Ovo secure smart meters

House_Martin

Michaelw wrote: »

This appears to be a more acceptable meter as its more compact then the L&G E470.The secure doesn't have the burden of the external Trilliant hub which the cable is to short to neatly place horizontal over the meter and appears an untidy install in some wall cupboards.Here its tidy as there is more room.

http://www.smartofthehome.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/20130915-164158.jpg

I m not concerned if a meter fitter or a supplier likes them its the end user who has to live with the dreadful things which counts. Its a selfish way of looking at these meters. The standard electric back board has plenty of room on it. Bigger is better anyway when it comes to digital screens
Try and imagine what this meter would appear to someone who has restricted mobility or poor eyesight or is a technophobe. 25% of users won t even be internet users and will not be used to seeing a mass of zeros on the screen for a reading.
These meters will be installed in very hard to access places. I have whole areas where the electric meters are stuck behind the big tellies in corners 12 inch from the floor ! Anyone coming from an easy to read analogue meter which can be easily read from 3 yards away will be bamboozled. And that is progress !
The Secure Liberty meter will cause nothing but trouble in Id guess 50% of households just as soon as it becomes dumb
As I say its origins lies in Indian small businesses.They have nt even updated it for the UK market.
It has 8 digits for the electric Kwh reading, only seen in business meters, it has a Kvah reading on it , also ONLY seen in business meters and this reading will be used by many mistaking it for kwh leading to massive shocks when the computer dishes up an automatic bill. It uses a baffling small keyboard. Its as bad as learning to program an old VHS video.
All our domestic meters never have a set up like that. They have 5 digits and read up to 99999. We are used to that, The gas meter shows Kwh s as a reading, not needed in UK meters, also the gas IHD displays gas kwh but not the cubic metre reading, . Its the hard cash price screen which is of interest to anyone who has nt binned the toys
I am emailing the CEO of Eon to highlight the problems these cheap meter will cause.
Why Eon followed a few of the cheapjack suppliers who were sucked in buying these meters is beyond me.
I understand that the head of Ovo wants to become a multi millionaire as quickly as possible by cutting costs but not one of the big 6 like Eon even if they have Germanic traits and enjoy complexity for the sake of it
.Eon have money problems and this has proved it. Its never a good idea to go "value for money " with something so user unfriendly as an electric meter used by the masses.

mbmonty

klee88 wrote: »

Hi can anyone tell me what energy companies use the 'secure' smart meters other than Utilita.

I want to leave Ovo but I don't like the sound of Utilita either.

Thanks

So called Smart Meters are NOT smart, there is nothing about them that is smart, the only purpose they serve is to move the industry from quarterly billing to monthly billing. Maybe then the energy companies will return the £3bn they have of customers money where the Direct Debit is too high.

They have been called lazy meters on here and elsewhere, which I like because it is true, all you have to do is go to your current meter and read it as often as you need. I do several times a week, take a snap with my phone, there are even apps you can get that will help you, I just use a spreadsheet.

A lazy meter is NOT going to tell you which device is using all your energy, but a £7 device on ebay WILL tell you.

The whole lazy meter project should be scrapped because as a project it will not deliver on the business case. If the industry want to fund it then let them but the standing charge should be scrapped to prevent them screwing us even more than they do now.

Ironically you have to pay for the energy used by the lazy meter.

House_Martin

mbmonty wrote: »

So called Smart Meters are NOT smart, there is nothing about them that is smart, the only purpose they serve is to move the industry from quarterly billing to monthly billing. Maybe then the energy companies will return the £3bn they have of customers money where the Direct Debit is too high.

They have been called lazy meters on here and elsewhere, which I like because it is true, all you have to do is go to your current meter and read it as often as you need. I do several times a week, take a snap with my phone, there are even apps you can get that will help you, I just use a spreadsheet.

A lazy meter is NOT going to tell you which device is using all your energy, but a £7 device on ebay WILL tell you.

The whole lazy meter project should be scrapped because as a project it will not deliver on the business case. If the industry want to fund it then let them but the standing charge should be scrapped to prevent them screwing us even more than they do now.

