Smart Meters. Are they worth it?

Scoobs2006

Official MoneySavingExpert Note November 2017:

We now have a dedicated Smart Meters guide that may be of use.

Back to Scoobs2006's original post...

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Just wanted peoples experiences of Smart Meters. Im having these installed on both gas & elec.

Do the meters help financially?
Do the meters make yoi more aware of your energy usage

Cheers in advance

AndyPK

doesn't sound worth it at the moment if you switch suppliers frequently.

As they will go back to being a dum meter after you move.

Scoobs2006

I dont plan on switching anytime soon.
Thanks AndyPK but my question was more directed to the financial benefit.. eg. Having the amount in pounds on a screen make you more energy efficient??

footyguy

Scoobs2006 wrote: »

Just wanted peoples experiences of Smart Meters. Im having these installed on both gas & elec.

Do the meters help financially?
Do the meters make yoi more aware of your energy usage

Cheers in advance

Q1. No, you usually pay the same rates no matter where you have a smart meter or a dumb meter.

Q2. Only if you use the IHD - similar to if you have an OWL type meter
(most people seem to throw it in the back of a drawer after the a few days/weeks - if you manually take meter redaings every month to give to a supplier, you will have a good idea of what you use, and the rough cost of that usage)


What was the reason you elected to have smart meters fitted?

System

Scoobs2006 wrote: »

I dont plan on switching anytime soon.
Thanks AndyPK but my question was more directed to the financial benefit.. eg. Having the amount in pounds on a screen make you more energy efficient??

Only if you turn things down or off?

SpotlandRules

Even though mine are now dumb, the IHD still works, so I can see if I have had a bad day or not.

My IHD also shows meter readings, so very easy to give my readings to my fuel companies.

badmemory

So your IHD says you have already spent what you hoped to spend for the full day and it is only 7pm. What do you do? Well personally & I do stress that this is only personal, shrug my shoulders & say oh well that's another day over target then. You can probably tell from my comments that I am not one to turn the heating off at the end of March & back on again at the end of October. If you are cold, then you are cold. Of course you could sort yourself a hot water bottle, but don't forget to check that IHD & you will probably find that the hot water bottle cost you more than putting the heating on would have cost.

@SpotlandRules does your IHD show the gas meter reading or the Kwh usage?

Scoobs2006

The reason i opted for the meter is because eventually i will have to have one anyway as per government requirements but also after being on pre pay meter (not by choice already at property only just got round to sorting it) im curious to see if having the smart meter i will most importantly save money & secondly be much more energy cautious.

EDF have asked to have every half hour reading (very insistant in fact) should i change that set up to say every month? Half hour seems a little over the top

System

Scoobs2006 wrote: »

The reason i opted for the meter is because eventually i will have to have one anyway as per government requirements but also after being on pre pay meter (not by choice already at property only just got round to sorting it) im curious to see if having the smart meter i will most importantly save money & secondly be much more energy cautious.

EDF have asked to have every half hour reading (very insistant in fact) should i change that set up to say every month? Half hour seems a little over the top

Thirty minute meter readings are needed so that the industry can get a better idea of your usage profile; my usage profile and the usage profiles of all other energy consumers. At the moment, 60p in every £1 that you pay for electricity covers such things as paying generators money to have power stations, diesel generators etc on standby to cover unexpected demand. Going forward, bills should be lower than might be the case as demand will be better matched by supply - particularly, once Time of Use tariffs are introduced. Thirty minute usage recording has nothing to do with your billing; however, it should give you a better idea of your usage during the day.

FOREVER21

Scoobs2006 wrote: »

The reason i opted for the meter is because eventually i will have to have one anyway as per government requirements but also after being on pre pay meter (not by choice already at property only just got round to sorting it) im curious to see if having the smart meter i will most importantly save money & secondly be much more energy cautious.

EDF have asked to have every half hour reading (very insistant in fact) should i change that set up to say every month? Half hour seems a little over the top

At the present time despite the drive by energy companies it is not compulsory to have smart meters.
I will consider one when(if) they introduce a standardised meter which is compatible with all suppliers.

Regarding saving money I don’t need a gadget to tell me that if I turn on the central heating I will spend more, similarly if I boil the kettle I will use more electricity, common sense prevails here and as has been said often the gadget advising daily useage/ cost is destined for the back of a drawer when the novelty wears off.

badmemory

FOREVER21 wrote: »

Regarding saving money I don’t need a gadget to tell me that if I turn on the central heating I will spend more,

Exactly! I know in the past when I got rid of the old computer screens and TV my usage went down a lot, as it did when I replaced the washing machine. I also know that when I finally get round to replacing my fridge & freezer that my usage on those should drop to about a third.

I don't need some gadget (IHD) which can't even tell me what my gas meter reading is but only how many kws I've used & that's only an estimate.

They should really save our money (it is our's they are using) and stop what they are doing, get a meter that is fit for purpose & then start fitting them. A meter that is harder to read than an old one, & stops working if you change supplier is not fit for purpose.

They should be able to produce a meter that has digits over an inch tall (after all they no longer have to turn over like cogs) that if you have to press buttons to get the actual meter reading, should have a button that says meter reading.

But I admit to being a control freak who dislikes being patted on the head & told don't worry we'll do it all for you. Being told that just makes me worry even more - it just means they don't want you to see what they are up to.