages of Fronius Smart Meter

Some cons of the Fronius Smart Meter include:

1. Savings Require Proactive Use

Fronius smart meter alone cannot save your expenses on electricity bills. It requires an active engagement as well as behavioral change for the reduction in costs to reflect. The smart meter only provides information regarding energy usage.

Based on the usage collected, the user can analyze the data and decide the unnecessary energy consumption as well as where consumption can be minimized.

2. Privacy Concerns

One of the significant setbacks of digital devices is the privacy issue. Some energy consumers have raised a concern regarding the privacy of their data that is being collected by smart meters.

The customers need assurance that their data will not leak to any third party from the energy suppliers.

If any information has to be shared with a third party, the supplier must have explicit consent from the customer.

3. Setup Costs

Setting up these Fronius smart meters will incur some expenses on both the supplier’s and consumer’s end. On the supplier’s end, incurred costs include purchasing and replacement of the existing metering system.

Secondly, the training of personnel on how to handle the transition process will also incur some charges. On the customer’s end, he/she will have to incur additional fees for the new meter.

4. Loss of Jobs

The adoption of the Fronius smart meter will render the meter readers jobless. Technology has the naughty trend of replacing human workers since advanced machines tend to be smarter and efficient in what they do than humans.

Therefore, with the installation of a smart meter, the need to manually read the meter is eradicated.

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Conclusion On Fronius Smart Meter

It is undeniable that smart meters are the current trend in metering and more efficient than the traditional meters. The Fronius smart meter provides energy production, energy usage, and energy balance statistics daily which sets it above the bar when compared to other smart meters.

We can all agree that Fronius smart meter is a perfect choice to manage electricity as well as monitor a photovoltaic system.

What do you think about the Fronius smart meter? Please let us know if you have any questions by leaving a comment below.

Related Resources

• Using Solar Energy At Home: 6 Pros & Cons You Need To Know
• First Choice Power Overview: Who Are They & What Do They Do
• What is Net Metering and How Does It Work? [Full Guide and Analysis]

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