Change your RHI meter now, to stay compliant
When an RHI sonic meter is ten years old Ofgem stipulate as part of your ongoing commitments that you have to get it recalibrated or replaced. In all cases so far we have replaced them. It is quicker and more cost effective, and you have the added peace of mind that the new meter will probably last the full ten years rather than break down soon after you have it recalibrated.
Replace or recalibrate? Well, that's the conundrum most face, but we have come to the conclusion that it's better to replace, for the following reasons:
- New meters are guaranteed and warrantied for a year
- It's usually cheaper to get the meter replaced than recalibrated
- A recalibrated meter might fail shortly after being recalibrated, so you face double the cost
We can also help with notifying Ofgem after the meter is changed. It usually takes less than an hour and will require us to have your Ofgem account login details, or you can make us 'helper' account with fewer permissions if this makes you uneasy. Ofgem have to be told within 28 days of the meter change and you have to edit the accreditation document. The time is charged at the same rate that the fitters rate per hour is, so the paperwork usually costs around £65 including VAT. The cost of meter change itself depends upon what make it is, what size it is and how long it takes to change.
After the meter change is notified, you will not be able to submit your periodic data if read from the new meter, as the periodic data grid will not allow you to enter a reading that is lower than the existing reading, under the new meter is accredited. It will then appear on the grid with the opening reading of the new meter.
The accreditation change process also requests that you supply a pdf for both planning permission if the boiler is over 50kW in size and proof that the boiler is added to your environmental permit, if you have one. Also, if the serial number of the existing meter is on the schematic, they will request that you edit it to reflect the changes. You will also often be asked if the meter was fitted in the same place as the old one. We have had a few that were on the wrong pipe for their setting, most are on the return. We also had one where the temperature probes weren't fitted properly, so the customer had been getting a lower RHI payment than he was entitled to for ten years, so it's worth getting professionals to fit the meter, because things like this might not be picked up otherwise.