Home Area Network (HAN)
The Home Area Network or HAN is a network contained within a customer's home or business that connects a customer's qualified energy monitoring device to a smart meter. This connection allows the customer to observe his or her real-time energy usage through the energy monitoring device.
By connecting an energy monitoring device to your electric meter, you can:
- Monitor your real-time electricity usage (kWh)
- Evaluate your home or business for high energy usage devices and activities to understand how to develop energy-saving habits and make informed decisions about your energy use
Only qualified Energy Monitoring Devices and Pulse Output Devices can be provisioned to a smart meter. Below is a list of devices.
Qualified Energy Monitoring Device(s)
*When you click the above links, you will open a third-party website. The site is not maintained by FirstEnergy and FirstEnergy is not responsible for the content.
Qualified Pulse Output Device(s)
- Solid State Instruments Relay Model MPG*
- For more information on pulse outputs, go to Ohio Interval Metering and Pulse Service or Pennsylvania Interval Metering and Pulse Service.
To check your eligibility or to connect your qualified HAN-enabled device to your smart meter, log into your account or use the Quick Access option below.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What are the steps to provision my HAN-enabled device?
To provision your HAN-enabled device, follow the steps below.
- Log in to your online customer account using the portal above or use Quick Access. If you are already logged in, continue with next step.
- If you have more than one account, select the appropriate account to which you want to provision the device under the Steps to Provision Device header.
- If there are multiple meters at the premise, select the meter you would like to provision with your device.
- If there is only one meter, the meter number will be prepopulated.
- If the meter is not eligible, an "Account Not Eligible" error message will be displayed.
- Test the communication of the meter using the Ping Meter button.
- If meter does not ping successfully, wait 5-10 minutes before attempting to ping again.
- If your ping still fails after multiple attempts and you receive an error message, you should contact Honeywell by calling 1-855-830-2922 or via email at FirstEnergySmartMeterProgram@Honeywell.com for troubleshooting
- If the ping is successful, complete the Device Manufacturer, Make or Model Number, MAC ID, and Install Code fields and select the Provision Device button.
- Your HAN-enabled device’s MAC ID can usually be found on the back of the device or inside the battery cover. The Install Code can be found either on the device or with the device’s documentation.
- The MAC ID is a 16-character code that has the following format: XXXX:XXXX:XXXX:XXXX
- The Install Code is a 16-character code
- After selecting Provision Device you should receive an email from fecustomerservice@firstenergycorp.com informing you that the provisioning process has begun.
- If you do not see an email, check your Spam or Junk Folder.
- Important: You cannot begin using your device until you receive a second confirmation email that your device has been successfully provisioned.
- Within 10 minutes of receiving the first email, you should receive a second email indicating either the provisioning was successful or the provisioning failed.
- If you receive a Provisioning Completed Successfully email you are able to begin using your HAN-enabled device
- Should you receive a Device Provisioning Failed email, follow the emails instructions to re-attempt the provisioning process.
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Am I eligible for a HAN Device?
Eligible customers must have a smart meter that has met FirstEnergy’s network communication standards. If you do not have a smart meter, you are not eligible for a HAN-enabled device at this time. Please check back again in the future or call Honeywell at 1-855-830-2922.
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How long does it take to become eligible to receive a Smart Meter?
Based on our deployment schedule, we will exchange existing “legacy” meters with smart meters. Once the smart meter is installed it will go through a process to ensure it meets the FirstEnergy’s network communication standards.
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How does a HAN-enabled device differ from FirstEnergy's Analyze Usage Platform?
HAN-enabled devices provide near-real-time usage data while the Analyze Usage platform provides usage data on a roughly 24-hour delay. The Analyze Usage platform is free to customers, whereas HAN-enabled Energy Monitoring Devices need to be purchased by the customer.
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What is meant by provisioning?
FirstEnergy must provision or “pair” the smart meter with the HAN-enabled device in order for it to communicate. Once provisioned, the smart meter will recognize the HAN-enabled device when it is powered up and will connect with it wirelessly.
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What information do I need to provide to provision my HAN-enabled device?
FirstEnergy will require your Account Number, Device Manufacturer, Make or Model Number, MAC ID and Install Code (typically found on the device or the provided manufacturer documentation) of the device in order for it to register with the meter.
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How long does it typically take for HAN-enabled devices to be provisioned to my Smart Meter?
