Smart Meters

Richmc

jk0 wrote: »

Crikey. They must be more dangerous than I thought.

Must be the EMF radiation, tinfoil hats on order!
Flipping spellchecker!

House_Martin

badmemory wrote: »

I'm still going to wait for SMETS3

The SMETS2 s have over the air ,OTA upgradeable so you are ok to accept a SMETS2.
You will be very happy with one of them, then you can relax and let the meter watch your "every move " keeping the supplier in touch with every thing you do.
They will know what time you get up, put the kettle on, when you are out etc.a true fit and forget meter.Whats not to like about them ?
You are then safe in the knowledge that you pay exactly the correct amount you should be paying.The word "estimate " will be banished forever

3piece-wheel

Is it ok to paint or spray Smart Meters as after 2 years mine a looking a bit on the drab side and don`t look very smart at all...

badmemory

House_Martin wrote: »

The SMETS2 s have over the air ,OTA upgradeable so you are ok to accept a SMETS2.
You will be very happy with one of them, then you can relax and let the meter watch your "every move " keeping the supplier in touch with every thing you do.
They will know what time you get up, put the kettle on, when you are out etc.a true fit and forget meter.Whats not to like about them ?
You are then safe in the knowledge that you pay exactly the correct amount you should be paying.The word "estimate " will be banished forever

In the over 40 years I have been paying energy bills I have never ever paid an estimated one. My only current concern is that when I change supplier, which I am going to have to do VERY soon, is that I will no longer be able to supply monthly readings and have bills prepared monthly automatically. I don't want to change supplier as they all seem to be incompetent & my current one seems to be trained since their last software nightmare, but I need to avoid the 37% price increase they are promising as the latest "good deal".

I have included in the price increase the daily charge which has doubled presumably due to the cost of fitting these new meters.

Richmc

badmemory wrote: »

In the over 40 years I have been paying energy bills I have never ever paid an estimated one. My only current concern is that when I change supplier, which I am going to have to do VERY soon, is that I will no longer be able to supply monthly readings and have bills prepared monthly automatically. I don't want to change supplier as they all seem to be incompetent & my current one seems to be trained since their last software nightmare, but I need to avoid the 37% price increase they are promising as the latest "good deal".

I have included in the price increase the daily charge which has doubled presumably due to the cost of fitting these new meters.

I've just left Green Energy but they do bill you on a monthly basis on your meter readings, and they don't have a standing charge, so may suit you. I'm now with One select who do have a standing charge but are cheaper than green energy, the thing is I know what my exact yearly usage is at 3000kWh so have a fixed direct debit, they are new and I'm new to them so I will see how it goes, it's a fixed one year tarrif.

Nick_C

badmemory wrote: »

In the over 40 years I have been paying energy bills I have never ever paid an estimated one.

While you can always get an estimated bill changed if it is the latest reading that is estimated, I've often had bills where the meter reading has been estimated at the date of a tariff change. Smart meters do away with that problem.

I've often had estimated bills when I've been away when I've been asked for a meter reading. Although these estimated bills can be recalculated, doing so results in additional costs for the supplier which of course are passed on to the consumer.

No more estimated bills, no more having to take meter readings, no more unexpected increases or big credit balances because the estimates are wrong; many of us welcome smart meters.

A._Badger

Nick_C wrote: »

No more estimated bills, no more having to take meter readings, no more unexpected increases or big credit balances because the estimates are wrong; many of us welcome smart meters.

Let's see if you still feel the same way in a few years time when you have to choose what time of day you run the tumble drier, depending on what your supplier feels like charging at that moment.

Nick_C

A._Badger wrote: »

Let's see if you still feel the same way in a few years time when you have to choose what time of day you run the tumble drier, depending on what your supplier feels like charging at that moment.

Due to the phasing out of coal fired power stations, the failure to replace nuclear power stations that are approaching end of life, and the increased reliance on unreliable renewable sources, we are facing a serious energy crisis.

If we can avoid black outs by encouraging people to do their washing or drying at 2am then I'm all for it.

Changing consumer behavior is clearly a major drive behind rolling out smart meters.

I would have preferred successive governments to plan ahead and ensure an adequate supply of nuclear power, but we are where we are.

buglawton

A._Badger wrote: »

Let's see if you still feel the same way in a few years time when you have to choose what time of day you run the tumble drier, depending on what your supplier feels like charging at that moment.

It'll turn it by itself based initially on a smart plug and ultimately by the appliances themselves when they become smart. The option to override at a higher rate will always be there. Biggest issue with lack of EU planning is standardisation. We need a supplier-agnostic smart meter standard (stop rolling out obsolescent smart meters now) and a communications standard for smart energy consumption in smart appliances and add-on smart plugs.

House_Martin

A._Badger wrote: »

Let's see if you still feel the same way in a few years time when you have to choose what time of day you run the tumble drier, depending on what your supplier feels like charging at that moment.

British Gas have been running a Time of Use tariff for a while now. Only available to smart electric meters with BG.
Its the free 8 hrs electric for either Saturday or Sunday tariff
.Popular with the many people who do not want to go on fixed deals and stay on S.V.
Nothing to fear from TOU tariffs.They have been in use for decades anyway with Eco 7 and 10 etc.
Some people may welcome the chance to use heavy use appliances at certain times of the day. I would