Smart Meter
My energy company is wanting me to have a Smart Meter fitted. I wondered if anyone who has one could enlighten me on a few points'
Why do you need one ?
Where is it placed ?
Any upset fitting it ?
Does it Help ?
Comments
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We were 'cold called' regarding the installation of a smart meter and we told them no thank you.
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I have one that is now a dumb meter, I left the company I let fit it in & they class it as theirs so it’s now a std meter(dumb) it only helps the meter fitting company, I saw no gains or losses in all honesty-so why allow them the convenience🤷🏻♂️. It goes where to old spinning wheel one did, it’s all digital now. Fitting it-messy but they tidy up & you need to clear access for them. If I had the same decision again then I’d say NO.
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Just say NO!EON insisted on fitting SM units to our place and my elderly Mum's place Ocober 2021.They still do not work.Fitters came,put in the units and then declared that they could not get a WAN signal.Commonsense would have dictated a check for WAN signal first.Commonsense......hmm.
So I am still having to go and manually read both sets of meters and then have to go on line to submit readings.
The same as I did when we had the original meters-what a farce!
EON reckon that they are looking into the situation but that they have a backlog- another Covid excuse for being incompetent?
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I’ve fitted my own (efergy), just because I’m interested in keeping an eye on how much leccy is being used by what. I inherited a hot tub with my house, but once I realised how much that used it was bye bye. It’s easy to fit your own and no hassle when switching suppliers (or houses) - battery operated, lasts about 12/18 months. I just submit a meter reading to my supplier online each month which isn’t too arduous.
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We had two different experiences, the first and my late MIL's house when it was a way of looking at what they could get her to buy in terms of other stuff. They said they 'had to' check the boiler and earth wiring and suggested changing it to which we said no, also the meter never worked properly as mobile signal was always poor. As said above they should have checked.
With ours they just changed the two meters and did nothing else. They are good as they send the reading in by their own sim card and appear accurate (I check the first couple). Also the one we had installed can be used by any energy company if we ever change so if you do get one then make sure it is a universal one.
It did come with a display unit for inside the house showing usage, daily, monthly whatever but I've never used it.
But it is certainly easier for us than doing the readings yourself and emailing them in. Your choice in the end.
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Load of rubbish. It has to be plugged in to work🤷♀️ All they do is allow companies to read meter remotely, doesn’t make a blind bit of difference to bills. The only way to control that is to do the obvious, turn off stuff you don’t need, don’t heat rooms you aren’t using too highly, don’t overfill a kettle for a cuppa, try a jumper rather than a T Shirt in Winter, and move around more if you can. Decent windows, good insulation, draught proofing but allow air to circulate, and don’t dry clothes on radiators!
They came out and changed our Electric Meter, but never sent us a Smart Meter. We haven’t followed it up. We send readings in every month, build up a nice little buffer in the warm months, use heating as we need it in Winter. We check our bills periodically, if there’s a problem we sort it.Not so easy for you Ken, having to check your Mum’s, but they don’t seem to reliable to be honest.
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Are people talking about two different things here? A meter be smart of otherwise measures the amount of use for the supplier to bill you. The latest meter have a communication mode which automatically sends information to the energy supplier. It is possible at for some communication between meter and supplier might be an issue, however that is up to the power line people to sort. If it works as it does in the majority of cases it saves the manual checking of meters as saves the energy companies employing a host of people to read meters. What is there not to like?
I just wonder if some are confusing the little household display that shows current daily spending?
David
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The supply companies try to tell you that it's a Govt requirement to have a smart meter but it isn't. The only requirement is that the supplier must offer you one.
We refused because a few neighbours had trouble with theirs and we didn't want the hassle.
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One of the anti smart meter fitting scenarios is that your energy company has via the meter, a method of controlling your bills as they can alter what you pay if they so wish
At this time I can send readings from our meter at the rate I have contracted to pay
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You get both I think DK. The main thing is the change of meter that sends usage to your supplier. All well and good when they work properly, and probably brilliant for a new house, with a good reliable wifi signal. Our supplier at the time came out, took one look at our still outside meter box (house is 160 years old) and said……ah…..🤔😯 They put a new meter in, after another year, but it’s not Smart. The gadget for indoors is just a display and most folks get bored with it after a few days. My Mum unplugged hers to save on electric🤣
It’s more about not having to pay someone to read a meter than anything else.
https://lookaftermybills.com/blog/advantages-disadvantages-of-smart-meters/
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yes could be right, I class a smart meter as one that sends in my readings automatically which is what we have, but it also came with a little display which tells you usage and costs so far. Like I said never been used.
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Yes I remember the meter man (and it was always a man) when I was growing up, always smartly dressed with a peaked cap. The meters were in the coal cellar - not posh btw there was an opening or grate next to the front door where the coal man would empty the sacks into it from the street. Everyone had one.
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At the time EON was offering an attractive tariff, but only if you agreed to a Smart meter being fitted, I made sure it was a SMETS2 that would still work if I changed supplier. Our meters are on an external wall so no installation problems/mess etc other than one hour without electric and gas and Its network was checked beforehand.
I saw no negatives to the installation and readings are automatic and accurate, the Smart meter display is still unopened and in a drawer somewhere as I can't see its usefulness. I certainly didn't see myself watching the pennies go up as energy was being used.
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“What is there not to like?”
You’ll be well qualified to answer that if you switch your supplier.
