Smart Meter
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Looks like the suppliers are going to use the technology,
maybe this will change your mind,
“The smart meter overhaul that could lead to you being charged more for putting the kettle on, watching TV, or charging an electric car at peak times
Energy suppliers will be allowed to change prices up to 48 times per day
Customers could be charged more for watching TV at peak hours
Ofgem has said the change could save over £1.6billion overall
The move has sparked concerns that energy bills could continue to rise”I don’t suppose they will charge less off peak.
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Sorry Rocky it makes absolutely no sense to me. You are recording and submitting meter readings that are the same as would be transmitted electronically? The only difference between your readings and the ones sent electronically is probably the timing. I imagine the energy supplier takes a reading close to midnight whilst you probably do it during the day. As to getting excess money back from suppliers I don't have an issue with that. Octopus has a dashboard where you can see projected costs based on historical use and the current price as per your tariff and they tell you whether you need to increase your monthly payment or whether you can take a refund and also suggest how much that refund could be based on the same information. There is no hassle about it you can make the arrangement for a refund in seconds and its back in your bank in a day or two. Maybe other energy suppliers are not as efficient? I can also see at with a few key strokes previous bills so easy enough to compare whether I am using more energy or less. It is, of course, always possible to have a faulty meter which might not give accurate readings - that can work both ways! But even if faulty I can't see how you would get a different manual reading compared to the electronic one?
David
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I wouldn’t have any way of knowing if a smart / dumb meter was reading correctly, so it really comes down to the accuracy of the readings. As I put above we’ve had one since it was first possible and the readings have always been correct. Although even if there was the occasional miscommunication I wouldn’t be that bothered. At worst it might put up our direct debit slightly, but it would come down again when the reading corrected itself. However, in practice they don’t change the DD until a debt limit is reached, that our usage history shows won’t be clawed back. When we have gone significantly into credit, by being away for extended periods, they automatically pay it back.
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We also will happily provide our own meter readings when asked. OH would never like to have the readings being sent electronically and not knowing what the readings were. No chance of even considering a (perhaps) smart meter here. Sad perhaps but he has a spreadsheet that he records all meter readings taken, and the dates, so we can track our usage back for the last 12 years! This is from someone who used to work for EON!!
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Basically-I don’t trust them, that’s the whole problem I have with them🤷🏻♂️. If I’m in control they can’t rip me off, I check the figures, I know I’m going to get a big or small bill. We are talking about energy companies that ask for hand outs regularly then post £100’s of millions in profit. I have no issue with anyone’s blind loyalty at all, if it suits you I’m happy for you, I don’t nor ever will trust them.
PS-I never accept them putting my payment up to what they want.
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Well thanks everyone for the many replies Please can someone inform me ( as I have never seen a Smart Meter ) where it is connected to, is it in series with the meter , is it sited in the meter box ( mines outside ) , Is it a replacement for original meter etc etc .
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It replaces the old one👍🏻
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Having read this thread, it seems that most people don't like/want them.
We have had them for years since they were first introduced, no problems, I fact they have helped to lower our bills over the years as you can easily see what uses the most electricity. We did have to have an old smart reader replaced with a newer version. It's easy to see account online and check bills etc if required.
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The really "smart" thing about smart meters, and the power companies are very quiet about this, is that they are able to remotely switch off your supply without you knowing. Demand is increasing (maybe higher prices will stop that, though) and coal and nuclear generating stations are closing for ever.
Rather than switch off whole towns or villages they can switch off individual properties to share out what power is available. When will it happen? I anticipate it will be on a cold, windless night.
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PS-I never accept them putting my payment up to what they want.
One advantage of the smart meter is that they also put it down. Sometimes I think too much, although you can override. At the moment we are in credit but that’s because we built up a reserve by being away, shortly we will go into debt . As long as it doesn’t get over large, our payment will be left as it is and we will go back into credit when we go away again.
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Surely the two things come together. They are part and parcel of the same thing. They are not mutually exclusive. That was my experience anyway and this Which article seems to confirm it.
They come as a pair.
I think smart-meters are great and I can't understand the resistance. I have been on a monthly billing cycle for both electric and gas since November 2010 and I used to have to up load the readings online. Now I don't have to worry about that as it all happens automatically. I had my smart-meters installed in January 2017 (for free) and I would not be without them.
The In-House-Display, which I keep on my kitchen unit, is really useful to see usage. I won't claim it has made a huge difference to my usage, but it definitely focuses the mind, especially in the case of electricity, when you turn the kettle on and you see the indicator move into the orange. If the tumble dryer, washing machine and oven are also on, you're far into the red! I certainly no longer overfill the kettle!
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There was a problem with smart meters when customers wanted to swap suppliers and their meters weren't "swappable" I presume this doesn't happen now?
I don't like the idea that there could be any possible remote control interference so at present a smart meter isn't for us.
With our supplier I can send in meter readings at any time and payments are immediately adjusted, up or down, if I agree.
