Smart Meters

Ultrasonic

carl.waring said:

Plus, of course, all the CO2, and other costs saved, associated with people in cars having to go around manually reading meters for a variety of reasons (including 'must read' and meters read as part of the Priority Services, which they will not have to do for those with Smart Meters.

True, although that needs to be weighed agains the resource and energy costs of making the new meters and IHDs.

carl.waring

Haha! 😂 Yeah. Okay 🙄🤦‍♂️

Oh. You were being serious? Sorry 😊

All these old meters would have to be replaced anyway therefore new meters will always need to be manufactured.

By that train of thought, just think how much we've wasted in the past, then, when we were making all these non-smart meters where we couldn't offset the costs!

QrizB

Ultrasonic said:

Jim431 said:

The advertisng says that smartmeters save energy but go on to say you have to switch something off. I already switch off everything not being used - so what is different ?

The argument is principally that when people see real-time what energy is being used they are more likely to switch things off, or identify what items use the most energy and so choose to use them less, or possibly replace them with more energy efficient models. As you suggest, if you're already doing all of this then I don't believe they will save you energy. Don't totally rule out the possibility that it may still make a small difference to you that you don't expect.

 I thought I was pretty good at switching things off before going to bed but since having my smart meter fitted a couple of months ago I always glance at the IHD last thing at night.

Several times it's been giving an unexpectedly high reading and I've found that one of my kids has left the Xbox on, or something similar. And once it turned out that the freezer door had been left ajar, so closing that saved everything from defrosting.

Ultrasonic

carl.waring said:

Haha! 😂 Yeah. Okay 🙄🤦‍♂️

Oh. You were being serious? Sorry 😊

All these old meters would have to be replaced anyway therefore new meters will always need to be manufactured.

By that train of thought, just think how much we've wasted in the past, then, when we were making all these non-smart meters where we couldn't offset the costs!

I was being 100% serious. When discussing environmental issues it is vital to consider the full situataion rather than just cherry-picking one aspect in isolation. 

Replacing meters that were working perfectly long before their anticipated end of life is clearly wasteful, and old meters didn't have in-home displays at all. Just reflecting the full picture, not arguing against smart meters.

[Deleted User]

I've moved into a house with smart meters (both SMETS 2) and an IHD device.  The information I have on the IHD matches the information on the meters . 

Q)  Is the new supplier able to update the smart meter (and also the IHD information) with the new tariff that I have been on with Eon Next since 1st October?  Is this something that happens automatically or do I have to request it?  That being said the critical information that I use daily is to look at the kWh consumption figures for the previous day and enter them on a spreadsheet for historical comparison and to get a better feel of what appliances are juice hogs.

So compared to my last house (3 bed semi-detached), the bungalow I am now in has been using 18% less gas and 26% less electricity and certainly having the consumption figures available to me on a regular basis (and via a convenient IHD rather than stooping down to look at the meters) is a good thing for me personally.  Having a smart meter is not making me use less energy per se but is giving me more information.  

Gerry1

Dolor said:

Jim431 said:

I expect to get a smartmeter installed when my fixed tariff comes to an end but I don't understand what advantage there is having a smartmeter apart from automatic meter readings.

The advertisng says that smartmeters save energy but go on to say you have to switch something off. I already switch off everything not being used - so what is different ?

The other thing is they seem far more complicated than at present. Don't they use more energy than the existing meters and what does that cost per year ?

Are there batteries to replace ?

Thanks

The gas meter is battery-powered. The battery has a predicted life of 15 years and the meter will notify you (and your supplier) when a replacement is required.

It certainly didn't do so in @matthaus73 's case !

QrizB

DerwentMailman said:

I've moved into a house with smart meters (both SMETS 2) and an IHD device.  The information I have on the IHD matches the information on the meters .

That's a good start!

DerwentMailman said:

Q)  Is the new supplier able to update the smart meter (and also the IHD information) with the new tariff that I have been on with Eon Next since 1st October?  Is this something that happens automatically or do I have to request it?

This should happen automagically.

DerwentMailman said:

That being said the critical information that I use daily is to look at the kWh consumption figures for the previous day and enter them on a spreadsheet for historical comparison and to get a better feel of what appliances are juice hogs.

If you're a data nerd you can sign up to http://www.n3rgy.com/ and download half-hourly consumption figures (the same ones your bill is based on). You might also be able to get them from E.ON Next's website (I've never had a supply account with them, I don't know if this is something they offer but EDF did and Octopus do).

If your meter isn't set up for half-hourly metering you should be ablt to change this via E.ON Next too.

