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Author Topic: Who here has a Smart Meter for electricity or gas?  (Read 16515 times)

sevenlayermuddle

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Re: Who here has a Smart Meter for electricity or gas?
« Reply #15 on: December 11, 2017, 11:49:45 PM »


You also can't refuse a smart meter. You can however insist the smart meter that they install is turned into a "dumb" meter


Says who?

Quote
Which have a pretty good article on this.

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/do-i-have-to-accept-a-smart-meter


The which article says merely that (if you refuse)...

Quote
they will probably offer to install a 'dumb' meter or set up a smart meter to work in 'dumb' mode

As stated for third time in this thread ( ::) ) your only real recourse, if there is a good reason for the meter being changed, is to terminate the supply contract and live in darkness.   Don’t blame me, I detest smart meters, but that is I believe the reallity.
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adrianw

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Re: Who here has a Smart Meter for electricity or gas?
« Reply #16 on: December 12, 2017, 04:06:57 AM »

I have BG smart meters for gas and electricity. I happy with them, as I no longer need to crawl under a desk to read the gas meter.

Installation was something of a nightmare, as the block of 4 flats and a house has a 3 phase supply. Several visits over a few months required, one missed, a visit by a quite senior manager, followed by 2 men turning up and fitting the meters.

The detailed consumption figures are useful.

That inter-supplier compatibility (SMETS2 upgrade) will not be available for some time is annoying, as switching supplier will almost certainly mean that the meters become dumb.
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Ronski

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Re: Who here has a Smart Meter for electricity or gas?
« Reply #17 on: December 12, 2017, 06:40:40 AM »

We had smart meters installed in early 2014 when with OVO Energy, they became dumb meters when we moved supplier a year later. The smart panel that came with them was pretty dumb, it just displayed usage cost wise, I wanted it to display units used and meter readings which it didn't, so I still have to get under the stairs to read them.

Only problem I've ever really had was when I changed from OVO, depending on which button you push on the gas meter you either get cubic meters or KWH, and the meter reader had been using cubic meters which they then converted to cubic meters! That took a while to sort with long phone calls and emails of pictures of the meter, but was all sorted in the end.

I was annoyed that the meters couldn't send signals to new suppliers, it just seemed a huge waste of money, and the other thing that annoys me is that the company which pays our FITS payments refuses to accept the export reading on my smart meter, so we're underpaid for the electricity we export back to the grid!

If they ever get it right then I think smart meters are a good idea in principle, although I doubt the meter readers think that as they'll be out of a job.
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petef

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Re: Who here has a Smart Meter for electricity or gas?
« Reply #18 on: December 12, 2017, 07:16:02 AM »

My electricity meter was replaced last month. The installer used a dumb meter as the mobile coverage is poor.
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broadstairs

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Re: Who here has a Smart Meter for electricity or gas?
« Reply #19 on: December 12, 2017, 08:22:42 AM »

I find all this insistence on smart meters a tad ridiculous. If they honestly think people will in general watch the indoor meter and reduce their usage they are living in cloud cuckoo land.

My wife will always do as she always has and use things as she wants. Since having a water meter we have had the water company asking why we use more water than a four person household (there are only two of us) and I explained they should ask my wife who would be very short with them.

As far as I'm aware you do not HAVE to have a smart meter you are perfectly entitled to have a dumb one (OK perhaps a dumbed down smart one) and that's fine. The fact that they dont all work with all suppliers is plain stupid and a total waste of time and money, and that in the end is our money as the cost of all this is borne by the consumer.

My issue with the current electricity supplier is that they tell me my current meter is near end of life and needs changing, this is rubbish. It was changed about 7-8 years ago. They simply dont wear out as this current one is digital. The one we had in the previous house was at least 22 years old when we left and it was never changed and it was an old style with the rotating disk. So this end of life thing is complete bulls**t.

Stuart
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Ronski

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Re: Who here has a Smart Meter for electricity or gas?
« Reply #20 on: December 12, 2017, 10:18:58 AM »

My wife will always do as she always has and use things as she wants. Since having a water meter we have had the water company asking why we use more water than a four person household (there are only two of us) and I explained they should ask my wife who would be very short with them.

 :o There's 4 of us, 3 women and me, we use slightly less than the average 4 person household. I'll resist temptation and not ask what she does with all that water  ;)

As my two daughters have got older we have increasingly used more water  :(
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sheddyian

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Re: Who here has a Smart Meter for electricity or gas?
« Reply #21 on: December 12, 2017, 10:45:18 AM »

I actually quite like them!  :paperbag:

I requested a smart meter when I changed suppliers to SSE about 18 months ago.

It has encouraged me to reduce usage - when you get up in the morning and find you've already used 50p of gas & electricity, you wonder why, and start looking into it.  (Well, I did  :-X )

For example, the TV setup has lots of things plugged in that all mainly sit in standby.  Although standby in modern devices is much more efficient than it used to be, it still adds up.  A few of these devices need to remain in standby (Youview box for TV recordings, for example) other things don't.  So I split the devices into two multiway extension leads so there's one I can switch off when not in use, the other can sit in standby.  This made a saving of overnight electricity usage.

(Yes, I could have done that anyway, but I was prompted to do it by realising how much electricity was being used overnight)

I also like that I can see graphs on the SSE website, showing electric and gas usage by the hour.  Again, this means I can see if it's unexpectedly going up, or if a change I've made has affected things.

It's not been without problems.

