£11bn ‘waste’ of rolling out smart meters

CashStrapped

Read my second post. In fact read the entire thread. It cant be any clearer what the cons are.

There is no point in repeating what has already been said.

moyper

teddysmum wrote: »

A thought : Do these smart meters affect anyone with a heart pacemaker ?


I ask, because, when we had a smart fridge on free trial, the literature, from the provider, said that people with a heart monitor should not go near the apparatus (so my husband's friend stopped coming into the house), but that could have been because of the internet transmitter they used to monitor efficiency.

In reply to teddysmum, significant health (and fire danger) concerns go well beyond the one instance you have quoted. Google 'Studies on Health Effects of Electromagnetic Radiation and Microwaves' to access references to some 6,000 studies on Smart technology.

CashStrapped

moyper wrote: »

In reply to teddysmum, significant health (and fire danger) concerns go well beyond the one instance you have quoted. Google 'Studies on Health Effects of Electromagnetic Radiation and Microwaves' to access references to some 6,000 studies on Smart technology.

Are any of those studies done by reputable scientific bodies or universities? Are any of those studies published in official scientific journals? I know of no official bodies supporting the claims made about electromagnetic sensitivity.

The issue mentioned above may be due to the two items operating at the same frequency on the electromagnetic spectrum and interfering with each other, nothing more.

If you just google anything and believe it, you are likely to get lost in a world of conspiracy theories and the tin foil hat brigade.

Haffiana

I have read the thread carefully and read the links people have posted. I cannot see any cons that would stop me getting a smart meter. I can see reasons why it won't make much if any difference, I can see that the rollout is ill-planned and premature, but I cannot see anything that would put me off getting one.

I mean that simply - I, as a consumer, will not be in a worse position if I get one, and I may be in a better position.

bugslet

Norman_Castle wrote: »

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-3805643/Government-MPs-join-attack-11bn-smart-meter-plan.html

2% saving. For me thats £6.40 per year so it'll take 62.5 years to break even.

Haffiana wrote: »

I have read the thread carefully and read the links people have posted. I cannot see any cons that would stop me getting a smart meter. I can see reasons why it won't make much if any difference, I can see that the rollout is ill-planned and premature, but I cannot see anything that would put me off getting one.

I mean that simply - I, as a consumer, will not be in a worse position if I get one, and I may be in a better position.

I won't be getting one till I know that all suppliers will deal with the smart meter.

I don't have any objection to them in principle, but no great desire for one either. As per Norman's comment above, I can't see that I would save money anyway. I live on my own and it's fair to say that I'm frugal with elec and gas anyway, with my annual bill for the two at less than £600.00. Unless I start switching off the fridge or wearing a sleeping bag in December, I can't see how I could consume less energy.

Nick_C

I'm looking forward to getting one, simply because it will be good to have accurate bills and avoid the need for to read the meter every three months.

The implementation does seem to be flawed though. The Energy Retailers and Distributors should have worked together to roll out smart meters on a street by street basis to minimise costs.

I understand the Distributors have the right to replace your meter at any time, and that they can become inaccurate over time anyway. The Distributor replaced my Electricity meter proactively three or four years ago simply because it was old, and I was disappointed that the new meter was not "smart".

We have a highly competitive retail market, and this should keep costs down. Not having to read meters, adjust bills, and deal with refund claims for overpayments should all lead to greater efficiencies in the long term.

The real scandal, IMO, is water meters. All that expense to charge by use instead of the old system of a fixed charge.

But any metering system, of course the consumer is the one who pays for it.

brewerdave

Nick_C wrote: »

The implementation does seem to be flawed though. The Energy Retailers and Distributors should have worked together to roll out smart meters on a street by street basis to minimise costs.

We have a highly competitive retail market, and this should keep costs down. Not having to read meters, adjust bills, and deal with refund claims for overpayments should all lead to greater efficiencies in the long term.

....all true BUT ONLY IF the meters remain SMART on change of supplier.......which the meters currently being fitted ,don't !!:(

reeac

Charging by use instills discipline. I think that everyone accepts that for gas and electricity so why not for water? I've seen examples of gross carelessness in leaving hoses running by people who pay a fixed charge rather than paying by useage.

Nick_C

reeac wrote: »

Charging by use instills discipline. I think that everyone accepts that for gas and electricity so why not for water?

Because the cost of charging for use makes up a considerable portion of the cost of supply. Charging a flat rate is cheaper for everyone.

Perhaps we should also charge householders by weight for waste disposal. Charge car owners by the number of miles they drive each year. Charge airline passengers by body weight. Charge library users by the book and number of days.

There is no shortage of water in this country, but the cost of supply has become exorbitant.

[Deleted User]

[soapbox]
I've been saying for years that the government should try banning regressive tariffs (for free) before they waste billions on smart meters.
[/soapbox]