[Deleted User]

Gerry1 said:

Dolor said:

Jim431 said:

I expect to get a smartmeter installed when my fixed tariff comes to an end but I don't understand what advantage there is having a smartmeter apart from automatic meter readings.

The advertisng says that smartmeters save energy but go on to say you have to switch something off. I already switch off everything not being used - so what is different ?

The other thing is they seem far more complicated than at present. Don't they use more energy than the existing meters and what does that cost per year ?

Are there batteries to replace ?

Thanks

The gas meter is battery-powered. The battery has a predicted life of 15 years and the meter will notify you (and your supplier) when a replacement is required.

It certainly didn't do so in @matthaus73 's case !

As usual Jerry, you like to quote outliers. I have never said that the UK’s smart meter programme is in anyway World beating and it has some serious technical issues. However, we all have to accept that the electricity Grid that supplies us has changed from one was solely static generation to one that is more and more dynamic power generation. The latter is mainly weather-dependent and requires much improved demand and supply management. The Grid therefore has a greater need than ever before to profile domestic consumption which only smart metering can do. Dumb electricity metering is about as relevant to electricity supply today as is a man waving red flags is to railway signalling. There is more to smart metering than the supplier getting monthly meter readings.

Gerry1

Dolor said:

Gerry1 said:

Dolor said:

Jim431 said:

I expect to get a smartmeter installed when my fixed tariff comes to an end but I don't understand what advantage there is having a smartmeter apart from automatic meter readings.

The advertisng says that smartmeters save energy but go on to say you have to switch something off. I already switch off everything not being used - so what is different ?

The other thing is they seem far more complicated than at present. Don't they use more energy than the existing meters and what does that cost per year ?

Are there batteries to replace ?

Thanks

The gas meter is battery-powered. The battery has a predicted life of 15 years and the meter will notify you (and your supplier) when a replacement is required.

It certainly didn't do so in @matthaus73 's case !

As usual Jerry, you like to quote outliers.

Who is Jerry?

Dolor said:

Gerry1 said:

Dolor said:

Jim431 said:

I expect to get a smartmeter installed when my fixed tariff comes to an end but I don't understand what advantage there is having a smartmeter apart from automatic meter readings.

The advertisng says that smartmeters save energy but go on to say you have to switch something off. I already switch off everything not being used - so what is different ?

The other thing is they seem far more complicated than at present. Don't they use more energy than the existing meters and what does that cost per year ?

Are there batteries to replace ?

Thanks

The gas meter is battery-powered. The battery has a predicted life of 15 years and the meter will notify you (and your supplier) when a replacement is required.

It certainly didn't do so in @matthaus73 's case !

As usual Jerry, you like to quote outliers.

Hardly an outlier.  Landis + Gyr smart meters are in widespread use and have often been flagged up on the forum for being unreliable and customer unfriendly.

Dolor said:

Gerry1 said:

Dolor said:

Jim431 said:

I expect to get a smartmeter installed when my fixed tariff comes to an end but I don't understand what advantage there is having a smartmeter apart from automatic meter readings.

The advertisng says that smartmeters save energy but go on to say you have to switch something off. I already switch off everything not being used - so what is different ?

The other thing is they seem far more complicated than at present. Don't they use more energy than the existing meters and what does that cost per year ?

Are there batteries to replace ?

Thanks

The gas meter is battery-powered. The battery has a predicted life of 15 years and the meter will notify you (and your supplier) when a replacement is required.

It certainly didn't do so in @matthaus73 's case !

There is more to smart metering than the supplier getting monthly meter readings.

That bit's certainly true.  Government and industry keep very quiet about Load Limiting, Load Shedding etc, and now they're threatening that you'll only be allowed to charge your EV when your charger allows you to do so.

oldandwizend

I had smart meters installed on 21/09/2021 and following days could smell gas so had an emergency call out to SGN.  Problem solved but lucky we hadn’t gone away for a few days! I put that down to just hard luck.

However, I have a several questions for the knowledgeable forumites.

Firstly, my tariff changed on 02/08/2021 and again on 01/10/2021 then supplier went into administration and moved to new supplier on 03/10/21; so, again, a change of tariff.  I note that my IHD is still showing, and calculating costs based on, 02/08/2021 tariff; so two changes ‘out of date’!   I appreciate that actual kWh and subsequent bills will, or should be, accurate but how long after a tariff change should IHD be updated?

Secondly, I am using the ‘Bright’ app (Hildebrand Technology) to monitor usage (IHD is hidden in a cupboard!) and note that it shows data from before the Smart meters were installed. Is this data based purely on industry standard assumed average use?

Finally, I would like to download the usage data.  This does not appear possible with the Bright app.  Are there, currently, any options available that would allow me to do this or is this purely something that a supplier needs to offer.