The little display unit isn't very sensitive.  Even sat on a shelf outside of the cupboard where the meters are, it sometimes complains of weak signal.  "take the display around your house and try switching things on and off to see their usage" is not possible.  I've currently got it on the desk next to me, it's telling me I'm using 297 watts of electricity and 3Kw of gas (central heating is on)*.  It's also telling me there's a weak signal, yet I'm maybe 6 metres from the meters  ???

Early on, it kept telling me there was a new tariff, of 0p per unit.  I thought this was a promotional thing, but a few hours later it would be back to showing the correct tarriff.  This happened intermittently for a few months.

Agree entirely with the points about the incompatibility between suppliers with the current smart meters though, it's a mess that should have been avoided.

Ian (miser)

____________________
* Oops, left TV on!  Switched off, it's now 244 watts of electricity.
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sevenlayermuddle

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Re: Who here has a Smart Meter for electricity or gas?
« Reply #22 on: December 12, 2017, 11:22:15 AM »

I do agree that monitoring energy usage can be informative, but you do not need a smart meter to do that, you could just buy your own energy monitor.  I seem to remember, you can even get a ‘gas’ version that uses an optical sensor to track your gas meter.

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/energy-monitors/article/energy-monitors-explained

Personally, I prefer just to check out usage of individual appliances, using a plug-in power meter.   That way it is easy to tell the difference between things that use nearly nothing, and those that are really worth switching off.   

Results can be surprising, like my surround sound amp, which consumes surprising power even at low volumes.   That makes me think twice about using TV to listen to radio, as disabling the amp is more bother than I want.   But that does depend upon continuing availability of PP9 batteries for my collection of 1970s Roberts radios... :)

(Post edited to add ‘Which’ link)
« Last Edit: December 12, 2017, 12:06:57 PM by sevenlayermuddle »
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Dray

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Re: Who here has a Smart Meter for electricity or gas?
« Reply #23 on: December 12, 2017, 12:38:14 PM »

One of the problems with metering is that you discourage yourself from using it. I remember the kids coming home from playdates with their friends saying the granny had told them not to flush the loo.  ???
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sevenlayermuddle

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Re: Who here has a Smart Meter for electricity or gas?
« Reply #24 on: December 12, 2017, 01:07:54 PM »

One of the problems with metering is that you discourage yourself from using it. I remember the kids coming home from playdates with their friends saying the granny had told them not to flush the loo.  ???

Indeed, there was a 'certain generation' of my own family, that I suspect would have reacted inappropriately, though hopefully not to Granny's extreme.

Back in the 1970s and 80s, before we had central heating, Dad used to switch off the gas at the supply valve every night.  He  did so for safety reasons rather than cost, but I do remember there was always a smell of gas under the stairs, where the gas meter lived.  Always wondered whether over-use of the valve had affected its sealing properties?

Same could apply to other modern habits, like eye-waterlingly expensive car keys, ignition locks and starter motors, that fall apart prematurely because people keep turning the engine off&on in traffic queues, meaning several dozen twists of the key per journey, rather than just the two twists per journey that the designer probably had in mind (applies to cars as old as mine, not  the new stop/start cars).
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WWWombat

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Re: Who here has a Smart Meter for electricity or gas?
« Reply #25 on: December 12, 2017, 01:12:32 PM »

Monitoring energy use has helped us knock about 20% of electricity usage.

Using a better, wireless, thermostat has helped knock 20% off gas usage. We're now trialling use of wireless thermostatic radiator valves.

But all this comes from some serious meter reading and spreadsheet-mangling, which means I'm the only one in the family to pay attention. A smart meter that detailed the right data would help me, but also make it more accessible & visible to the rest of the family.

We did try to get a smart meter fitted... but they apparently don't install them in flats. Signal problems, in many cases, so they just don't bother now.
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4candles

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Re: Who here has a Smart Meter for electricity or gas?
« Reply #26 on: December 12, 2017, 03:24:21 PM »

If they somehow angle a way of having them fitted I'll have to move to another supplier, Bulb for example who don't yet use them.
Bulb's current plan is to roll out 2nd gen meters from mid 2018.
They state that customers can opt out totally, or opt that readings are not collected more frequently than once per month.
Interesting thread - What is the point of smart meters?


My own view is that the whole idea is an obscenely expensive white elephant.
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Black Sheep

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Re: Who here has a Smart Meter for electricity or gas?
« Reply #27 on: December 12, 2017, 05:44:54 PM »

Quick reply ...... we've had a smart meter installed for about 6 months now.

Novelty factor was trying to keep the daily usage below 'historic daily use'.

Lasted about 1 week doing this, got fed up with it and it has now become a nuisance, as it gives an audible sound if todays usage goes over the 'historic daily use' marker.

We like to think we're careful with our spend, and if an item is 'on' ... it's on for a reason.  :) 
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burakkucat

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Re: Who here has a Smart Meter for electricity or gas?
« Reply #28 on: December 12, 2017, 06:20:00 PM »

b*cat remembers from the time when HM QE2 opened Calder Hall:)

A politician of the day said: "Electricity production . . . It will be so cheap it won't be worth metering!::)

b*cat is still waiting for his un-metered electricity supply.  :-\
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4candles

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Re: Who here has a Smart Meter for electricity or gas?
« Reply #29 on: December 12, 2017, 06:25:48 PM »

b*cat is still waiting for his un-metered electricity supply.  :-\
ISTR we were promised the paperless office too!   :no:
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