Smart Meters

[Deleted User]

@House Martin

Soldered on batteries, as you say will make changing them in situ fun for some locations.

System

The thought of someone using a soldering iron close to a gas meter just beggars belief. The experts say that there are two risks to battery life: one, a faulty battery and. two, frequent firmware downloads. These meters and their batteries are designed to send minute pulses of information every 30 minutes and no more.

For example, I have an optical spot meter reader that sends me gas usage every 15 minutes. Its 2 AA batteries have a design life in excess of 3 years and no soldering iron is needed to replace them.

House_Martin

Hengus wrote: »

The thought of someone using a soldering iron close to a gas meter just beggars belief. The experts say that there are two risks to battery life: one, a faulty battery and. two, frequent firmware downloads. These meters and their batteries are designed to send minute pulses of information every 30 minutes and no more.

For example, I have an optical spot meter reader that sends me gas usage every 15 minutes. Its 2 AA batteries have a design life in excess of 3 years and no soldering iron is needed to replace them.

Have you ever seen your gas powered central heating boiler in action ? beggars belief how dangerous that is.
Battery compartment of these meters are totally isolated and sealed from gas supply.I could light a flame thrower on it never mind a soldering iron. The battery compartment would ve been tested to withstand a battery shorting out, and they can get very hot.
Next you will be telling me how dangerous an electric meter is very close to a gas meter lol

sevenhills

gsmlnx wrote: »

@House Martin

Soldered on batteries, as you say will make changing them in situ fun for some locations.

On a gas meter! I know there are no flames, but would that get past health n safety?

buglawton

Hengus wrote: »

The thought of someone using a soldering iron close to a gas meter just beggars belief. The experts say that there are two risks to battery life: one, a faulty battery and. two, frequent firmware downloads. These meters and their batteries are designed to send minute pulses of information every 30 minutes and no more.

For example, I have an optical spot meter reader that sends me gas usage every 15 minutes. Its 2 AA batteries have a design life in excess of 3 years and no soldering iron is needed to replace them.

My gas fitter was brazing the live pipe from my meter with a blowtorch. When I expressed astonishment he said, normal practice. Gas is not flammable unless mixed with oxygen.

zeupater

Hi All

Apparently questions have been asked in parliamentary committees and in house debates regarding smart-metering leading to the revelation that as of ....

... the end of January 2018 somewhere between 8 & 10 million smart-meters had been installed in the UK of which, according to the DCC, only around 250 conforming to the SMETS2 standard had been supplied for testing. Questions raised in Parliament related to the Smart Meters Bill on 5th February 2018 <Hansard v635 c1288> suggested that only 80 of the 250 supplied units had been installed to that date even though SMETS2 units should have been installed in volume from 2014 onwards ...

Smart-Metering: A clever green solution rapidly becoming a white elephant?

The article goes on to highlight & question the reason for extending project timescales by delaying the date ...

... by which licensable activities will have ceased from 2018 to 2023 is likely the first official recognition that the project is seriously behind schedule and unlikely to meet the 2020 deadline as specified by the EU ...

... also highlighting an inconsistency between the 80 SMETS2 linked to the DCC by January 2018 & previous (January 2017) claims made by the DCC that they had attained ...

... SMWAN coverage of 97% to in excess of 99% for installations in various areas ..

... apparently a test conducted before any of the 240 SMETS2 compliant meters had been made available for testing.


There's also an interesting take on the validity of the BEIS project cost/benefit analysis with respect to delays and duplication ...

Interesting .... :think:

HTH
Z

System

@zeupater. Thank you for the link. There are so many conclusions in the article that I agree with; particularly,.......

Quote: the basic points raised above suggest that as opposed to being a well scoped and managed project, there are now plenty of reasons to believe that project strategic responsibilities are unclear, management is almost none-existent, and no-one is actively driving what is effectively an out of control runaway scheme. Unquote

A scheme that we are all paying for.

zeupater

Hengus wrote: »

@zeupater. Thank you for the link. There are so many conclusions in the article that I agree with; particularly,.......

Quote: the basic points raised above suggest that as opposed to being a well scoped and managed project, there are now plenty of reasons to believe that project strategic responsibilities are unclear, management is almost none-existent, and no-one is actively driving what is effectively an out of control runaway scheme. Unquote

A scheme that we are all paying for.

Hi

After checking out the site's satellite weather page today (do this often to optimise self-use of solar!) I followed the Hansard link in that article & found reading the proposed clause 5 & 6 amendments to the 2008 Energy Act quite interesting ...

New clause 5 Requirement on suppliers to provide information on cost of smart meter programme to consumers;

(1) The Energy Act 2008 is amended as follows.
(2) At the end of section 88(3) (power to amend licence conditions etc: smart meters), insert;
(m) provision requiring the holder of a supply licence to include information with consumer bills on the cost to consumers of the Smart Meter Implementation Programme.;

This new clause would allow the Secretary of State by order to amend licence conditions so that energy suppliers are required to include the cost to the customer of the Smart Meter Programme in all customer energy bills for the period covered by the energy bill.


New clause 6;Smart Meter Implementation Programme: review of cost to consumers;
(1) Within 3 months of this Act coming into force, the Secretary of State shall commission an independent review of the cost to the consumer of the Smart Meter Implementation Programme.
(2) The review under subsection (1) shall include
(a) a breakdown of the costs to consumers of component parts of the Smart Meters Implementation Programme including the cost of the DCC;
(b) the potential benefits to consumers of information on the cost of the Smart Meter Implementation Programme being included on energy bills and statements;
(c) a longitudinal estimate of the cost to consumers to date and the projected future cost of the Programme; and
(d) such other matters as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
(3) The Secretary of State must lay a report of this review before both Houses of Parliament as soon as practicable after its completion.

This new clause would require the Secretary of State to commission an independent review of the cost to the consumer of the Smart Meter Implementation Programme that must consider the potential benefits to consumers of including a summary of the cost on their energy bills and statements.

... so it looks like they're looking to tie the energy sector down on being transparent & advising consumers how much we'll be paying for these "Free" -or- "supplied at no cost to the customer" meters as opposed to hiding the project cost amongst a general environmental total ....

Probably 10 years later than it should've been, but better late than never ... :whistle:

HTH
Z

badmemory

Do you think anybody, gov or ombudsman or whoever, would ever dare enforce that act? I can't see anyone wanting us to know how much they have actually thrown away in the last few years on this & almost all to no avail!

zeupater

badmemory wrote: »

Do you think anybody, gov or ombudsman or whoever, would ever dare enforce that act? I can't see anyone wanting us to know how much they have actually thrown away in the last few years on this & almost all to no avail!

Hi

As long as the clauses make it through the process as currently worded, there's not much anyone can do to hold the process - 'shall' & 'must' are pretty compelling terms ...

The only issue I see is that the decision to implement the powers made available by clause 5 would depend on the analysis required by clause 6(2) and how this is seen by the Secretary of State (under scrutiny of both houses) when considering changing supply licenses ...

At worst, there's a detailed analysis & at best the shady practices linked to the smart-metering project have the bright light of transparency shone upon them! ... <shades on ready! .. :cool:>

HTH
Z