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The little display units are becoming known as Stress Meters. Driving anxiety and stress amongst those struggling to cope with fuel costs.
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Yes +1
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I believe that is the norm. The actual smart meter is installed by the provider and the remote display is a monitor. One can diy fit monitors but not the actual smart meters.
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Our house had a cellar full of coal when we bought it, and we got free coal for a year after, as previous owner had worked for NCB. Horrible old coal boiler when we first moved in, but it kept us warm.
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I had to have a Smart meter fitted because when Octopus changed the gas meter - the read-out was on the front of the meter, which is set into a box in the ground and it was virtually impossible to read it! The previous one had the screen on the top and was easy.
The In House Display - the only bit that's of benefit to me, as opposed to the energy company, didn't work for months and when they did get it working it only lasted a few weeks before it packed up again.
Other than saving me having to become a contortionist, performing with a mirror in the meter box ro read it - I get no benefit from this so-called 'smart' meter whatsoever.
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We often get texts, emails or phone calls telling us when fitters will be in the area and "please pick whichever of these dates is most convenient" to have them fitted. We just ignore the messages. Have no desire really to get them, we're fairly careful with energy use anyway. And the latest speculation about "surge charging" just makes me even more sceptical.
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All the negatives over the last 3 pages on this thread is my worst nightmare coming to pass. We are entering a crazy time for energy bills & I for one want total control over every aspect I can have. The ‘remote’ part of an energy meter is something I’m not willing to accept now I’ve tried them & found them wanting. BG, the ones I had my smart part of the meter with took a multitude of readings & when I got a chance to check them it was put into reams of digital numbers. Everyone knows how to confuse folk-‘throw figures at them, with no way of checking them’. Never again will I lose control of my energy meter. I know to 1/10th of a penny what the cost of my next bill be👍🏻
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I just can't see the logic of not having a smart meter, especially if any new meter installed starts as a smart meter but with the electronic transfer of readings switched off which I understand is a choice the consumer can make. I am with Octopus Energy and I get monthly bills which I much prefer to the previous quarterly bills. I don't see the point of me providing readings manually or worst still having to put up with estimated ones if the little man in a van is not in my district when I need a reading. We have the technology, lets use it?
David
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We held out against them for years, even with a smart only tariff! Had to give in last September.
Had to clear each of the understairs cupboards, one meter in each, guy arrived and was very rude, couldn't wouldn't do the gas as there was lead. Refused to do the electric one, as they both had to be done! Then sat in his van across the road for 2 hours 😤😤😤😤. I made a complaint but didn't follow it up - to much else on the go! Another guy came and changed them weeks later so same empty and put back fun.
Noticed my December bill was estimated , turns out they'd failed within weeks. I put the little stand alone gizmo that told me what I already know ( putting the kettle on uses much power!) back in the box.
Finally had them come out to swap the tech bit took over 2 hours! More comments re lead. My main reason for allowing was to find out how to read the meter for 'moving ' day. Not impressed. so far so good fir lastv3 weeks...
Our daughter who lives in New Zealand has had smart meters since she arrived over 14 years ago, never had an issue. The proper tech is out there but we can't use it in this country.....
My advice resist for as long as possible.
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We to have a first generation Smart Meter installed by B G part of a Low Tarif deal. When we switched Energy supplier the Smart Meter wasn't very smart and so I had to send my readings in. Our contract ends in March and conveniently the Smart Meter is now being read by our present Energy Supplier.
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We had one since they first came out. Excellent bit of kit. They did check the mobile signal in the meter cupboard before installation. No more ridiculous estimates and phoning to get them sorted. A couple of years ago they changed it for the more modern version that can be used with any supplier, installed by Eon in each case. I quite like the display, on a few occasions it has prompted me to turn something off that I hadn’t realised had been left on. Initially our bills were quarterly, however for the last few years they interrogate it monthly and a new bill is generated. No paper involved, all online.
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We kept getting communications from EDF offering us a smart meter but every time I contacted them I was told that they weren't available. However, we did eventually get one but I'm now rather suspicious of its accuracy. The onscreen figures shown in the house seem very strange and inconsistent. There have been a number of times when the cost per day is showing more than the cost for the week. Similarly the monthly cost (during the winter) has sometimes shown a figure far less than what I pay each month. At other times it appears to be a bit more accurate - but is it?
We are told that these meters will help us manage our fuel usage but if the figures can't be relied upon, what is the point? A long session with EDF proved to be a waste of time ending up with them just telling me to "keep an eye on it".
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We are with Octopus. Monthly bills, all online, all OH does is just spend 30 seconds a month reading meters. We don’t let them alter our payments, got sick of this when I did it for Mum. Of course things go down in Summer, it’s warmer and we are away a lot. Much prefer to go into Winter months with a bit of a buffer, then we happily heat to what we feel we need.
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DK, you live in the past I’m afraid🤷🏻♂️. My ex smart meter doesn’t need a ‘little man in a van’-on the 14th of every month I get an email-‘submit reading’ the point of manual readings is this-you are in full control. I then take a screen shot then put it in the ‘submit reading’ box. I lose maybe 60seconds a month, I’ll struggle on👍🏻. Anyone who trusts their energy company never to make a mistake or take advantage of them totally controlling their energy & readings are too if not very trusting. Energy companies hold excess payments of consumers that run into £millions the owners of that money have to fight to get that(their own) money back☹️
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