Smart meter [poll]

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

My engineer just left. He couldn't install my smart meters as I had what he called a biscuit tin. A metal casing and live exposed wires which is unsafe and needs replacing with a plastic one apparently. Somebody had built a piece of board in front of it as well so he couldn't see without taking the board off. We've put it down to the non-standard construction of the house which we found out when we tried to get a mortgage on it.

He said it could have asbestos within it which would get disturbed when he tried to remove the meter as well (thankfully when he checked it hadn't). He said it was a code B03. I'm sure @Donegal john will understand some of this.

Now we have to wait until they've replaced the metal bit for a plastic one, before we can have any type of meter put in. Uff lol

 

[Crappyfish]

How can they save money the unit price is the same! Are they for the energy suppliers to monitor peak times for the national grid. They were mentioned a few weeks ago when it was said there was going for different prices at off peak times.So really they are not to monitor energy usage in our homes but for energy companies to monitor energy usage in our homes. My Shell one frankly is crap as it works sometimes. I end up sending readings in which I was told with constant bombardment from Shell I wouldn't need to take readings. Well what bullcrap that was

 

[Chippy_Tea]

How can they save money the unit price is the same!Are they for the energy suppliers to monitor peak times for the national grid.

I thought the idea was to scare you when you put the washer on and boil the kettle at the same time and see how much you are using as i said above totally pointless if this is the case.

 

[Donegal john]

My engineer just left. He couldn't install my smart meters as I had what he called a biscuit tin. A metal casing and live exposed wires which is unsafe and needs replacing with a plastic one apparently. Somebody had built a piece of board in front of it as well so he couldn't see without taking the board off. We've put it down to the non-standard construction of the house which we found out when we tried to get a mortgage on it.

He said it could have asbestos within it which would get disturbed when he tried to remove the meter as well (thankfully when he checked it hadn't). He said it was a code B03. I'm sure @Donegal john will understand some of this.

Now we have to wait until they've replaced the metal bit for a plastic one, before we can have any type of meter put in. Uff lol

I’m not sure what the code means as over in engalund the system is different. What is the same is old installations and the need for upgrading to current regulations and the people that fit smart meters are normally not qualified to make decisions above their paygrade. He is likely a “part p” qualified spark. This means he went to a few night classes.
Are they talking about the incoming supply or your consumer unit /fuse board ?

 

[tigertim]

So really they are not to monitor energy usage in our homes but for energy companies to monitor energy usage in our homes.

I don't think this has ever been any great secret.

I explained yesterday the massive benefits of predicting and streamlining energy usage to both the consumer and the producer - in terms of both financial and environmental cost. Link to my post below :

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/smart-meter-poll.93166/post-1170929
Tariffs encouraging off-peak usage have been around since the 70s. It's just that it can now be achieveved with one meter rather than two, and rates can be changed as the cost of energy fluctuates. Yes, they clearly collect data to achieve this, but I'm not sure I've seen anybody speculate on how this information is likely to be used against us in life-ruining ways.

 

[tigertim]

Actually, if anybody really wants to get their tin foil hat out when it comes to smart meters, read up on the difference between real power and apparent power. Up until now, it's only been possible to bill domestic customers for real power whereas, with certain smart meters, we can now be billed for apparent power, should the power company choose to do so in the future.

Without going in to the physics, the characteristics of a lot of our modern electronics would mean that billing us for apparent power would cost us more than billing us for real power, as is currently the norm. It may never happen, but...

 

[Crappyfish]

How can they save money the unit price is the same! Are they for the energy suppliers to monitor peak times for the national grid. They were mentioned a few weeks ago when it was said there was going for different prices at off peak times.So really they are not to monitor energy usage in our homes but for energy companies to monitor energy usage in our homes. My Shell one frankly is crap as it works sometimes. I end up sending readings in which I was told with constant bombardment from Shell I wouldn't need to take readings. Well what bullcrap

I thought the idea was to scare you when you put the washer on and boil the kettle at the same time and see how much you are using as i said above totally pointless if this is the case.

2022 and we can't boil a kettle without looking at the cost. Oh dear where we heading

 

[Chippy_Tea]

2022 and we can't boil a kettle without looking at the cost. Oh dear where we heading

Power cuts :tinhat:

 

[Nicks90]

We've got them, but they have never worked.
Why he bothered installing them in a 200 year old farm house when the meters are in the cellar, 40 feet apart and under many tonnes of stone, I've no idea.
Yes I get it, leaving phone chargers plugged in is vampire usage... But I pay nearly nowt anyway due to burning wood being my main heating source. And I am a stingy Yorkshire man and turn everything off, but wife and teenage daughter offset that....

