Eon "saving energy toolkit"

wanman

I agree with the comments above, the 'Energy Saving Toolkit' is a significant step backwards from the previous tracker.

I read my gas and electricity meters every month and upload the figures to EON but they seem to have no correlation with the reports from the toolkit. My own spreadsheet records show reductions in usage from last year but the toolkit tells me my usage has gone up. And the comparison with 'similar' homes is just a joke. I know my consumption is low - due to low daytime occupancy, lots of insulation and solar panels - and that my expenditure is much less than my neighbours, but the Toolkit shows me as a relatively heavy user.

Connie

And now it's only showing usage up to the end of 2013.
I've just entered my reading for the period
3 Jan to 3 Feb, but can't compare with last year.

I do hope Malc from EOn is still following this thread of dissatisfaction, and that the people he has passed our views on to will do something about it.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi Connie

I'm sorry our Saving Energy Toolkit hasn't been performing as you would like.

All the comments on this thread have been fed back to the right people at E.ON. I've just passed your latest comment on too.

This latest issue is a bit different from previous problems, though. If you would like to email your details to the address in my Profile, I'll have our technical guys take a look at your particular issue.

Hope this helps.

Malc

Gareth_Davies_2

The message I'm getting is scary - I'm using more than twice as much as 'similar homes', despite the facts that:

1. There are only us two oldies living here
2. There's only me during the day, working in my office with an 800w heater (the rest of the house being unheated by electricity)
3. Most of our lights are now LEDs, and if not they are all energy-saving bulbs
4. We heat the water, and the kitchen, with oil, and the living room with a wood burning stove
5. The whole house has modern double glazing, and my workroom has triple glazing
6. We switch everything off when not in use (no standby)
7. All our appliances are the most energy efficient possible.

I can't think of anything else we could do to lessen our electricity use, and I'd love to visit one of the "similar but efficient" homes that are using, according to the toolkit, 20% of the electricity we consume.

Euph2409

I too, dislike the new version of the tracker compared to the old. Despite having a smart meter, the tracker often uses estimated figures which is of no help at all!!

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Gareth_Davies wrote: »

The message I'm getting is scary - I'm using more than twice as much as 'similar homes', despite the facts that:

1. There are only us two oldies living here
2. There's only me during the day, working in my office with an 800w heater (the rest of the house being unheated by electricity)
3. Most of our lights are now LEDs, and if not they are all energy-saving bulbs
4. We heat the water, and the kitchen, with oil, and the living room with a wood burning stove
5. The whole house has modern double glazing, and my workroom has triple glazing
6. We switch everything off when not in use (no standby)
7. All our appliances are the most energy efficient possible.

I can't think of anything else we could do to lessen our electricity use, and I'd love to visit one of the "similar but efficient" homes that are using, according to the toolkit, 20% of the electricity we consume.

Hi Gareth

Don't be scared by the message the Saving Energy Toolkit is giving you. It's not meant to cause alarm but to help you understand how you're using energy and to suggest ways you may be able to cut back.

Like the Energy Tracker before it, the Saving Energy Toolkit is about raising awareness of energy usage. It lets you see where your energy is being used and when it's being used the most.

The emphasis is more about putting you in control of your energy usage so you only use what you need.

Comparisons with similar properties supplied by us in your area is just one aspect of the tool. This should be seen as a guide only. Properties and lifestyles differ widely and the comparison is only as accurate as the information we have.

If you like, you can improve the accuracy of the information we hold about your property. This can be done by updating the details in the 'Tell us about your Home' page on the main screen.

Possibly of more immediate interest are the areas about 'My Energy Use,' 'Compare Monthly Costs,' What Uses Most,' My Plan' and 'Ways to Save.'

These screens give lots of information to help you understand, control and reduce your energy usage.

Hope this is of interest Gareth and eases your concern a little.

Malc

Connie

Sorry for the delay in replying to your last message to me on this thread on 04/02/2014, Malc.

I can't see how to contact you directly. Looking at your profile, then clicking the Contact button only gives me the choice of EOn's home page, or back to this thread.

However . . .
the problem is that the dear old Energy Tracker used to update immediately I entered a new meter reading, whereas the new system is always a month behind.
Having now entered my next monthly reading, to the end of February, I see that My Energy Use - Usage has moved on one month, so that I can now compare my consumption in January with last year's January. But still not February, which I would have instantly been able to compare on the Energy Tracker.

Also -
Is there any point in my sending in monthly meter readings, when only one reading per quarter is used for billing?

simmys66

Hi All and Malc from E-On I would just like to add that the new energy tracker is a step back in my eyes, it gives me much less information than the old version.
I have to agree with others here, the comparison with similar homes is a load of trash, I am an avid power saver and my home is using 50% more energy than others... what a load of trash. I am not one who rebels at new technology and change but for goodness sake give us something that is relevant, informative and above all correct.

Chris

janetcoa

Having just been checking my mother's electricity bills, I can only agree with people who find this 'information' totally useless. Mum lives in a brand new block of apartments, only has electricity and the heating bill is paid in the service charge. The graph bears no relation to her usage. They have the readings from the smart meter every month - why is it so difficult?
My advice is do your own graph using the figures from 'meter reading history'.
PS this is the answer I received from EON when I queried it

'the graph will only use readings that you have been billed to and will estimate anything in between so the only way that the saving energy toolkit can be accurate is if you switch your billing frequency to monthly as this way the graph will up date to your usage on a month to month basis instead of every quarter when your bill is produced.'

What's the point of a smart meter!

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi janetcoa

I'm sorry you don't like our Saving Energy Toolkit. We're continuing to make improvements so it's more relevant to individual circumstances.

As it stands, the answer you posted above is still right. Thought it might help if I put a bit more flesh on the bones.

The charts show all usage on a month by month basis. They're updated each month by estimating how much we think has been used based on the usage details we have. This update usually takes place between the 3rd and 12th of the month.

When a bill is produced, it updates the charts again. Sometimes the usage on the charts may differ from that shown on bills or seen through the meter readings. This is because the billing periods may be for different time periods than the calendar months shown on the chart.

To help see a truer picture, it's best to enter meter readings on the 1st of every month and request a new bill each time.

At the moment, Smart Meters aren't linked into the Saving Energy Toolkit. This is one of the areas we're working on.

Until this is sorted, for the best results, you'll need to enter your Mum's readings and request a bill as above.

The toolkit is about raising awareness of energy usage and helping customers save money by cutting back. As I mentioned in one of my replies above, the emphasis is about putting customers in control of their usage so they only use what they need.

Smart Meters help with this too. They come with an Energy Display that lets customers see how much they're using and what it's costing in real time. Again, to help raise awareness and increase control over usage and costs.

These meters also send us readings automatically so your Mum doesn't have to. This cuts down on estimated bills and makes her charges more accurate.

Not much help with the Saving Energy Toolkit at the moment I know but, going forward, this will change.

Can't give you a time frame for these changes janetcoa but, as with other posts on this thread, I'll feed this back to our developers to help them understand the demand.

I know the Saving Energy Toolkit is far from perfect but hope the above shows our intentions to make it better.

Malc