Is there any IHD giving consumer meter readings?

System

In your first post you implied that your dumb meters were in a physically difficult place to read them..Why is that ? are you disabled ? scared of heights ? poor vision. It is is your fault entirely if you can t physically read the meter .who`s fault is it if not yours. I am not condemning you if you can t get to a meter but its no one elses fault if you have the bad luck to be struggling to get down at ground level etc .Meters are placed at floor level, up high occasionally, back of larders and under the stairs in corners tucked away etc. I am probably older than you and can get to all the meters..Awkward ones I use an extending mirror and a torch to shine on the meter index. I don t even bend down. I can read the meters easily standing up using the mirror( £5 from Clars Olsen for a good one or £1 for a Rolson off Ebay) . I had two detached retinas a few years back..it was my fault ! I was born with myopia !
Secure Liberty meters are a disaster and hopefully you will switch supplier citing those meters as why you are switching.Maybe they will learn their lesson and put the customer first and not a bargain priced yankee rubbish smart meter

[Deleted User]

House_Martin wrote: »

In your first post you implied that your dumb meters were...

My first post said:
I have a smart meter
Maybe you need to pay a visit to Specsavers?.

System

Deleted_User wrote: »

My first post said:
I have a smart meter
Maybe you need to pay a visit to Specsavers?.[/QUOTe! in your first post you moan about the physical position of the meters..smarts will go in the exact same position as the dumb meters..no difference.so you must have been having the same problem with the dumb meters...anyway, anyone who is physically disabled will have the same problems with the smart if they choose to want to look at the meter and not the IHD. or do what I have suggested, the way the pro s do it , with a two quid extending mirror .whats the problem dividing the kwhs by 11.2 anyway..that will be near enough to get to cubic metres..just do in reverse what the suppliers do.They just multiply by 11 ish add 5% and the standing charges..
I think the rubbish Secure Liberty meters are the only IHD which just shows kwh.My Landys and Gyrs certainly displayed the gas reads in cubic metres

[Deleted User]

House_Martin wrote: »

"My first post said:
I have a smart meter
Maybe you need to pay a visit to Specsavers?.."[/QUOTe! in your first post you moan about the physical position of the meters..smarts will go in the exact same position as the dumb meters

I'm pleased that after several incorrect allegations that I have dumb meters, you now finally admit that I have smart ones. Not surprisingly the size shape, physical positions, angles of view and size/shape of the digits on the new meters is different from the old. Also on the old meters there was no need to press keys to view readings. If it's not too much trouble please read on in my OP and you will see that E.ON promised my new IHD would display meter readings thus avoiding any need for me to ever read the meters themselves. Consequently upon installation of the Secure Liberty meters I didn't didn't make any attempt to discuss precise position, angle and viewability of the digits or buttons to press with the installation engineers. Until I read your post #19 I was totally unaware of the key pressing challenge to read them.

Finally, may I suggest when quoting previous posts you don't meddle with the

appendages that the forum software puts in so allowing it to correctly show what and who you're quoting.

EachPenny

Deleted_User wrote: »

...E.ON promised my new IHD would display meter readings thus avoiding any need for me to ever read the meters themselves.

picks, not sure if you have seen the other current thread on smart meters, but victor2 has posted that EON, EdF and Scottish Power all do IHD's that allow meter readings to be displayed on the IHD. The links provided to the EdF and Scottish Power ones certainly appear to confirm gas readings in M3 are displayed, not sure about the EON one, but possibly a different model to the one you have?

I think I would want to take this up through the complaints process. If they have promised to supply something which meets your particular needs (e.g. unable to read meters due to mobility impairment) but have then provided something different which does not do as promised then they are in a not so good place when it comes to ensuring equality and avoiding discrimination. The fact the meter only displays the reading if you push a button already means they have not properly considered the needs of disabled people who may be unable to push buttons, let alone buttons located in difficult to access places.

Some posters are saying you don't need to read the meters when operating in smart mode, just use the internet to see the readings online. I don't think this is good enough. The consumer should be able to see the meter reading in their home in order to check and confirm the reading stored on their account is correct.

Unless you have the facility to read your meter then you have no way of confirming that you've been correctly billed, and if the equipment installed is not suitable for your needs then you've been discriminated against.

I'm not saying you'll get anything changed, but it is worth going through the process and possibly getting the issue flagged up with Ofgem.

System

Deleted_User wrote: »

I'm pleased that after several incorrect allegations that I have dumb meters, you now finally admit that I have smart ones. Not surprisingly the size shape, physical positions, angles of view and size/shape of the digits on the new meters is different from the old. Also on the old meters there was no need to press keys to view readings. If it's not too much trouble please read on in my OP and you will see that E.ON promised my new IHD would display meter readings thus avoiding any need for me to ever read the meters themselves. Consequently upon installation of the Secure Liberty meters I didn't didn't make any attempt to discuss precise position, angle and viewability of the digits or buttons to press with the installation engineers. Until I read your post #19 I was totally unaware of the key pressing challenge to read them.

