smart meters

[MashBag]

As i said earlier in the thread i am glad i didn't get one -

I am actively avoiding them.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I am actively avoiding them.

They can take all the reasonable steps they want i am not having one

. However, energy companies are under pressure to take “all reasonable steps” to install smart meters by 2025.

 

[rybinss]

Three million households at risk of incorrect energy bills due to faulty smart meters

I arranged to have a new one fitted a couple of months back, they ripped out old gas and leccy meters, installed new ones and new super duper smart meter, hasn't work since! I have tried to contact EON customer service and tried their escalation process - even writing to CEO
nothing - nada - not even a reply far less a fix. After 8 weeks you can refer to the Energy Ombudsman but you need a deadlock letter from the electricity supplier - the perfect catch 22
looking in the dictionary the definition for EON - : an immeasurably or indefinitely long period of time : age
not really holding out a lot of hope

 

[jof]

Just for information. I switched to Octopus in spring (OVO were sh*t) & got smart meter as we also has PV & battery done.
We are all electric with combination heating of ancient storage heater & air con heat pump.
Still on a legacy economy 7 import, but a flexible export tariff
Arpil - October have seen low bills, but the cold snap of the past week meant I finally had to power up the old storage heater to supplement the new heating.
Energy cost peaked just under £9 for a overcast day where outside temperature struggled to get above freezing.
Today overcast, daytime temp 6' it's a more reasonable £5

What was most surprising is just how much power cooking takes, especially when you have young adults cooking independently in the evening.

 

[Cheyne_brewer]

We had days problems with our SMETS2 gas meter (new build house). I had to grub about in the ground level meter box to do manual readings. After reporting it Ovo eventually swapped it for a new one, no issues since.

The IHD shows me usage in near real time, but what do I do with that information? Nothing. I still have meals to cook, washing to do etc. But I can see when consumption is higher than average. As we have a £400 credit surplus all I’m going to see is that buffer reducing slightly until spring.

 

[Leon103]

As i said earlier in the thread i am glad i didn't get one -


Three million households at risk of incorrect energy bills due to faulty smart meters

Smart meters are devices that record real-time information about your gas and electricity use - this data is then sent back to your energy provider, so it knows how much power you’re using

Almost three million smart meters in Britain are not working properly - leaving customers vulnerable to be charged incorrect energy bills.

View attachment 92758


A total of 2.7 million of around 33 million meters are not in smart mode, according to figures from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). A spokesperson from the DESNZ told the BBC : "We understand a small proportion are suffering from technical issues and are working with Ofgem, energy suppliers and data experts to solve these issues."


There are several reasons why smart meters stop working - for example, if they lose connection. If your smart meter suddenly stops working, you’ll be issued an estimated bill until you send over a manual meter reading to your energy supplier.

You can tell if your energy bill has been estimated as there should be an “e” mark on your statement. If you have a first generation smart meter, and you switch suppliers, your new energy provider might not be able to read your data automatically. Energy companies are currently installing second generation smart meters, and all first generation ones will eventually be added to the national network so they can communicate with all suppliers.


Households aren’t required to have a smart meter - it is completely down to you. However, energy companies are under pressure to take “all reasonable steps” to install smart meters by 2025.

Energy regulator Ofgem has announced its price cap will rise to £1,928 from January 1, 2024. This will be the rate until March 31. The price cap sets the maximum rate energy firms can charge per kilowatt (kWh) hour for gas and electricity you use, along with standing charges. Standing charges are what you have to pay no matter how much energy you use.


The headline figure is what a direct debit customer with "typical energy consumption" can expect to pay each year based on wholesale energy prices. The price cap is slightly different if you're a prepayment customer, or if you pay on receipt of bill.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/three-million-households-risk-incorrect-31590580

Yet the report shows a smart monitor

How many non smart meters don't work correct?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I assume they mean meters but cocked the photo up

 

[foxy]

I have a smart meter that tells me what I have used and what time I used it. It gives the full breakdown. I really can't see anything that would cause folk to get upset by them.
I was more upset that my Superannuation provider had invested 10 billion GBP in the electricity provision market in the UK. Sustainable electricity! I would have thought it to be safer to invest in the nuclear power program

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I have a smart meter that tells me what I have used and what time I used it. It gives the full breakdown. I really can't see anything that would cause folk to get upset by them

What I find annoying is the government want us all to have one and as I have said in the thread they do nothing, you don't need a smart meter to tell you how to save electricity just common sense!

 

[foxy]

What I find annoying is the government want us all to have one and as I have said in the thread they do nothing, you don't need a smart meter to tell you how to save electricity just common sense!

Chippy it is the age we live in, smart phones, smart meters. A smart meter shows me where the power is being used and at what time. We are all being monitored, which reminds me of the joke, My wife asked why I was speaking so softly in the house, I replied I was thinking Mark Zuckerberg was listening to me. She laughed, I laughed, Siri Laughed, and Alexa laughed.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

A smart meter shows me where the power is being used and at what time

I get that but how does it reduce your electricity bill?
As I have said I know what is using power and when I don't need a meter to tell me.

 

[ChilledGecko]

I get that but how does it reduce your electricity bill?

Bottom line - it doesn't I'd say.
It can make you more aware of your usage, especially with an indoor doo-hickie showing current (pun intended) usage.
Using that line to get you to change is not a fair statement in my book.

 

[tigertim]

I get that but how does it reduce your electricity bill?

It doesn't. The data is for the provider(s); big data. It allows them to see when and where the energy is being used at a far more granular level than they traditionally have been able to, which is the key to running a more efficient and, theoretically, cheaper grid. Again, in theory, these savings could ultimately be passed on to the consumer.

It's also a far easier way to apply variable costs to the power, so that cheap power is cheap and expensive power is expensive which is the way it will (and should) be. The 20th century consumerist attitude where people distance themselves from the physics and say "in this day and age I should be able to use the energy I want to use, when I want to use it, cheaply" is coming back to haunt us and we need to learn to grow up and use these resources responsibly.

Some people have privacy concerns over how this data is being used, however if some government bod is sat scratching their chin, poring over my minute-by-minute electricity usage statistics, they're welcome to. Hint : They're not. It's big data which is being stored to analyse geographical usage trends for better prediction of future infrastructure requirements.

You could argue that I've been brainwashed by the machine, but I'm pretty open minded - tell me how this data could be used against us.

 

[jof]

Also some electricity suppliers require one to get the best peak/off peak pricing deals or electric car chargers etc

 

[Leon103]

I get that but how does it reduce your electricity bill?
As I have said I know what is using power and when I don't need a meter to tell me.

Thats a monitor. A smart meter purely is a meter with a sim card that communicates with your provider

 

[Chippy_Tea]

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Thats a monitor. A smart meter purely is a meter with a sim card that communicates with your provider

Not according to Which!

In the video below they say the IHD is part of the smart meter!

 

[Leon103]

Not according to Which!

In the video below they say the IHD is part of the smart meter!

View attachment 92863

My company as never provided me with a monitor and never tried making me have one. In fact I have been with a couple of companies since having a smart meter.
If I had a monitor I wouldn't put batteries in it

 

[Rodcx500z]

Not having a monitor is a bit like driving with your eye's closed you can't see what's going on and, i would not trust an energy company who did not supply one

 

[Chippy_Tea]

If I had a monitor I wouldn't put batteries in it

I was under the impression all smart meters had a monitor so people could see at a glance how much power is being used by what, if I had one I would want a meter for that reason as Rod says above what is the point in having the latest technology if only use part of it.