Pay As You Go Overview and Diagnosis

Use this guide to understand what Pay As You Go (PAYG) is, which PAYG options Sycous offers, and how to work out what is wrong when a customer has a problem with credit, supply or their display.

Not sure which guide you need? Start at Meters Not Reading or Poor Signal: Where to Start.

What Pay As You Go is

A PAYG solution reduces debt risk by requiring payment up front for utilities including heat, hot water, electricity and gas. It is essentially a prepayment meter, with extra functions such as remote top ups and data insights that give the customer a better experience. Customers see their usage and spend on an in home display, so they can make informed decisions about their energy and water use.

Most PAYG systems can also run in credit mode and be switched between the two remotely, which helps manage debt that is difficult to recover. PAYG systems are operated through our Mabdeck Software, by our Customer Billing Services or by other third parties.

How Pay As You Go works

• The meter measures the heat, water, electricity or gas used.
• A hub in the property, or a cloud platform, holds the customer account: the balance, tariff, standing charge and any debt repayment.
• The customer tops up. Depending on the system this can be at a retail outlet such as PayPoint, online, through a mobile app, by phone or by text, and the credit is added to the account.
• As the meter records use, the cost is taken from the balance, and the display shows the balance and usage.
• When the balance runs low the display warns the customer. Emergency credit and friendly credit give the customer time to top up, and friendly disconnection prevents the supply being cut at pre set times.
• If the credit runs out, the hub can disconnect the supply with its relay or valve. When the customer tops up, the supply is restored.
• The operator sees balances, readings and alarms on the platform and can change settings remotely.

The options available

Liberty Connect 200 and Pipit 200

Liberty is a metering and payment system for community heating in district and communal schemes of any size. Each property has a Liberty Connect 200 hub and a Pipit 200 in home display. Both talk to Liberty Online, which operators use to manage every property in a scheme from one place.

• The Liberty Connect 200 is wall mounted in the property and connects by wire over MBus to up to three utility meters, covering heat, cooling, hot water and potable water.
• It collects consumption data, works out cost against the tenant account in prepayment or credit mode, and sends data to Liberty Online over a cellular connection (NB IoT and CAT M1) using its own SIM. No wired network is needed between properties.
• It talks wirelessly to the Pipit 200, a colour touchscreen display that shows the tenant their balance and usage. When a tenant tops up, the credit is applied in real time, and if the balance runs out the hub internal relay can disconnect the supply.
• Tenants can top up with cash, at retail outlets, on a website, by phone and by text.
• Each property works independently, so a fault in one property never affects another. Communications are encrypted and Liberty Online uses SSL and two factor authentication.
• Installers are guided on screen through commissioning, with checks for valve, flow, signal and WAN connection. Pairing the Pipit 200 needs only the installation code printed on its back, and result codes show which step failed.

Product pages: Liberty Connect 200 and Secure Pipit 200 In Home Display.

Secure Liberty 100

The Secure Liberty 100 is a utility grade PAYG solution for heat, electricity and gas. It works in PAYG or credit mode and can be switched between the two remotely. Every unit has a built in SIM, so it can be rolled out in a single property and relies on no other infrastructure. It is remotely managed and updated, with hub, meter and head end level alarms. For heat, the hub can sit close to the heat meter, and for electricity and gas the meter is built into the hub. A wireless in home display can be placed anywhere in the property. Customers can top up at any PayPoint outlet, online, through a mobile app and over the phone, with emergency credit and friendly disconnection.

Product pages: Liberty Connect 100.

Guru Hub II

The Guru Hub II is a single hub for multi fuel credit or PAYG across heat, hot water, electricity, gas and cold water. Some supplies, such as cold water, can run on credit while others run in PAYG mode. Hubs and repeaters connect wirelessly on an 868MHz mesh to a central gateway, and each hub makes the mesh more robust. It is available wall mounted or recessed, and a large colour screen shows balance, real time usage, historical graphs and messages. Guru also provides PinPoint, a data analytics tool for monitoring maintenance issues and improving efficiency.

Product pages: Guru Hub II.

Orbit

Orbit provides the same functions as a traditional PAYG solution without the limits of in home hardware. It runs in the cloud and is hardware agnostic, so you can choose your own metering and data collection, including MBus and wireless MBus as well as IoT, LoRaWAN and NB IoT. Because it is open protocol, you can move to another PAYG cloud provider, or your own, without perpetual licence fees. Customers manage their account online and through mobile apps, with proactive notifications, and Orbit supports remote and in store top ups, emergency credit, friendly disconnection and comfort tariffs.

Before you start diagnosing: collect the facts

• Which product is installed: Liberty Connect 200, Liberty Connect 100, Guru Hub II or Orbit.
• What the customer sees: the message or icon on the display, or a blank screen.
• When the last top up was made, how much it was and how it was paid.
• Whether the supply is on or off.
• What the platform shows: the last time the hub communicated, the balance and any alarms.
• Whether there has been a power cut or building work.