Finally, may I suggest when quoting previous posts you don't meddle with the

appendages that the forum software puts in so allowing it to correctly show what and who you're quoting.

You had the same problem with your old meter and any meter which would be exchanged was likely to be of a digital variety, more difficult to read.. Landys Gyr gas meter needs a red button to press to bring up a reading which is probably a little harder to do than the Secure s sensitive key pad. Did the meter fitter not leave you instructions on how to operate the dreadfully complex Secure meter ? this make s Eons efforts in the smart meter game even more lax. They are not interested in the struggles some folk will have in reading the Secure meters otherwise they would not have moved from their original Landys Gyrs they used to fit.. They re using Secure stuff because they are cheaper than the Swiss Landys Gyrs, Elster or Itron. Personally I think the Eon call centre person you spoke to did nt understand the IHD screen whatsoever and just fobbed you off with balony to get you off the phone.. Please do what I say and get rid of Eon.They are too expensive anyway and don t have any good deals at all nowadays, like most of the big 6. OK you are stuck with Secure Liberty meter for the time being. Maybe you can find a supplier who will also rid you of it for free .EDF have a good record for free meter removal.
Your post s seem to me to be purely a slagging off of smart meters when it should be a slagging off of Secure Liberty smart meters .
You advise me to go to specsavers .I made the same point in one of my earlier posts about button 9, extending mirrors etc and I don t need advice about the "quote " appendage too..Typo error ! big deal !
If the kwh s displayed on the IHD is total kwhs since meter was fitted there is no problem getting the calculator out and divided by 11.2.. I know the meter will display total kwhs on one of the screens but if the IHD does not copy that screen then the best bet is a bit of practice with the extending mirror and torch.. I can do it ! and I m a lot older than you I think. !

[Deleted User]

House_Martin wrote: »

Did the meter fitter not leave you instructions on how to operate the dreadfully complex Secure meter ?

I don't recall as, at the time, it was irrelevant. If you read my OP you'll see that the deal with E.ON was that the company would replace my old smart meters with new smart meters. The reason for the change, as mentioned clearly in my OP, was that the IHD attached to my old smart meters didn't have the ability to display meter readings. I was promised the new smart meter system would include an IHD upon which I could view meter readings. Therefore instructions for taking readings from the physical meters themselves was of no interest to me whatever.

Unfortunately only later did I discover that, while the new IHD did indeed display meter readings, the gas reading was in kWh. The bad news was that no one at E.ON had ever bothered to tell me that they refuse to accept a consumer reading kWh - it has to be in cubic metres. At first I naively assumed there must be some option on the IHD to give an alternative reading in cubic metres, but no such luck.

The purpose of my starting this thread was not, as you've wrongly alleged, to "slag off" smart meters. I actually very much like the idea of smart meters and the purpose of my starting this thread is stated clearly in the title:
Is there any IHD giving consumer meter readings?
If you can answer the above question with either "yes" or "no" it would be appreciated, and if "yes", please give details for me to consider.

[Deleted User]

It really isn't that difficult to convert your kWh readings back into cubic metres, all you need to do is ask them what calorific value the meter uses to make its calculation, and then the formula for converting is printed on your bill.

30 seconds with a calculator once a month and the job's done.

Raxiel

I can't advise what other suppliers use, but If you have the same set of Secure Liberty meters and black E.ON IHD, then dividing the kWh figure on the IHD by 11.22 (as suggested by HM) will give you an m³ reading close enough to the actual reading to be not worth worrying about (certainly more accurate than suppliers estimates)

Based on my own meter, with six months usage over winter, the error between working back from the IHD and the meter itself is 0.1m³ which is eaten up by the rounding to whole cubic meters anyway.

(If you did want to be really accurate I calculated the exact figure to be 11.22063333333 using the kWh to two decimal places and m³ to four decimal places as displayed on the meter itself. Working back further it seems the meter is assuming a fixed CV of 39.5)

[Deleted User]

jack_pott wrote: »

It really isn't that difficult to convert your kWh readings back into cubic metres, all you need to do is ask them what calorific value the meter uses to make its calculation, and then the formula for converting is printed on your bill.

30 seconds with a calculator once a month and the job's done.

Recent experience calling E.ON by phone has, on average, meant a 45 minute call. The one person I spoke to about the calorific value stated they had worked for the company some 26 years and during this time the calorific value had never changed. Others here disagree and I don't have time for extensive research on the subject.

I repeat the title of my thread:
Is there any IHD giving consumer meter readings?
I looking for a consumer reading in the correct units required by an energy provider, simple. Is there any IHD (or similar product) giving consumer meter readings, yes or no, please?