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We also are with Octopus. We had a smart meter installed so we could benefit from variable tariffs. The smart meter replaces your existing meter. The display unit plugs in where ever you want it to. The mobile signal that is used is NOT the same as your mobile phone. It is not in any way connected to your home internet.
We have a tariff called Go Faster which gives us cheap electricity (currently 5p a unit) for 4 hours (02.30 to 06.30 in our case) During that time we use dishwasher & washing machine (using the time delay function on each machine) also water heating and car charging.
The rest of the time is 16p a unit. Fortunately we changed tariff back in July last year before prices went crazy. Obviously those prices are now all higher.
We get monthly electronic bills which actually show you how much electricity (we dont have gas) you are using each half hour - because the smart meter sends half hourly readings to Octopus. So you can be as anal as you like in examining your electricity consumption.
To be honest, after the initial novelty, we tend not to take much notice of the display unit. We have solar panels, and its quite good when it tells you that you are not consuming any electricity, but you know you are, but its coming from the solar. Makes you feel good!
Personally I still record monthly readings, for my own records - sounds daft, but Octopus monthly reading is mid month, & I have taken end of month readings for years - so carry on doing so. It is easier to read the meter via the display unit that the meter itself - but that it to do with the height of the meter up the wall.
We didnt bother until we decided to have a variable tariff. We didnt see how it could reduce our consumption, and it hasnt. It has reduced our cost - because of the tariff it facilitates.
Installation was straight forward. They tell you it can take a couple of weeks before everything talks to each other. I think it took about 6 weeks before everything including billing, settled down.
We've been invited to take part in the new trial about surge pricing. You would reduce your consumption during a particular 2 hour period (when general consumption is high) and get the rest of that 2 hour consumption for free. I think that was the detail. We are not taking that up because a) we have already moved some consumption to our cheap period and b) we cant see how we can easily reduce our day time consumption further.
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Brue
I think there was a problem with the first generation meters but the second generation ones should be better. We started with Co-Operative Energy a few years ago now which was really run by Octopus. When Octopus took over the complete running from the Co-Op our gas meter wouldn't read automatically (electric was fine) It took several months for them to sort it out and even I had to resort to the manual monthly readings.
David
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It seems SB is confusing a display with a meter DK. He is posting about a display/usage gauge he has fitted by attaching it to the power line that then reads the pulses. It isn’t the meter that Hosta is requesting info about for sure👍🏻
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Are caravanners more aware of power consumption than the general public due to them having to manage working with a 16 ampere (or less) supply on sites or whatever is in a battery if off grid? Discuss.
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I also ignore request to swap to a 'smart' meter. As others have said reading your own meter and submitting the figures takes but a moment. Smart meters do not 'reduce your bills'. Reducing your usage does. It is not, as they say, rocket science. I try to encourage OH to utilise the solar panels to advantage and turn the lights off!
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I'm not sure that's particularly relevant to the OP's request for info about domestic smart meters, is it? 🤷♂️
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Not confused, I know what I’ve got. Simply opening up the options for the OP in case a half-way house might suit better.
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Not at all. Those of us contributing to CT are a small sub-set of caravanners, and caravanners are a minority with regards to the general population, so our experiences and opinions cannot really be seen as representative.
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Where we live unless there is a big problem in quite a few households?
When as one seems to as we get older ,need the toilet in the early hours,
The amount of houses that are lit up with inside and outside lights is quite amazing,
The house opposite especially has cctv cameras (three) all are backed up by lights? suits us, as the cameras also cover the area of our boundary
,I cannot think how high some electricity bill are0 -
I'm not sure how your 'habits' are in any way relevant but thank you anyway.
I cannot think how high some electricity bill are
Actually for me I cannot think what anyone's electricity bill, high or low, is and really I never try. Up to them.
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You make a reasonable point….the core of this issue and raison d’etre for smart meters is about understanding and managing power consumption. Owners of LVs probably pay more attention to such issues, particularly those who venture off-grid. It’s a good discipline to adopt whatever your method.
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.the core of this issue and raison d’etre for smart meters is about understanding and managing power consumption
I would say neither for everyone. For me it's simply to get my readings to the energy provider as easily as possible. For the provider it's about not employing someone to do it or relying on someone doing it.
And others have posted about not using the associated display monitor?
Personally I'm not at all interested in understanding or managing my usage.
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Personally I'm not at all interested in understanding or managing my usage.
I just find the information the display provides interesting. We are fortunate in that we don’t have to count the penny’s. I would think for anyone who has to closely manage expenditure, they would be very useful. One thing that is interesting is how much is still consumed by the freezer, router, sky box and a couple of security cameras, when we are away for 6 weeks.
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Indeed they can’t. I don’t understand ignorance. It’s sad that at a time when we’re all being encouraged to conserve energy as part of a collective approach to combatting climate change that some don’t take it seriously. ☹️
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