Ironically you have to pay for the energy used by the lazy meter.

How do you know what the percentage of customers are actually sending readings in at regular intervals. ? suppliers do not employ meter readers very often because that is expensive.
Everyone i know relies on a supplier estimate. They have busy lives and messing about looking at meters never gets done in 2017. They may do it diligently here on this energy forum, but "normal " people can`t be ar**d.
.People are lazy, the smart meter is nt lazy, it does the job we don`t really want to do.
You do not pay for the energy the smart meter uses.
Electric smart meter is mains powered before the meter.
Gas smart meter is battery powered.
The In House Display monitor which is optional and not a meter, uses approx 60 p a year ironically.
Most people stuff it in a cupboard or dustbin after a few weeks..I have !

EachPenny

House_Martin wrote: »

I m not concerned if a meter fitter or a supplier likes them its the end user who has to live with the dreadful things which counts. Its a selfish way of looking at these meters. The standard electric back board has plenty of room on it. Bigger is better anyway when it comes to digital screens
Try and imagine what this meter would appear to someone who has restricted mobility or poor eyesight or is a technophobe. 25% of users won t even be internet users and will not be used to seeing a mass of zeros on the screen for a reading.
These meters will be installed in very hard to access places. I have whole areas where the electric meters are stuck behind the big tellies in corners 12 inch from the floor ! Anyone coming from an easy to read analogue meter which can be easily read from 3 yards away will be bamboozled. And that is progress !
The Secure Liberty meter will cause nothing but trouble in Id guess 50% of households just as soon as it becomes dumb

Couldn't agree with you more on these points HM, especially the bits I've highlighted.

Still, as Smart meters are being installed for the benefit of the consumer, all these valid points will have been addressed.... won't they?:rotfl:

House_Martin

EachPenny wrote: »

Couldn't agree with you more on these points HM, especially the bits I've highlighted.

Still, as Smart meters are being installed for the benefit of the consumer, all these valid points will have been addressed.... won't they?:rotfl:

What I would truly truly like is for the heads of Eon, Ovo and Utilita to come along with me on my rounds to read a few Secure Liberty meters in Tudor Rd ! and I say to them , "right, get in that house, number 21, and have a go at reading your freakin meter, but make sure NOT to read the KVah total !! " Then pretend you are 79 and have a go at next doors meter as well behind the telly.
Just trying to spot button 9 down there in the depths at the back of the TV will defeat them,
Then maybe they will see the truth of what they have bought in in order to save a few quid!
Please bear in mind that most people can t understand the IHD and have flogged it on ebay, binned it,put a hammer through it in frustration, etc most people I meet don`t know what Kwh stands for so Kwah will be equally meaningless
These fat supplier bosses do not live in the real world and are all probably morbidly obese anyway and would nt be able to manage bending over to see their bargain basement Indian meters hidden away in the depths of cupboards and see just how bad they are.

mbmonty

Nick_C wrote: »

Now that is interesting, because your user details say you joined the forum in May this year. So I guess your earlier AEs were PPRd. Was this for calling other posters liars and thieves by any chance?

I have been a regular user of this site for over ten years. I skim all the boards and post on topics that interest me or where I can give advice.

But I think people who have only just joined the forum are just as welcome as anyone else.

Not surprised to see him attacking you, I am new to forum and been going back a long way to get my head around the issues, it seems he was booted off for his conduct.

mbmonty

House_Martin wrote: »

How do you know what the percentage of customers are actually sending readings in at regular intervals. ? suppliers do not employ meter readers very often because that is expensive.
Everyone i know relies on a supplier estimate. They have busy lives and messing about looking at meters never gets done in 2017. They may do it diligently here on this energy forum, but "normal " people can`t be ar**d.
.People are lazy, the smart meter is nt lazy, it does the job we don`t really want to do.
You do not pay for the energy the smart meter uses.
Electric smart meter is mains powered before the meter.
Gas smart meter is battery powered.
The In House Display monitor which is optional and not a meter, uses approx 60 p a year ironically.
Most people stuff it in a cupboard or dustbin after a few weeks..I have !

