Certification period of electric meter

Mabel2012

Gerry1 said:

Mabel2012 said:

Please do not offer any more advice on how to read the meter.

I'll do much better than that - I won't offer you any advice at all ! 

Sorry. The comment was meant generally not just to you although I used your reply in the quote,  This thread started discussing certification in great detail. I thought it would be the right place to get an answer.  Instead, everyone offered advice on how to read the meter I want to get rid of.

I'm still none the wiser on certification.

matelodave

To answer your question it appears that there is no specific period - It seems that the meter manufacturers and energy companies can decide which is most appropriate for their purposes and as long as the meter remains within specification, which I guess could also be determined by experience (ie if the vast majority of any meters that they do replace are still within spec) then I guess they can keep them going almost indefinitely.

The best way to get it replaced is to sign up with a supplier who insists on smart meters. If you are against them then you are probably stuck with the one you've got because it's going to be increasing difficult to get non-smart meters (whether new or refurbed) and AFAIK the suppliers can fit what they want to fit. 

Mabel2012

matelodave said:

To answer your question it appears that there is no specific period - It seems that the meter manufacturers and energy companies can decide which is most appropriate for their purposes and as long as the meter remains within specification, which I guess could also be determined by experience (ie if the vast majority of any meters that they do replace are still within spec) then I guess they can keep them going almost indefinitely.

The best way to get it replaced is to sign up with a supplier who insists on smart meters. If you are against them then you are probably stuck with the one you've got because it's going to be increasing difficult to get non-smart meters (whether new or refurbed) and AFAIK the suppliers can fit what they want to fit. 

Thank you for that.  I am grateful for the very detailed instructions on reading the meter when the dial is on a number. I have printed it off and put it in the meter cupboard. The suppliers use poor examples on their sites and they made a mistake when they deciphered one of the photos of my meter.  10 out of 12 of the readings in the year have not presented a challenge, it's just the other two that caused problems. I read somewhere that smart metres will have a life of 10 - 15 years.  My meter style is more than 35 years old and still going.  It looks like I have no option but to accept a smart meter if I want to ditch the dials.  I only ever see the Home Display Unit in adverts. What do the actual meters look like. If I have the smart feature turned off will they look like a digital style meter. Will the Display Unit still work. So many Qs. I bet you're glad you replied!!

It's ironic that I put my name down for a smart meter with either EoN or EDF when they were first announced.  I was working back then and was never in when the meter reader called so had to use his card to leave a reading for him on the door, or phone the supplier with the reading. I then started switching supplier, was doing my own readings and have avoided having one installed ever since.  The fact that the first phase meters lost their smartness if you changed supplier did not instil confidence.  Worries about the supplier controlling our supply remotely or charging more at peak times did not appeal.  Perhaps they make more sense if you have special tariffs or electric vehicles I'm sure there are many pros and cons,

I'm a very low user of energy, especially electricity. All heating, hot water and cooking is by gas and I use Hive to control the central heating.  I could add bulbs but the cost would outweigh any energy savings.  I have my energy usage as low as possible without looking at a cute home display unit daily or half hourly.  It would be a novelty to start with but it would not last for me. I just want a monthly bill that I can verify. So, if the meter sends usage data direct to the supplier, will I know the point at which the reading is used for my bill and will I be able to verify the reading. 

A friend couldn't have a smart meter fitted because the gas and electric meters were too far apart.  Apparently the gas meter sends data to the electric meter and it's then sent to the supplier. My gas meter is in a  meter cupboard outside the front door on the ground floor. The electric meter is inside in a floor level cupboard on the first floor.  It's directly above the front door. Perhaps the location of the meters will rule out smart meters for me.  I can but hope. 

matelodave

I've had a smart meter for the past three years - it remained smart for less than a year when I swapped suppliers. It looks much like any other electronic digital meter with a numerical display, it's just a bit bigger. Some meters (usually the Secure Digital) require you  to press a button to check the reading but mine (Elster A300p from SSE) doesn't require that. Some whinge about some meters being difficult to read but I guess that's because of the particular meter - it's not an inherent function of all smart meters just some (or even a particular make/type) usually from the cheaper suppliers.

My IHD still allows me to remotely read my meter whereas some meters or suppliers can shut that function off if you don't remain with them. I'm with my fourth supplier and it still does everything a meter should except send info back to the supplier and I have the benefit that I can read it from indoors without having to go out to the external meter box. My particular meter is on the list for getting enrolled at some time in the future and possibly it will if my supplier can be bothered as well but TBH I dont really care one way or the other

I dont have gas so can't comment on them. 

Talldave

Mabel2012 said:

A friend couldn't have a smart meter fitted because the gas and electric meters were too far apart.  Apparently the gas meter sends data to the electric meter and it's then sent to the supplier. My gas meter is in a  meter cupboard outside the front door on the ground floor. The electric meter is inside in a floor level cupboard on the first floor.  It's directly above the front door. Perhaps the location of the meters will rule out smart meters for me.  I can but hope. 

I'd bet that the gas meter wouldn't connect at that distance and there are probably no other meters in between to help form a mesh network.  The wireless is very very low power (imagine making a tablet or mobile phone that you charged once and expected it to work for 10 or more years?).  I don't understand why they didn't design the meters so that the passage of gas charged the battery - but then I'm an engineer not a marketing whizz.

But a smart meter that can't "phone home" is just a meter.  You can get a reading with a bit of button pressing and submit to your supplier just as you do now.

Mabel2012

matelodave said:

I've had a smart meter for the past three years - it remained smart for less than a year when I swapped suppliers. It looks much like any other electronic digital meter with a numerical display, it's just a bit bigger. 

My IHD still allows me to remotely read my meter whereas some meters or suppliers can shut that function off if you don't remain with them. I'm with my fourth supplier and it still does everything a meter should except send info back to the supplier and I have the benefit that I can read it from indoors without having to go out to the external meter box. 

That's the sort of smart meter I want. One that doesn't connect with the supplier but where the IHD still works.  If there are so many different styles of meters, it's not surprising there are compatibility problems between suppliers.

Mabel2012

Talldave said:

I'd bet that the gas meter wouldn't connect at that distance and there are probably no other meters in between to help form a mesh network.  The wireless is very very low power (imagine making a tablet or mobile phone that you charged once and expected it to work for 10 or more years?).  I don't understand why they didn't design the meters so that the passage of gas charged the battery - but then I'm an engineer not a marketing whizz.

But a smart meter that can't "phone home" is just a meter.  You can get a reading with a bit of button pressing and submit to your supplier just as you do now.

I expect the financial men had the first and last say. The price was probably set before engineers were involved. It was different back when my dials style meter was designed. Engineers first back then, that's why it's still working forty years later.