The provisioning process can take up to ten minutes to successfully complete. You will receive an email from fecustomerservice@firstenergycorp.com once the provisioning process has begun and a second email informing you whether provisioning was successful or not.
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What are some reasons why provisioning the HAN-enabled device might fail?
Provisioning your HAN-enabled device may fail because:
- MAC/Install codes not entered correctly
- HAN-enabled device not powered up
- Device not registered with manufacturer
- HAN-enabled device not within 50-ft of the smart meter and free from any obstructions
- HAN-enabled device itself has failed (customer must purchase, install, and program the new device)
If you can confirm installation, registration, and codes are entered correctly, you may need to reset your HAN-enabled device to factory reset settings and try provisioning the device again.If you’ve performed the factory reset, received a successful ping, but provisioning is still unsuccessful, you should contact the device manufacturer for additional troubleshooting steps.
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What is "pinging"?
Pinging is when FirstEnergy sends a signal to the smart meter to ensure it’s communicating in real-time with FirstEnergy’s systems. Once signed in to your online customer account, you can ping the meter by selecting the Home Area Network link on the left-side navigation menu under Analyze Usage. Then, select the meter you’d like to ping, and select the “Ping Meter” button that appears. You are only able to ping the meter 10 times in a 24-hour period.
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What are some reasons why pinging a meter might fail?
Communication failures may happen due to one of the following reasons.
- Outages due to downed power lines/storms
- FirstEnergy network communication equipment is down
- Neighboring Meter may be down (smart meters communicate with each other to send information back to FirstEnergy and a neighboring smart meter may be experiencing any of the above issues)
If meter does not ping successfully, wait 5-10 minutes before attempting to ping again. If your ping still fails after multiple attempts and you receive an error message, you should contact Honeywell by calling 1-855-830-2922 or via email at FirstEnergySmartMeterProgram@Honeywell.com for troubleshooting. -
How is my HAN-enabled device Impacted if there is a power outage?
If power fails or there is an outage and the HAN-enabled device is already successfully connected to the smart meter, the smart meter and HAN-enabled device will reconnect when the power is restored and continue to provide data. If connection is not restored, follow the steps to reset your device to factory default settings and deprovision and reprovision your device.
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What should I do if my device stops working/communicating?
If the meter is functioning and communicating via a successful ping, try the following:
- Perform a factory reset, deprovision and reprovision your HAN-enabled device.
- If that doesn't fix the problem, contact the device manufacturer for additional troubleshooting.
If meter does not ping successfully, wait 5-10 minutes before attempting to ping again. If your ping still fails after multiple attempts and you receive an error message, you should contact Honeywell by calling 1-855-830-2922 or via email at FirstEnergySmartMeterProgram@Honeywell.com for troubleshooting. -
What happens to my HAN-enabled device if I move or have a meter exchange?
If you have a meter exchange or move to another location, the new location must have a smart meter to be eligible for the HAN-enabled device. In addition, the HAN-enabled device must be deprovisioned from old meter. The HAN-enabled device must then be reset to factory settings, go through pinging the meter to check connectivity and then provision the HAN-enabled device to pair with new meter.
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How do I deprovision my HAN-enabled device and when would I deprovision my device?
To deprovision your device:
- Sign into your online customer account
- Select the Home Area Network link on the left-side navigation menu under Analyze Usage
- Select the meter you want to deprovision from your HAN-enabled device
- Select the “Deprovision” next to the MAC address of the HAN device you’d like to deprovision.
You may need to deprovision your device in troubleshooting situations or if you move or have a meter exchange. Deprovisioning your device breaks the connection between your HAN-enabled device and the smart meter.
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How are HAN-enabled devices qualified?
A manufacturer/vendor can submit a device to FirstEnergy for qualification testing, or FirstEnergy can decide to test and qualify a specific device. FirstEnergy will also re-test and re-qualify devices in the event of a Zigbee Firmware update. FirstEnergy’s Smart Meter Lab will run a series of tests on the devices to determine if it can be qualified. Devices are eligible for qualification if it passes a provisioning/pairing test and can receive and display consumption information from the smart meter.
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Who should I call if I have questions about my HAN-enabled device?
If you have any questions about the HAN-enabled device, contact Honeywell at 1-855-830-2922 or FirstEnergySmartMeterProgram@Honeywell.com.