Good to know: Most PAYG calls are down to the balance, the connection or the display. Check the platform first. If the balance and last communication look right, the fault is local to the property.

Warning: The relay terminals on the hub carry mains voltage and should only be worked on by a qualified person with the supply isolated. Never bypass the relay to restore a supply.

1. The display is blank or will not show the balance

1. Tap the screen or press the Standby button. A short press wakes the display from standby, and the data keeps updating while it is in standby.
2. Hold the Standby button for more than 5 seconds to restart the display.
3. Check the display has power and is in range of the hub.
4. Check the hub itself has mains power and its own screen is on.
5. If the display is still blank, or shows a message you do not recognise, note the message and call for support.

2. The supply is off

1. Look for the Supply off icon on the display. Tap it to see what it means.
2. Check the balance. If it is zero or negative, the supply was switched off because the credit ran out. Top up, then check the supply is restored.
3. Check whether emergency credit or friendly credit is active, as these change when the supply is cut.
4. If the balance is above zero and the supply is still off, check the platform for the supply status and any alarms, and check the hub has mains power.
5. If the supply is a heating or water supply, also check the heating system, the valve and the heat meter are working. A fault in the pipework looks like a supply off from the customer side.

3. A top up was paid but the credit has not appeared

1. Confirm the payment went through and note the time, the amount and the method.
2. Check the display for the new balance. On the Liberty Connect 200 the credit is applied in real time.
3. Check the platform for the top up and the last time the hub communicated.
4. If the hub has not communicated recently, the top up cannot reach it, so check the signal first (section 4).
5. If the platform shows the top up but the display does not, restart the display (section 1).
6. If the payment is missing from the platform too, call for support with the payment details.

4. The hub has no signal or will not connect

1. Check the position of the hub. It should be indoors and not inside a metal, concealed or semi concealed enclosure, which weakens the signal.
2. Check the signal strength shown on the hub. On the Liberty Connect 200 the network check should read Excellent or Good. If it reads Medium or Poor, switch to the external antenna and keep it outside any closed enclosure, then check again.
3. Allow time for the connection. The WAN check can take up to 10 minutes and must show With WAN.
4. The Liberty Connect 100 uses GPRS and GSM mobile signal only, so check coverage at the property.
5. If there is no signal even with the external antenna, report it to Sycous so the site can be assessed.

5. The Pipit 200 will not pair or has lost its hub

1. Make sure both the hub and the Pipit 200 are powered. The Pipit 200 starts in pairing mode by default when it powers up.
2. Enter the installation code from the back of the Pipit 200 into the hub, in the blocks the screen asks for.
3. The hub leaves commissioning if no key is pressed for 15 minutes. If that happens, start again from the first step.
4. If the hub shows No Device, check the Pipit 200 is powered and in pairing mode, then retry.
5. If the Pipit 200 has to be reset on a unit that is already commissioned, call for support. A code has to be generated by the office first.

6. Readings are missing or consumption looks wrong

1. Check the meter display. If the meter itself is reading, the fault is between the meter and the hub.
2. On the Liberty Connect 200, each meter has its own MBus port, up to three in total. Check the MBus wiring and the polarity marked plus and minus.
3. Search for the meter again with the add device step. If it shows No Device, check the wiring, then retry. The search can take up to 8 minutes.
4. Compare the meter display with the balance movement on the hub. If the consumption looks wrong, check the meter. See Heat Meter Overview and Diagnosis and Water Meter Overview and Diagnosis.
5. For wiring faults on the MBus cable, see Wired MBus Overview and Diagnosis.

7. A commissioning check has failed

8. When to call for support

Call for support if the hub has power and signal, the display has been restarted and the platform and the display still do not agree, or if commissioning shows a failure code. Have the product, the property, the last top up and any messages on the display ready.

Need a hand on site? Contact the Sycous Project Lead, or email info@sycous.com, and have the details from the checklist above ready.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pay As You Go?

It is a way of paying for heat, hot water, electricity, gas or water up front. Credit is added to an account, and the cost of use is taken from the balance as the meter records it.

How is PAYG different from a traditional prepayment meter?

The extra functions. Customers can top up remotely, operators can see data and alarms on a platform, the system can be switched between PAYG and credit, and customers get an in home display showing balance and usage.

What is the difference between emergency credit and friendly credit?

Emergency credit lets a customer keep their supply for a short time after their balance runs out. Friendly credit, or friendly disconnection, prevents the supply being cut at pre set times. Both show as icons on the display.

Do properties need a wired network between them?

No. The Liberty Connect 200 and Liberty Connect 100 each use their own SIM, so every property works independently and a fault in one does not affect another.

Which option is the newest?

The Liberty Connect 200 and Pipit 200. It connects to up to three MBus meters in the property and covers heat, cooling, hot water and potable water.