Smart meters are not compulsory

chanz4

kittie wrote: »

Npoweruser, stick to your guns, there will be many thousands, at the very least, who will not be accepting these boxes, me included. I live in an eco house so could not be more aware of energy usage. Just a charter for snooping. They will not be allowed entry

the gas and electricty board act, will allow them to gain entry into your property by force if required and the cost would be passed on.

rights of entry gas and electricity act 1954

matelodave

My wife's hobby is geneology and without any effort whatsoever she can find out who your kids are, who you married (and how many times) who your parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts uncles, cousins etc are or were. Where they were born, lived, died and when.
It's not hard to find out where you live or went to school either. It's more frightening when you see what people voluntarily put on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and all the other "social media" sites that abound.

In my opinion having the leccy or gas board know when you did the washing or turned the cooker on should be the very least of your worries.

Hopefully there will be a significant meter reader premium applied to the energy bills for those who refuse to have a smart meter when they become generally available. Why should I have to subsidise the luddites who decide that they want a man coming to the door to read the meter.

alleycat`

In my view the biggest risk to anyone as a homeowner from these device is if, and it's a big IF, they can be used to remotely restrict service and/or they can be remotely tinkered with in regards to artificially peeing about with the consumption figures.

There is a great deal of risk in a "computer says NO" mentality occurring when people believe devices like this are infallible.

There is no benefit to me personally, as i read the meters every month as a matter of course, and more importantly, I'm honest when i do so.

I understand the logic, i doubt the quality of the equipment

I'd be quite interested to know who's going to make a big pile of cash off the back of this and what they'd stand to lose (haha) if they turn out to be rubbish.

joncombe

There is also the fact that Smart Meters can (and probably will be) used to control appliances in your home. Look up Smart Appliances. The idea initially is that at times of high demand the Smart Meter could signal to any Smart Appliances that if they do not have to be on to shut down. For example to shut down your fridge whilst the temperature is still cool enough. But I suspect this will be extended to other appliances.

In addition I suspect it will lead to compulsory peak and off-peak pricing which I suspect will make it more expensive for many.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

joncombe wrote: »

There is also the fact that Smart Meters can (and probably will be) used to control appliances in your home. Look up Smart Appliances. The idea initially is that at times of high demand the Smart Meter could signal to any Smart Appliances that if they do not have to be on to shut down. For example to shut down your fridge whilst the temperature is still cool enough. But I suspect this will be extended to other appliances.

In addition I suspect it will lead to compulsory peak and off-peak pricing which I suspect will make it more expensive for many.

It's not that smart metering will lead to peak off/peak - it's the reverese -we need peak/off peak pricing hence smart meters are being rolled out.

Of course it'll make it more expensive for many, that's the idea! If it were done properly, it should also be cheaper for many; that's the $64000 dollar question I guess.

matelodave

Potentially they could be to your advantage if you are a multirate tariff. Presently these are automatically switch at night whereas a more flexible approach my allow you to have cheaper rate electricity during the day as well if there is a low demand, say in the afternoon. Many people could take advantage with a boost to their storage heaters if that facility was available. Likewise having the washing machine, dishwaher or tumble dryer being auto-switched during the low rate period could save money as well. Shutting freezers down for an hour when everyone turns the kettle on at the end of Coronation Street wouldn't be a bad thing either.
The biggest advantage should be for those who are too lazy or inept to read their own meters and check/correct their bills. They would have properly calculated bills and not end up saddled with ginormous demands (or overpayments) because they've been happy to accept estimated bills for ages

Farway

matelodave wrote: »

My wife's hobby is geneology and without any effort whatsoever she can find out who your kids are, who you married (and how many times) who your parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts uncles, cousins etc are or were. Where they were born, lived, died and when.
It's not hard to find out where you live or went to school either. It's more frightening when you see what people voluntarily put on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and all the other "social media" sites that abound.
.

So true, I also do genealogy, it is all on line, records such as birth, death, marriage and wills are public records and available to all

tbourner

When I had mine fitted I thought it was strange that they asked if I wanted it to send data every 30 mins, or 6 hourly, daily or more (can't remember the exact options TBH). I chose 30 minutes obviously and was quite shocked that people would want anything else - I was told it was because people don't like snooping companies!
Now this thread, people actually don't want smart meters at all? That just seems bizarre to me, I put my name down with the regional manager (who I'm related to) as soon as I heard about them, I wanted to be one of the first! No charge for fitting it and I get a funky wireless monitor.
I'm honestly confused by people not wanting one.

GingerBob_3

chanz4 wrote: »

the supplier would also have the option to refuse to supply, under the rights of having an approved meter fitted

Wrong.

BTW, some useful info here:

http://www.zdnet.com/smart-meter-hacking-tool-released-7000001338/

sheffield_lad

I would like one but I also think my current meters must be wrong as I don't seem to pay anything like some posters on here pay only kidding just efficient like most regulars here.


Just think how useful they are to others who are not so savvy and who don't read their meters regularly? Or the young couple who move into a property and post here asking what we think is realistic for the DD.


The amount of posts on here could half if everyone had them fitted, I am sure it would not take long before the penny dropped that electric heating in particular is more expensive than running the laptop