A relative just got one and the bit in their living room plugs into mains so they are paying for it.

I read my meters at least twice a week to keep an eye on usage, i just photograph it with mobile, I gather that there are even apps that can take those readings and provide more info than these so called smart meters.

As I said it is just lazy if you cannot read a meter once a quarter, albeit that people may be busy.

The real issue is that it is the industry who will benefit from this, they will save the money they pay to send meter readers in the very inefficient way they do.

They will also benefit from cashflow as they move us all to bills monthly.

What I object to mostly is the cost of the programme being billions and hearing the crap ads saying you do not pay more. Just nonsense.

My energy supplier made it's pitch on offering no standing charge and now they have welched on that promise by hiking price by 30%

There energy companies are rip off merchants, we pay for them to gamble pretty much the way the banks did it with derivative.

Of course I am not surprised with your attitude, I have seen your posts insulting and attacking people assuming they are bad, ignorant or whatever.

Oh and the Gas meter on my relatives dumb meter does not work.

House_Martin

mbmonty wrote: »

A relative just got one and the bit in their living room plugs into mains so they are paying for it.

I read my meters at least twice a week to keep an eye on usage, i just photograph it with mobile, I gather that there are even apps that can take those readings and provide more info than these so called smart meters.

As I said it is just lazy if you cannot read a meter once a quarter, albeit that people may be busy.

The real issue is that it is the industry who will benefit from this, they will save the money they pay to send meter readers in the very inefficient way they do.

They will also benefit from cashflow as they move us all to bills monthly.

What I object to mostly is the cost of the programme being billions and hearing the crap ads saying you do not pay more. Just nonsense.

My energy supplier made it's pitch on offering no standing charge and now they have welched on that promise by hiking price by 30%

There energy companies are rip off merchants, we pay for them to gamble pretty much the way the banks did it with derivative.

Of course I am not surprised with your attitude, I have seen your posts insulting and attacking people assuming they are bad, ignorant or whatever.

Oh and the Gas meter on my relatives dumb meter does not work.

I m certainly not "attacking " or "insulting " any poster on here, especially you, you have only been on the forum since December last year.
Why do you, what could be described as "attack ", the suppliers from working more efficiently with the use of smart meters ?.If they can increase their profits then surely that is a good thing.
Americans would all applaud that.
The more efficiently a supplier can run their business would mean they could offer cheaper tariffs.
They do not need to be employing huge staff numbers running call centres placating grumpy customers yelling down the phone line at them who do not understand their energy bills. Smart meters promise to end all the bickering from Joe Public so everyone would get an exact bill all the time and would never need to get in touch with any supplier with a billing problem.
Any call centre employee will tell you what a stressful job they have dealing with the UK public especially a public who thinks the supplier is diddling them
They need to run their businesses as profitably as possible just like any other business. If they don t they go to the wall like 3 suppliers have already in the UK recently.
I ve already stated that the customer pays for the in house display, which is not a meter. Simply unplug the thing if you want to save 60 p a year.
Please inform your relatives that they have to inform the supplier as soon as possible that their gas meter is nt working.
It is in everyones terms and conditions to inform the supplier if the meters become faulty.
a faulty meter could be a dangerous meter

Nick_C

mbmonty wrote: »

I am new to forum and been going back a long way to get my head around the issues

Welcome to the Forum. There are a lot of knowledgeable, helpful people on here who can provide good advice about a variety of issues.

And there are a few trolls who go out of their way to be rude and obnoxious.

You soon learn which is which. Don't let the trolls put you off.

House_Martin

Nick_C wrote: »

Welcome to the Forum. There are a lot of knowledgeable, helpful people on here who can provide good advice about a variety of issues.

And there are a few trolls who go out of their way to be rude and obnoxious.

You soon learn which is which. Don't let the trolls put you off.

Yes there is. Last week I had a FM imply I was a fraud a cheat and a hypocrite all in one short sentence. Quite disgraceful language, completely rude and obnoxious and totally uncalled for .
We are supposed to be a friendly forum on here and by and large we are but there is precious little friendliness from some FMs .
A lot of petty back biting though from the odd person who harbours long standing grudges