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Sinus19863 Feb 2017 08:26Hello everyone,
The electrical installation will take place soon, and it is clear that we will be using an air-to-water heat pump.
Recently, I have been looking into the various electricity tariffs and noticed that only a few providers offer separate tariffs for heating electricity and household electricity (sometimes even more expensive than regular or basic electricity tariffs).
Is this still common or necessary today?
Is it mandatory to install a second meter exclusively for the heat pump operation?
Are there any specific requirements from the local electricity provider?
My electrician / site manager said that two meters would have to be installed:
3 slots
- 1 slot for household electricity
- 2 slots for the heat pump
- 3 slot unused
Online, I have read that in most cases a dual-tariff meter rarely results in cost savings overall.
Looking forward to your opinions.
Thank you.
Sinus1986
The electrical installation will take place soon, and it is clear that we will be using an air-to-water heat pump.
Recently, I have been looking into the various electricity tariffs and noticed that only a few providers offer separate tariffs for heating electricity and household electricity (sometimes even more expensive than regular or basic electricity tariffs).
Is this still common or necessary today?
Is it mandatory to install a second meter exclusively for the heat pump operation?
Are there any specific requirements from the local electricity provider?
My electrician / site manager said that two meters would have to be installed:
3 slots
- 1 slot for household electricity
- 2 slots for the heat pump
- 3 slot unused
Online, I have read that in most cases a dual-tariff meter rarely results in cost savings overall.
Looking forward to your opinions.
Thank you.
Sinus1986
T
toxicmolotof3 Feb 2017 09:17Two meters and a dual-tariff meter (peak/off-peak) are not the same!
In the end, it’s just a matter of calculation.
If the discount for heating electricity is less than the additional basic fee for the second meter, it doesn’t make sense to install a second meter.
Provided that your electricity supplier (which can be freely chosen in Germany) does not exclude heating electricity in their terms and conditions.
It gets even less beneficial for the second meter if you have a photovoltaic system combined with an electric vehicle charger on the roof.
I would venture to say that for up to around 3000 kWh (3,180 kWh) of heating electricity, a second meter is almost never worthwhile.
In the end, it’s just a matter of calculation.
If the discount for heating electricity is less than the additional basic fee for the second meter, it doesn’t make sense to install a second meter.
Provided that your electricity supplier (which can be freely chosen in Germany) does not exclude heating electricity in their terms and conditions.
It gets even less beneficial for the second meter if you have a photovoltaic system combined with an electric vehicle charger on the roof.
I would venture to say that for up to around 3000 kWh (3,180 kWh) of heating electricity, a second meter is almost never worthwhile.
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Sinus19863 Feb 2017 09:25Okay, so I would need to check whether our electrician plans to install two “standard” meters or one dual-rate meter, or even two dual-rate meters.
Kind of confusing...
Kind of confusing...
A small tip:
If you install only one meter, make sure to include a sub-meter for the heating system as well, unless the heating system already records its own electricity consumption. We forgot to do this and have now retrofitted it to finally find out how much electricity our heating actually uses.
If you install only one meter, make sure to include a sub-meter for the heating system as well, unless the heating system already records its own electricity consumption. We forgot to do this and have now retrofitted it to finally find out how much electricity our heating actually uses.
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toxicmolotof3 Feb 2017 14:50Are HT/NT meters still being installed nowadays?
At least in my region, I’m not aware of that. They used to be common with night storage heaters.
What the electrician prefers doesn’t really matter.
You need to know what you want, whether it’s allowed by the network operator and if your preferred supplier agrees to it.
Here, the second meter was removed after just one year.
At least in my region, I’m not aware of that. They used to be common with night storage heaters.
What the electrician prefers doesn’t really matter.
You need to know what you want, whether it’s allowed by the network operator and if your preferred supplier agrees to it.
Here, the second meter was removed after just one year.
Some people might still associate "electric heating" with old night storage heaters, where two-tariff meters definitely had their purpose... and they still exist today. I would recommend removing the term electric heating from your vocabulary to avoid misunderstandings.
Interestingly, two-tariff meters can also make sense in very modern homes with battery storage. These systems need regular charging to prevent faster aging and to maintain their capacity reasonably well. If the charging doesn’t come from the photovoltaic system, for example during winter, it is drawn from the grid. It might be sensible to schedule this charging at night.
(By the way, this is an aspect that no manufacturer mentions in their marketing materials, just like the storage losses (10-20%) when feeding photovoltaic electricity into the battery.)
Whether having two separate meters—one for household electricity and one for the heat pump—is cost-effective ultimately depends on your local electricity supplier’s offers and whether they provide discounted rates for heat pumps. Then you can calculate if the extra meter is worthwhile. In this case, it’s not beneficial.
Interestingly, two-tariff meters can also make sense in very modern homes with battery storage. These systems need regular charging to prevent faster aging and to maintain their capacity reasonably well. If the charging doesn’t come from the photovoltaic system, for example during winter, it is drawn from the grid. It might be sensible to schedule this charging at night.
(By the way, this is an aspect that no manufacturer mentions in their marketing materials, just like the storage losses (10-20%) when feeding photovoltaic electricity into the battery.)
Whether having two separate meters—one for household electricity and one for the heat pump—is cost-effective ultimately depends on your local electricity supplier’s offers and whether they provide discounted rates for heat pumps. Then you can calculate if the extra meter is worthwhile. In this case, it’s not beneficial.
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