Smart Metering Trial
Comments
-
Mind you, this thread is really about CAMC’s trial of smart metering of electricity on just 2 club sites rather than off site 'wild camping', although anyone can be forgiven for not realising that.😁
Moderator comment: Post slightly edited.
2 -
Hi everyone, there's been some interesting posts made here and very informative but just a polite reminder to keep the discussion relating to the smart metering trial and feedback on this. Please feel free to start a new topic on touring off grid as I am sure many will find this really interesting and helpful.
3 -
Tried it ... Not for me thanks !
Stayed for 3 nights at Wyatts Covert and took part in the smart metering trial.
The site fee saving was £2.50 pn ie £7.50 for the stay.
I'd accessed the meter-macs website in advance and registered for an account. Uploaded a £10 credit at set-up ( which was simply a guess ).
Had to access the account online on arrival to turn the electricity 'on' at the pitch. It is not an 'app' but a website so you need to have the link handy.
Had the fridge on electric, boiled the kettle a couple of times a day and used the hotplate on the cooker once for 10 mins. I did not use the microwave, the hot water heater or any heating. My total was £5.50 for the 3 days so a saving of £2 in total. I then had to access the website again to turn the meter 'off' on leaving. I then had to access the website again and request a refund from the account of the £4.50 I didn't need.
All in all I found it a complete faff and of absolutely no benefit to me at all. I would have ordinarily used the onboard boiler to keep a supply of hot water to the taps but didn't really need it in the Summer .. I've no doubt that would have pushed up the usage to over £2.50, and I dread to think what it would be if I'd put on the Alde heating.
I'm glad I tried it but won't be doing so again if I have the option.... I will be happier to pay the standard price, plug in and enjoy my stay without the online faff and anxiety of having a meter running continuously in the background !
0 -
Really interesting. Do you think your response would have been different if the system had been simpler? Eg meter readings at start and end of stay? I have always thought the system sounded complex. I am sure other large sites have different ways of doing it. I do hope the second site the club is trialling will have a different method.
Your usage etc seems to indicate what many of us felt, that the drop in pitch price was not sufficient to compensate for removing the electricity element.
0 -
Thanks for reporting back, very interesting. Unfortunately Wyatts Covert gets very few reviews so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised with the lack of feedback until now. I hope you might also add a review?
The system, as you describe it seems quite straight forward to me, albeit an additional task to do on this site. We don't know for sure whether it would be the same system if it were rolled out network wide? Having said that I am not sure what system would be easier, especially if it needs to be accessible 24/7. As to pitch savings, many have questioned the generosity of the reduction if you are using metering, although fair to say the reduction is much more at the times of years with probable maximum power usage. I suppose its possible that when the Club have a more accurate picture of the savings that metering provides could adjust prices to reflect bigger savings, if indeed they do exist.
David
0 -
Better still, not bother to use that site at all and find a nearby alternative at a reasonable price.
2 -
Or some means of connecting to the internet but could this not be done before you arrive at the site? You are contributing to a discussion so I assume you have means to get online? So if you were there just for the weekend you could add money to the account before you arrive (it would have to be sufficient) and claim any refund when you get home? I thought they said that site staff would also be able to help?
David
0 -
As I understand it you need a means of switching the bollard on and off whilst on site. That does not mean you need to have a smartphone but you would need a pad or a lap top you could connect to the site Wifi, even if you had charged up the account at home.
0 -
That would mean deciding before you arrived, or a trip to the office and payment after arrival. Fast tracking with possibly an ANPR system in the future, are all focused on minimising office contact, freeing up managers for other tasks. The only mistake they are making in my opinion, is not using an App, a website is rather clumsy. I could put the electric App in the same little section as the levelling one. Drive onto pitch, stick phone on glass cooker top to check level, plug in EHU select pitch number from App and turn on. Then lunch.😀
A thought:-
An App based system seems the obvious way to go, perhaps the web based system is just because it’s a trial and an App will be developed if they decide to go ahead with this method of connection.0 -
By virtue of the fact it is called ‘Trial’ means it needs to be time consuming & even difficult in an attempt to identify potential & accurately finger any problems. If it ‘puts anyone off’ then they are the ones that the Trial is not aimed at. It is not ‘designed to fail’, no one/company runs a trial with its constituent depth designed to fail, it is actually designed to ensure its success or to find proof of its issues & can they be engineered out. CAMC are thinking big👍🏻
2 -
The thread is about Smart metering on club sites though. Payment is upfront. I’ve not come across anything else in the UK. Currently you can opt to go into the office and could decide then. However, we opt for payment the night before and it would require a later transaction if we then decided on EHU. If ANPR is rolled out, visiting the office and payment on arrival may become a thing of the past.
A payment as you suggest also wouldn’t do anything about moderating consumption by some of those who paid the set fee and a separate charge would still be required for an EV.
If we are going to have metering I quite like this smart option, where I can plug in if I want, might just be for a day of our stay if the solar panels aren’t fully doing there job due to trees. Plus I can check on what we are using and the cost with a glance at the phone.
1 -
"Sounds like you HAVE to have a smart phone"
or something that connects to the interweb, Oh! and a degree in computer technology to work out how to put it all together just to get some electricity for a few days of relaxation.
much simpler systems around
e.g. purchase plastic card at check in, e.g. £5 plug into EHU on pitch, meter shows you how much you have used, when you leave you can take card with you if there is credit remaining and you are going to return, or you can be very neighbourly and leave for next user.
check in select EHU pitch when you arrive on pitch plug in, meter in office clicks into life, when you leave meter stops when you unplug, when you check out simple process to pull up pitch number and pay what is owning, receptionist gives you print out of usage.
there are many others and of course no matter which system is in use there are going to be pitfalls which could mean you are withouth lecce until the office opens etc, but can you imagine the chaos on a site say Friday 1700 hrs lots of arrivals and the internet is down
2 -
YT For someone less confident with smartphones, using the CCP computer at the entry, to either pay or put money on your card is not going to be any easier.
Back with the CAMC
As to not having / or want one, times are changing and the vast majority of the population now own a smart phone. Plus if you don’t a pad or laptop can also be used on the site WiFi. Also if the trial showed the need a terminal could be provide in the information room
It’s a bit like BT they sent me an email yesterday. Your phone line will be going internet based. Oh by the way if your burglar alarm uses the phone that probably won’t work and if you have a power cut use your mobile in an emergency if you can get a signal. Time can’t stand still we just have to adapt.3 -
“however, the club had decided on system….”
No, they are trialling it. The outcome of the trial will be a basis for decisions.
2 -
however, the club had decided on system where every user has to have their own interface to it...the papers are full of articles about folk not being able to work smart phone based parking meter apps in towns and as a result are becoming more isolated. These folk may not be comfortable even with a 'terminal in the information room'...
That’s been going on throughout history. There were folk who thought the telephone an abomination and why do we need these new fangled horseless carriages when we have a perfectly good horse. Time and progress can’t stand still. All we can do is try and help those who find the change difficult through it.
4 -
I agree that an App would be much easier but I suspect that will only come about when/if the Club decide to continue with metering across the network? Is the second site in the trial also going to use the same system as the first, or will it be a different supplier?
David
0
