Have just been offered a smart meter - should I accept?

elsmandino

British Gas recently offered to come round and fit smart meters in my home in a couple of weeks.

I immediately said yes but my wife wants us to refuse as she had read mainly bad things about them.

Ultimately, are they a good idea?

The more I think about it, I cannot see any major advantage over my having to give BG a reading every month or so.

SamsReturn

When we first started to be told about Smart meters several years ago, i thought ........ I want one of those. But now after reading so much about them i'd say No.
A couple of weeks Paul Lewis, R4 Moneybox did a good story about them if you can catch-up on it.

bargainbetty

I was also offered one, but upon checking, I was told that it would only be of use while I stayed with my current provider. The call rep was unable to tell me if there would be a charge for removing it later if I chose to switch suppliers. I refused their kind offer on that basis.

Check that fact carefully, as a removal fee may make it very difficult to switch later to save money.

kelpie35

NO.............. they are the worst thing to have in your home.

I have been offered this and declined purely for financial reasons

EachPenny

elsmandino wrote: »

The more I think about it, I cannot see any major advantage over my having to give BG a reading every month or so.

Unless you are elderly or infirm and/or have difficulty reading your meter(s) where they are located then the question to ask yourself is "what's in it for me?". For most people the answer is probably not a lot.

Added to which, there are several well-informed posters on here who point out the fact that the smart meters being fitted now are effectively obsolete before they have even been installed, meaning you'll need either another new meter or a hardware modification visit in the not too distant future.

If you can see a clear benefit from having a smart meter now then go for it. If you'd rather wait until the technology actually works and is fully compatible then you should probably cancel the swap.

McKneff

Mine is great, for years i have been boiling up the same water because i really only need 2 cups of water. It shows me exactly how much a shower costs me, i dont just stand in the shower doing nothing . Its 15p if i dawdle and 10p
If i wash and get out. That alone is a saving of 365 x 5p per year. Along with other savings its a magic peice of kit.

McKneff

kelpie35 wrote: »

NO.............. they are the worst thing to have in your home.

I have been offered this and declined purely for financial reasons

What financial reasons ?

It costs you nothing and saves you money ?.

[Deleted User]

Sorry but common sense should tell you that a ten minute shower will cost twice as much as five minute one.
You really don't need a smart meter to figure out that. Ditto boiling excess water.

Andy_WSM

McKneff wrote: »

Mine is great, for years i have been boiling up the same water because i really only need 2 cups of water. It shows me exactly how much a shower costs me, i dont just stand in the shower doing nothing . Its 15p if i dawdle and 10p
If i wash and get out. That alone is a saving of 365 x 5p per year. Along with other savings its a magic peice of kit.

All of this is "common sense" and if any doubt is information that could just as easily have been obtained using any of the many free energy monitors that were on offer for years or a cheaply obtainable energy monitor if you missed the freebies.

Certainly no justification for the billions of £s that smart meters are costing here.

brewerdave

...and if you are elderly and infirm, then its a "Hotel California" situation ..because using most of these phase 1 smart meters (SMETS 1) as a dumb meter after a switch,requires a very good set of eyes,fast reflexes and (dependent on the location of the meter) a degree of physical mobility!!:(

McKneff

gsmlnx wrote: »

Sorry but common sense should tell you that a ten minute shower will cost twice as much as five minute one.
You really don't need a smart meter to figure out that. Ditto boiling excess water.

Sometimes you just need a reminder though. To do it every and not be complacent