MSE Poll: Energy smart meters: What's your view?

telemarks

donny_jim wrote: »

I like your comment but that moving emoji is annoying.

Just for you, rolling head removed from my post. :):D:p:cool:cool2::cheesy:

:hello: :hello: :hello: :hello: :hello: :hello: :hello: :hello:

angry

Once sufficient people have smart meters, the energy companies will begin to mandate their use, and introduce dynamic charging (eg according to time of day).
Dynamic charging will be cheaper for some and more expensive for others, but I suspect it will disproportionately affect the less well off.
Dynamic charging is not something I want to have to think about. Technology should make our lives simpler, but this will give people something else to worry about, especially those who aren't as well off ("I can't put the washing on until 9pm when it gets cheaper...").

This is why I want to avoid getting a smart meter; to stave off this future for as long as possible.

Vickimichelle

We have had a British Gas one for nearly a year now & had no problems. I find it quite interesting to see how much energy certain appliances use & it helps keep us on budget. :money:

MothballsWallet

indesisiv wrote: »

I can't select an option, as there are none that really fit.
I have a smart meter that is not smart because I moved to a different company... I then moved back to the original company and it still can't be made "smart" again.
I can't say that I ever used it before even when it was smart as I never had the remote bit plugged in.
I only switched so that it would send meter readings, which it now no longer does.



I just plug my handheld thing in and it displays the meter readings after a few secs. No need to read the meter.

Can you set your handheld thing to always display the meter readings and not the cost? I think that could be a more useful function (since the cost calculation depends on the tariff prices, which is why the meter needs to always be in smart mode to get the benefit).

DigForVictory

Godfather's mum had a smartmeter fitted & now lives in terror of it. (It predicts how much they will bill her.)

She's also twigged (Far Too Late) that switching suppliers is now more difficult & that her old ways of reading each month & switching each year were altogether more In Her Control? Ah well.

Me, I have a slightly less fixed income but a far more robust attitude to some snotty device telling me how much it plans to raid my piggy bank by, while charging me for the power it needs to run & for piggybacking on my internet.

It may be that in my declining years I will appreciate something else peering into the cupboard & reporting on my by internet, but right now my preferred digital assistants are my fingers & thumbs.

indesisiv

MothballsWallet wrote: »

Can you set your handheld thing to always display the meter readings and not the cost? I think that could be a more useful function (since the cost calculation depends on the tariff prices, which is why the meter needs to always be in smart mode to get the benefit).

Mine isn't plugged in to display anything unless I plug it in to get a meter reading.
Although it doesn't show the costs as the meter has stopped doing that due to a tariff change I think.
I honestly can't say what mine will display, I just know where the meter reading bit is.

I've never really got the point in showing the info... if I am boiling the kettle it is going to cost, as does putting the heating on .. simple, use less, pay less.

Charis

I've just had a woman from Scottish Power phone up and tell me she wanted to arrange for me to have a smart meter fitted. They are my supplier but I don't want one. I told her I am probably moving before the end of June, which I hope will be the case. She said I could still have one fitted. I said I didn't want one anyway, to which she replied that I have to have one, everyone is going to have to have one. I did not appreciate the tone of her voice and felt her behaviour to be unacceptable. I don't usually get annoyed on the phone but I said 'That's a lie, no one has to have one.' I hung up on her.

If this is an outright lie, as I believe it to be, is there someone official we can report it to? I found her very rude and I don't accept that I should be bullied in my own home. I think some elderly people might be so scared of these tactics that they have one fitted even though they have no idea what they are. From the comments above this could lead them into difficulty and they probably wouldn't have a clue how to check their readings, even if they can reach their meter, which is not always the case. Several people on MSE have reported their boilers failing after a smart meter has been fitted. Elderly people can't wait for days for a solution to the problem, especially in the winter months. Why is this bullying allowed?

No one in any official capacity seems to have said why these things are suddenly needed. I suspect, like others, that it is simply so they can increase the tariff when we are most likely to need electricity. These meters do not show you which appliances use the most energy, they merely show when the usage goes up and down. It should be easy enough to identify the energy guzzlers, most come with alphabetical ratings these days and the wattage should be in the instruction booklet.

shropshirelady

They'd need a court order to put one in my home! There's no way I'm having one.

peter_the_piper

When the software is common to all suppliers I'll consider one, until then no chance.

jay-w

I think Smart Meters are a great tool for a busy life-style. Unfortuately - what your Energy Co. doesn't tell you is that they are not standardised. So if you switch Energy Supplier - chances are your previous suppliers meter won't work with your new supplier. Or so I've been told. As a small business owner & private consumer, I've attempted to get Smart Meters, but if you ask the right questions of your supplier,they will own up to the fact that it is not universal std. Allegedly the industry is working on a universal meter but until that is a reality, you could find yourself in the position of having to swop Smart Meter as well as supplier. Also the smaller Enegy co's, who are the most open about this, do not tend to deal in Smart Meters. Also be aware, that in future there may be a charge for installing them and that Energy companies are trying to enact the changeover as quickly as possible to avoid additional charges. No such thing as a free lunch.