Smart Meters

House_Martin

Nick_C wrote: »

Are you saying OVO are lying when they say their meters will remain smart if you switch to E.On? Why would they lie about this?

We are stuck with this system until SMETS2 meters are rolled out next year, and data sharing is brought in for SMETS1 meters.

I don't think suppliers have anything to gain by having incompatible meters. All it means is if you switch and your meter isn't compatible with your new supplier's systems, then the new supplier has the cost of installing another smart meter.

Ovo are not lying but the call centre chappie misunderstood, he/she would nt lie . Landis and Gyr smart meters are used by more suppliers than the Secure meters and they do not stay smart on switching. .Not long ago Eon and First Utility both used Landis Gyr meters too until they cut costs by using the same Secure meters used by Ovo and now Eon, that is Secure Liberty 100. They retail for not far off half price that the Swiss Landis/Gyr meters sell for. This why the smaller suppliers buy these unsuitable meters for domestic properties.
I might add that Landis Gyr have SMETS1 and 2 compatible meters now all ready for the DCC going live.Both Secure and Landis meters have SMETS1 with upgradable over the air Zigbee versions which may not need a call out to make them compatible for smart switching.
BG and Sainsburys Energy keep smart after a switch and use the same call centres and servers

Michaelw

The possibility of software problems can also begin to arise.As well as battery life in the gas meter these firmware upgrades have lead to problems.

https://www.cleanenergynews.co.uk/news/efficiency/sse-reassures-customers-after-smart-meter-upgrade-malfunction

https://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/3006147/failed-edf-smart-meter-update-failed-to-log-usage-leaving-customers-facing-bill-shock

Theres a lot of debate regarding upgrading these meters too.

http://www.nickhunn.com/smart-meter-update/

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd

I have the Landis Gyr G470 671 Smart Meter and would like to understand what happens to the smart meter when the battery meter fails:
• Does the gas meter valve shut off?
• Does the actual smart meter display when pushed (not In House Display) give an indication of low battery?

badmemory

Nick_C wrote: »

Are you saying OVO are lying when they say their meters will remain smart if you switch to E.On? Why would they lie about this?

We are stuck with this system until SMETS2 meters are rolled out next year, and data sharing is brought in for SMETS1 meters.

I don't think suppliers have anything to gain by having incompatible meters. All it means is if you switch and your meter isn't compatible with your new supplier's systems, then the new supplier has the cost of installing another smart meter.

Why would they lie? Is there anything on any of their websites which says their meters will still work after a supplier change? If there is then go ahead. Hopefully it won't be yet another meter the rest of us have to pay for. I hope we do all realise that we are paying for these meters that are supposed to be saving the suppliers money (not us).

badmemory

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd wrote: »

I have the Landis Gyr G470 671 Smart Meter and would like to understand what happens to the smart meter when the battery meter fails:
• Does the gas meter valve shut off?
• Does the actual smart meter display when pushed (not In House Display) give an indication of low battery?

So 3 hours on and no-one has an answer to this! It is not a minor issue in a mostly gas using house, nobody is prepared to state that when a battery fails you will still be able to heat & cook! No low battery warning! Not even a "you can replace the battery yourself" notification. How many reasons does a reasonable person need to not have a smart meter fitted?

Nick_C

badmemory wrote: »

Why would they lie? Is there anything on any of their websites which says their meters will still work after a supplier change? If there is then go ahead. Hopefully it won't be yet another meter the rest of us have to pay for. I hope we do all realise that we are paying for these meters that are supposed to be saving the suppliers money (not us).

They say this on their Web site. See post99

Then in post 100 you say people are naive to believe it!

System

badmemory wrote: »

So 3 hours on and no-one has an answer to this! It is not a minor issue in a mostly gas using house, nobody is prepared to state that when a battery fails you will still be able to heat & cook! No low battery warning! Not even a "you can replace the battery yourself" notification. How many reasons does a reasonable person need to not have a smart meter fitted?

There is a clue in the word 'smart'. Part of the SMETS is that these meters are supposed to pass self test diagnostic information back to the supplier that SHOULD inform them inter alia when a battery needs to be replaced. Sadly, that appears not always to be the case:

https://forum.ovoenergy.com/smart-meters-smart-products-33/battery-in-meter-is-dead-565

The more worrying scenario, in my view, is a cyber attack on meters which have built in remote disconnection. The Government will have us believe that this cannot happen: industry cyber experts say that it is not a question of 'if it is just a matter of 'when'.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170816100230.htm

House_Martin

Hengus wrote: »

There is a clue in the word 'smart'. Part of the SMETS is that these meters are supposed to pass self test diagnostic information back to the supplier that SHOULD inform them inter alia when a battery needs to be replaced. Sadly, that appears not always to be the case:

https://forum.ovoenergy.com/smart-meters-smart-products-33/battery-in-meter-is-dead-565

The more worrying scenario, in my view, is a cyber attack on meters which have built in remote disconnection. The Government will have us believe that this cannot happen: industry cyber experts say that it is not a question of 'if it is just a matter of 'when'.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170816100230.htm

We have three meter readers in our section, (not " engineers "lol )who replace batteries at short notice, but only for dumb credit and prepayment gas meters. All our smart meters (Landis Gyr and Seimens need a complete meter exchange if the battery dies before the usual 10 year lifespan.
I can t speak for the Liberty cut price meters that Ovo snapped up when they entered the smart meter game 5 years ago, but I would be surprised if those meters can easily have their batteries alone changed . I m not surprised that occasionally people put in bogus reports about smart meters though and that some people take it all in at face value

Norman_Castle

House_Martin wrote: »

All our smart meters (Landis Gyr and Seimens need a complete meter exchange if the battery dies before the usual 10 year lifespan.

Do you know of any that have had a failed battery? If so.

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd wrote: »

I have the Landis Gyr G470 671 Smart Meter and would like to understand what happens to the smart meter when the battery meter fails:
• Does the gas meter valve shut off?
• Does the actual smart meter display when pushed (not In House Display) give an indication of low battery?

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd

House_Martin wrote: »

We have three meter readers in our section, (not " engineers "lol )who replace batteries at short notice, but only for dumb credit and prepayment gas meters. All our smart meters (Landis Gyr and Seimens need a complete meter exchange if the battery dies before the usual 10 year lifespan.

What happens to the meter if battery dies after the 10 years?