My battery or app went wrong after a smart meter was fitted

After a meter change or electrical work, a moved sensor (CT clamp) can make your battery and app behave oddly. How to spot it.

Your inverter knows what your home is using through a small sensor called a CT clamp. It clips around the main electricity cable near your meter. If a smart meter engineer or electrician moves the cables, the clamp can end up off the cable, on the wrong one, or the wrong way round. Your battery then makes the wrong decisions, and your bills can go up.

Signs the sensor has moved

It started straight after a meter change, a new consumer unit, an EV charger being fitted or other electrical work.
The app shows your house using nothing, a negative amount, or exactly what the panels are making.
The app shows you exporting when your smart meter display shows you importing, or the other way round.
The battery sends power to the grid in the morning, or charges from the grid when it shouldn't.
The battery won't discharge in the evening even though you're using the grid.

Try the kettle test

This tells us a lot, and takes a minute.

Open your monitoring app and note what it says the house (or load) is using, and the grid figure.
Boil a full kettle.
Wait 30 seconds to a minute (some apps take a moment to update), and note the figures again.

What you see	What it suggests
House use goes up by about 2 to 3 kW	The sensor is probably fine
House use goes down, or the grid shows more export	The sensor is probably the wrong way round
Nothing changes	The sensor is probably off the cable or disconnected

What to send us

Your kettle test figures, before and after.
A clear photo of your meter and the cables around it, from a little way back.
A photo of your inverter's screen, if it has one.
When it started, and who did the work (for example, your energy supplier and the date of the meter change).

We'll compare your photos with the ones we took at installation, and talk you through it or arrange a visit.