Smart Meters

zeupater

AndyPK wrote: »

My meter is in the ground with a display on the top.


Do they do a smart meter with a display on the top?


or if I moved supplier, would I have to use a low tech solution like a mirror to get my reading

Hi

I would suggest that placing meters underground would seriously impact communications with the DCC network which could be more than a little problematic for most considering the primary reason for the project! ...

.... having said that, no matter where the installation location is, as long as the meter is fitted & the commissioning box is ticked, whether the comms work properly, intermittently, or it still needs to be read manually, effectively becomes irrelevant ... we'll all get landed with our contribution towards the the £500 bill & any issue gets placed into a queue to be sorted out later, some much later, others probably never! ... :wall:

How things would have been different if DECC had used technology professionals and project managers with experience in successfully costing & delivering complex solutions on time & within budget ... the entire project could have cost comparatively next-to-nothing, but give the job to professional civil servants, get another complete ... :silenced:

Anyway, if the installers turn up and water starts flooding out of your cooker, then they've probably attached their smart-meter to your underground water supply ... ... job done, box ticked, any issues ring this number, bye! - so, who's next on the list to be mugged ? :wall:

HTH
Z

AG_MK50

:money::money:Similarly I have a smart meter fitted by British Gas.I was advised at the time that it could be used by other suppliers. Is this definitely not the case for Ovo?

molerat

AG_MK50 wrote: »

:money::money:Similarly I have a smart meter fitted by British Gas.I was advised at the time that it could be used by other suppliers. Is this definitely not the case for Ovo?

Currently smart meters only communicate with the supplier that installed them through their own network. The 2nd phase of meters will communicate with a central hub linked to all suppliers. Your meter can be "used" by all suppliers, not as a smart meter though. Whether your meter will at a later date be able to communicate with the new system is up for debate.

House_Martin

C_Mababejive wrote: »

For reference here is what the liberty secure smart meter looks like

Try using this U.S.A. made meter if you are poor sighted or very aged .Unbelievably bad design and very user unfriendly.
Eon, one of the big six, who should have had more sense, have had the bare faced cheek to switch to them. They must be a rock bottom price compared to the Swiss Landis Gyrs. Cheap and nasty, like U.S. cars !

Many meter readers give up with getting a reading from them in awkward positions. One press of the tiny button 9 sets the screen scrolling around at great speed. Ok if the meter is in an outside box at eye height, but try it in the far corner of the dark pantry on the floor behind the washing machine which has been jammed in amongst the ironing board and a hundred other things. Hopeless.
This is how its used in the real world which Eon ,Ovo, Utilita do not live in.They have contempt for their customers to buy these awful meters and foist them onto an unsuspecting public.
If there is a IHD supplied, I have never seen one. This suggests that they break easily or the fitters do not leave one.
The first time I saw this meter five years ago, the young lady was switching back to BG because she could nt understand the prepayment meter Ovo supplied and was sick to death of it. Useless American junk meter IMO. They are designed for the U.S. market where they are probably sighted outside.

C_Mababejive

AndyPK wrote: »

My meter is in the ground with a display on the top.


Do they do a smart meter with a display on the top?


or if I moved supplier, would I have to use a low tech solution like a mirror to get my reading

Yours is a semi concealed meter. As far as i know there isnt a semi con smart meter. Its possible to convert the housing to an above ground housing and fit a smart but i doubt/not sure if suppliers are prepared to do this.

House_Martin

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Yours is a semi concealed meter. As far as i know there isnt a semi con smart meter. Its possible to convert the housing to an above ground housing and fit a smart but i doubt/not sure if suppliers are prepared to do this.

No problem with semi concealed smart gas meters. I have seen quite a few but there are plenty of BG Landis and Gyr and Siemens push button E6 gas meters around used in semi concealed boxes because of their compact design..

I always have to use a mirror to read them so the smarts with their IHD will be a doddle, until the IHD expires.

Anyone with a semi concealed will be advised not to have a Liberty Secure meter used by Eon , Ovo and the other loser, Utilita. They are not suitable IMO

Kittyboo

OVO Energy website said "If you're switching to OVO and you have a smart meter, it will only keep its functionality if you’re switching from providers that use Secure smart meters like ours"."However, even if you are switching from one of those energy companies, we still may not be able to communicate with their Secure smart meters. It will depend on the setup of the meters at the time you switch".
I rang and spoke to OVO and explained I had a Smart Meter installed by BG last month and would it be compatible with OVO. I was told these are the "most technologically up to date meters" which OVO is unable to access at the moment but would be able to in the very near future (months). In the meantime, if I switched, I could sumit readings myself OR opt for one of their meters (which is technically a downgrade).

AndyPK

Thanks for the info.

So I definitely don't want a smart gas meter then, as I don't want a new white box bolted to the side of my house or have to use a mirror to read the meter when I have switched supplier.

Joyful

You can fit semi concealed smart meters. I was talking about them to a BT engineer last week. They are especially good for prepayment customers as often the SC ones get water in through the slot. Because the smart meters have no slot,this problem does not arise.

C_Mababejive

The L & G smarts will fit in a semi con with a conversion kit, i assume from the comments that some suppliers are using the conversion kits..