 

[Rodcx500z]

I wonder if you can 3d print a smart meter and reverse engineer it, so it tells you what they are really up to, that would be fun, even better would be sending them a bill, sorry just trying to brighten life up abit

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

I’m not sure what the code means as over in engalund the system is different. What is the same is old installations and the need for upgrading to current regulations and the people that fit smart meters are normally not qualified to make decisions above their paygrade. He is likely a “part p” qualified spark. This means he went to a few night classes.
Are they talking about the incoming supply or your consumer unit /fuse board ?

He was referring to a metal jacket that seems to be shielding the outside of the meter, and loose wires that he said if he dropped a screw it might explode. So he couldn’t do it. The incoming supply is where the live cable is apparently.

He referred it to his company on some kind of messaging app and they said he wasn’t allowed to do the work until we replaced the metal jacket for a plastic one. He said he will need to report the dangerous setup and then they will send someone out to replace the metal cover free of charge. He said we have a ceramic fuse but we need a plastic one.

Not fully understanding his lingo but he seemed to know his stuff. He said he couldn’t do the gas one either which is outside. Even though the electric one (the problem one) is inside.

I’m a little frustrated having waited 2 months for an appointment only to be told it can’t be done after all.

 

[Leon103]

How can they save money the unit price is the same! Are they for the energy suppliers to monitor peak times for the national grid. They were mentioned a few weeks ago when it was said there was going for different prices at off peak times.So really they are not to monitor energy usage in our homes but for energy companies to monitor energy usage in our homes. My Shell one frankly is crap as it works sometimes. I end up sending readings in which I was told with constant bombardment from Shell I wouldn't need to take readings. Well what bullcrap that was

I think some of us are referring to different things. I wouldn't bother with the plug in things in your house. Nit needed for my usage. I am referring to the actual meter, I have had a smart meter for years and even had a discount with one company but after all these years only Shell ever got it connected and now I don't need to submit a reading and my usage gets updated daily.
The unit price is capped and not fixed so they could easier create a tariff with a flexible rate.

 

[Leon103]

I wonder if you can 3d print a smart meter and reverse engineer it, so it tells you what they are really up to, that would be fun, even better would be sending them a bill, sorry just trying to brighten life up abit

Remember nobody is forcing us to get electric off these companies. We are the customer. Most of us don't need electric

 

[Polcho]

I think I’m glad I probably don’t have one now!

 

[foxy]

I have had my smart meter since 2009, I can read exactly the same as the power company bar the FiT but I can get that off the Inverter. It hasn't played up, never a problem with it. To answer Crappyfish it is interesting to see where your electricity is being used up not worrying about kettles usage. So they can save the user money.
In 2024 I won't aim at going off the grid I will pay my standing charge but not use grid electricity. I have a gut feeling that electric companies will again pay for excess solar As the last (I believe coal fired power station will close in 2030) they won't be geared up to meet the demand from the consumers. Look at the bigger picture.

 

[Cwrw666]

I'm still glad we got a smart meter. Our latest quarterly bill, at the last price hike prices, was still less than we were paying 10 years ago.
Plus it's very useful when I'm brewing - my boiler is outside in a shed and I know exactly when it's got to mash temperature when I'm inside the house when the light changes from red to green.

 

[dad_of_jon]

I'm not sure if the usage is measured before or after the meter's own parasitic draw, but the fact that the gas smart meter can last for 10 years on its built-in lithium battery makes me feel that the consumption is probably negligible.

fair point but the display is plugged in post metered supply.

 

[user 41945]

When the meter messages me to say that there’s a draught by my front door and I could save £5 a month if I fixed it, then I’ll believe the stuff about money saving.
Otherwise I hear so many stories about issues that I lack confidence that they have fully got their act together. So I’ll hang on.
In the meanwhile, telling me that if I switch on a 2kW appliance my energy consumption increases doesn’t exactly get my pulse racing. And my family won’t give a £**t anyway.

 

[Leon103]

When the meter messages me to say that there’s a draught by my front door and I could save £5 a month if I fixed it, then I’ll believe the stuff about money saving.
Otherwise I hear so many stories about issues that I lack confidence that they have fully got their act together. So I’ll hang on.
In the meanwhile, telling me that if I switch on a 2kW appliance my energy consumption increases doesn’t exactly get my pulse racing. And my family won’t give a £**t anyway.

You are reviewing to a monitor.

A smart meter is different. It's what counts the units and send the details to your supplier

 

[Druncan]

We have four gen1 smart meters. Our house (two) are on eco8. So with the 2 kw solar HW my brewing costs buttons.
The only advantage I can see is no stupid estimated bills and If the proposed 'multi' modified eco8 is offered it will suit us.

What *isses me off totally our restaurant standing day charge of 0.5139p per meter = £370 per year without using a single unit,,,,,
but, we suck it up as I haggled a 17.84p unit charge for another 2 years.