What is zero injection and why do you want it?
Those who have solar panels often inject electricity into the grid during the day. For those injected kilowatt hours you get an export payment that is a lot lower than what you pay yourself to take power in the evening. So every kilowatt hour you pour away and buy back later is loss. Zero injection turns that around: a battery captures your surplus before passing the meter, and returns it when you need it yourself. The net sees as little traffic as possible in both directions.
To do that, the battery needs to know what your apartment takes or injects at every second. That information is already in your house: in the digital electricity meter of Fluvius.
What exactly does that P1 dongle do?
At the bottom of your digital electricity meter is a user port, the P1 port. There you click a P1 dongle: a small module that reads the measurement data and sends it to the battery via your Wi-Fi. The control circuit is simple but effective:
- The meter sees injection: There's solar surplus flowing to the grid. The dongle reports it, the battery increases its charging power until the injection goes to zero.
- The meter detects electricity being drawn from the grid: You're consuming more than you're generating. The battery releases just enough to compensate for that decrease, up to its maximum power.
- The battery is either full or empty: then she can no longer adjust and the surplus or deficit simply runs through the grid, as before.
What does zero injection yield?
Rule of thumb: zero injection pays the most for those who inject a lot during the day and consume a lot in the evening. Whoever works at home and consumes a lot of himself during the day has less surplus to buffer.
How much storage fits depends on your daily surplus: too small and you keep injecting, too large and the extra capacity is unemployed. Our article on battery capacity Help you cut that knot. And if you don't have solar panels, then the same P1 control can be used to load at cheap hours: read home battery without solar panels.
The focus before you begin
- Activate your P1 port first. The user port of the digital electricity meter is off by default. You open them yourself for free through my.fluvius.be, under the control of your gates. How that goes step by step, read in read your digital electricity meter.
- Check your Wi-Fi range in the distribution board. Distribution boards are often in basements or under metal doors, and that is wifi-enemy terrain. Test with your phone if you still have a stable signal at the meter; if not, an access point or repeater will fix that nearby.
- Count on a little response time. The meter transmits its data at intervals of a few seconds. At sudden peaks, such as a kettle that hits, the battery is just a little behind. One day, on average, it doesn't matter.
- Perfect zero doesn't exist. Zero injection is a target, not a guarantee. With a full battery, an empty system or a surplus above the charging power there is still power running through the grid. That's normal.
Frequently asked questions about zero injection and the P1 dongle
Cannot find your question? Call or email us for an answer from an installer rather than a salesperson.
Should I activate the P1 port by a technician?
No, you do that yourself and it's free. Log in to my.fluvius.be, go to the management of your ports and open the user port. She's usually active soon after. In our article on reading the digital electricity meter you can read the full process.
Does zero injection work without solar panels?
Zero injection itself is not the issue, because without production you inject nothing. But the same P1 control remains useful: the battery can discharge on your actual consumption and, especially with a dynamic contract, charge at cheap hours.
What if the Wi-Fi in my distribution board is too weak?
Then the control drops and the battery switches back on its standard behavior. Test the signal in advance at the meter with your phone. An access point or repeater near the distribution board almost always solves it.
Do I need to register a battery with P1-based control with Fluvius?
Storage and injection devices are subject to notification rules which may change. Check the current terms on Fluvius' website, or ask us the question: we will work it out with you for your situation.
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What applies to your situation?
Equipment selection, price, scheduling and any conditions will be confirmed for your project. This information does not replace an assessment of your installation or an individual quote.