trying to monitor my Enphase iq7+ using a smart meter

[merkurmaniac]

My subpanel is definately unbonded. On my main panel, have not ever modified the bonding or grounding. I assume that it is sound. I am attaching the GE manual page that covers 2S (power socket) requirements. They say its not a wiring diagram. Whatever. The meter power socekt for my solar system is literally floating on a sea of sheetrock and is not grounded by metal conduit or anything other than the wiring. The wiring enters the back. Its the two AC lines and the bare ground (lighting arrestor wire) Its pinched under a heavy plate and bolt in the back of the housing of the power socket. About a foot away, its grounded to the ground bus bar in my sub panel. So, I have no neutral.

I could pull the ground wire out of this meter socket and panel, and run it only to the ground bar at the main panel. Then, connect a 2 foot piece from my sub-panel neutral bar to the socket body. ? I may do this just as a test. I don't like the idea of ever being shocked by the socket body of course.

It seems that this whole system is engineered to be only really reading the main service entrance into the house. Most wiring discussion on the net is about the service entrance, etc... However, the two GE meters that I bought, one was labeled www.SUNRUN.com and the other was labeled www.solarpanelhelp.com or something like that. Both is/were set up with solar in mind.

[adoublee]

It is common for the PoCo meter to make no connection to the neutral. It just assumes that
the load is balanced, including power factor. Bruce Roe

Not sure what you are referring to but every home has a grounded (neutral) conductor from the transformer. I've never seen a residential property without 120V loads. I'm sure there is a balanced 240V meter available but I don't think this is what merkurmaniac has.

merkurmaniac - you say that the body of the meter is currently grounded to the sub panel ground. This is an Equipment Ground Conductor or EGC. This conductor is in large part for safety should there be fault to something metallic and should not normally carry any current. So you probably need to wire a neutral just from the subpanel to the meter neutral position, which would give it the 120V it might need for internal electronics. I'm not advising you to do it, but if one were to do a test before installing the neutral conductor they could consider tapping the EGC at the meter that does bond to neutral upstream and connecting to meter neutral to see if it makes the meter work (it would carry the current of the meter electronics back to the transformer which should be very minimal). If one were to try this I would definitely advise AGAINST leaving it with this connection that results in improper use of an EGC.

[merkurmaniac]

Thing is, there is no neutral position on the meter. The GE information says that the meter is powered by the electricity that it is measuring. There are only 4 lugs on the meter, the two a/c lines in and the two out. No neutral, no obvious ground. Nothing else.

The meter socket looks like this:

[Ampster]

Thing is, there is no neutral position on the meter. The GE information says that the meter is powered by the electricity that it is measuring. There are only 4 lugs on the meter, the two a/c lines in and the two out. No neutral, no obvious ground. Nothing else.

The meter socket looks like this:

Okay, so much for my theory about needing a neutral. Could it be something to do with the Zigbee protocol that most smart meters use?. Have you tried turning it around. It should measure power going both ways but maybe it is only looking for consistent power on one end. I am grasping at straws here. Someone with more experience with GE Smart meters is going to have to help. The only self installed meter I have is a very old one with odometer like wheel display if you understand what I mean.

[merkurmaniac]

So, oddly enough, I flipped the meter over when I got home. It reads the exact same, but upside down.

[merkurmaniac]

I found another manual for the GE meter that I have and it describes an error like mine and says its a dead battery. I'll leave this meter hooked up for 24 hours and see if that fixes things. If not, I guess that I will be hunting a battery.

[Ampster]

I found another manual for the GE meter that I have and it describes an error like mine and says its a dead battery. I'll leave this meter hooked up for 24 hours and see if that fixes things. If not, I guess that I will be hunting a battery.

Bingo, or at least I hope it is bingo. LOL

[bcroe]

Not sure what you are referring to but every home has a grounded (neutral) conductor from the
transformer. I've never seen a residential property without 120V loads.

I said the METER has no neutral CONNECTION. But there is a neutral. Bruce Roe