Smart Meter Removal

937carrera

I have bought a new home with a smart meter fitted and I would like it removed.

I don't want to operate it in dumb mode, neither am I interested in arguments as to why I should want one.

Has anyone had any success in achieving this, which suppliers are willing to co-operate, how do you go about it.

I have done a search and there are stories of people getting them removed, but no tips on how to actually make it happen. The politician who was responsible for introducing them has had his removed https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6884140/smart-energy-meters-blast-eco-friendly-drive/

I'm quite willing to change supplier

Thanks in advance for any suggestions

Carrot007

Doubt you will get anywhere. Certasinly not with the big suppliers and their potential fines (only reason they want you to have one you know they don't really care!).


I am unsure if dumb mode means they will remove the communication modual completely, if so it is then no different to a dumb meter. I would believe so. Why not ask before you spend money.


Maybe some of the smalelr suppliers would do it for a fee (they are not subject to the same targets as the big ones).


Other than that. Get yourself reclissified as a business and provide your own meter. Note, this would be very costly to do, and costly ongoing and subject you to business contracts where you are expected to sign for at least 5 years.

matelodave

It's unlikely that he's had the smart meter removed, he's probably just chuck the In Home Device away.

I'm not sure that the rules allow a smart meter to be removed once they've been fitted. You can try asking various energy suppliers if they would replace it but it will probably cost you around £80-£100 if you can find one who will do it.

In the end you need a meter so it really doesn't matter whether it's smart, dumb, red, white or blue.

Most companies at the moment wont support another suppliers meter so just change your energy supplier and it will become a dumb one - job done

[Deleted User]

OP you have no basis at all in demanding the removal of a smart meter when you can simply switch, and probably get a lower tariff, when the meter just becomes an ordinary common or garden utility meter. No need to call it "dumb " its just a meter , recording usage.
Possibly if you pay a few hundred pounds then a supplier may be interested, but you certainly will not get a supplier to do it for free
.Scottish Power charge approx £220 per meter for a non essential meter exchange, and that`s what you are asking for in this case

Undervalued

Houbara wrote: »

OP you have no basis at all in demanding the removal of a smart meter when you can simply switch, and probably get a lower tariff, when the meter just becomes an ordinary common or garden utility meter. No need to call it "dumb " its just a meter , recording usage.
Possibly if you pay a few hundred pounds then a supplier may be interested, but you certainly will not get a supplier to do it for free
.Scottish Power charge approx £220 per meter for a non essential meter exchange, and that`s what you are asking for in this case

Providing you can reach it in order to press various buttons to get the reading!

An elderly and infirm friend of mine was taken in by the deliberately misleading letters and thought it was compulsory to have smart meters fitted. Her gas meter was at the back of the cupboard under the stairs which is stacked solid as she has very little storage space. She left a small gap through which she could shine a torch to read the old meter. The smart meter never communicated reliably so she had to regularly unpack the cupboard in order to press buttons to get a reading. In frustration she naively changed suppliers so now it doesn't communicate at all leading to a monthly cupboard unpack!

Yes, had it worked properly it would have been a marginal benefit, as long as she didn't change suppliers, but all it has been is a load of hassle and now a regular chore!

Wonderful progress!

[Deleted User]

Undervalued wrote: »

Providing you can reach it in order to press various buttons to get the reading!

An elderly and infirm friend of mine was taken in by the deliberately misleading letters and thought it was compulsory to have smart meters fitted. Her gas meter was at the back of the cupboard under the stairs which is stacked solid as she has very little storage space. She left a small gap through which she could shine a torch to read the old meter. The smart meter never communicated reliably so she had to regularly unpack the cupboard in order to press buttons to get a reading. In frustration she naively changed suppliers so now it doesn't communicate at all leading to a monthly cupboard unpack!

Yes, had it worked properly it would have been a marginal benefit, as long as she didn't change suppliers, but all it has been is a load of hassle and now a regular chore!

Wonderful progress!

I have a long standing hatred of this meter and have been ranting on here for years about just how bad they are for a large section of the population. They should have been outlawed by OFGEM
As a meter reader for 20 years I was shocked to see the Secure Liberty 100 meter in operation about 7 years ago in domestic properties
Ovo and Utilita were the first to employ the cheap Indian made meter designed for small businesses and not meant to be read by domestic users. They used it for their smart prepayment meters which went down very well .
It even has the cheek to have a Kvarh screen on it which is only ever any use to business users. In India it is used because the Kwh reading is not reliable because of all the outages.
. It is not an industry standard meter but that will not stop all the small suppliers, and now one of the big 6, choosing to install this meter purely on price, because it is a cheap meter to buy, less than £40.
I personally struggle to read the meter when its placed in very awkward positions, eg behind TVs/washing machines etc , even with a mirror. My usual method is to press button 9 and video all the screens with a torch lighting the screen up. The general public will find it impossible in some situations, but thats progress

Mister_G

Houbara wrote: »

I have a long standing hatred of this meter and have been ranting on here for years about just how bad they are for a large section of the population. They should have been outlawed by OFGEM
As a meter reader for 20 years I was shocked to see the Secure Liberty 100 meter in operation about 7 years ago in domestic properties
Ovo and Utilita were the first to employ the cheap Indian made meter designed for small businesses and not meant to be read by domestic users. They used it for their smart prepayment meters which went down very well .
It even has the cheek to have a Kvarh screen on it which is only ever any use to business users. In India it is used because the Kwh reading is not reliable because of all the outages.
. It is not an industry standard meter but that will not stop all the small suppliers, and now one of the big 6, choosing to install this meter purely on price, because it is a cheap meter to buy, less than £40.
I personally struggle to read the meter when its placed in very awkward positions, eg behind TVs/washing machines etc , even with a mirror. My usual method is to press button 9 and video all the screens with a torch lighting the screen up. The general public will find it impossible in some situations, but thats progress

I have a Secure Liberty 100 fitted by Ovo many years ago. It came with the Pipit500 IHD. Although leaving Ovo after the first year, and the meter becoming 'dumb', the IHD still works fine. This means that I can still get my cumulative meter read from the comfort of my living room.

I do occasionally check that the IHD reads the same as the meter itself, which it always does.

I assume that it will become 'smart' again one day.

[Deleted User]

Mister_G wrote: »

I have a Secure Liberty 100 fitted by Ovo many years ago. It came with the Pipit500 IHD. Although leaving Ovo after the first year, and the meter becoming 'dumb', the IHD still works fine. This means that I can still get my cumulative meter read from the comfort of my living room.

I do occasionally check that the IHD reads the same as the meter itself, which it always does.

I assume that it will become 'smart' again one day.

https://www.smartme.co.uk/technical.html
The Secure Liberty 100 is on the second list in this link where it claims it is capable of being adopted into the DCC . According to this website this could take place between Nov 2018 and June 2019 when it will magically resume smart meter capability.
Start watching your Pipit IHD very soon to see if it starts to display extra info, you never know !. My bet is on somewhere in 2020 at the earliest. Capita is running the DCC

937carrera

Thanks for all the comments so far.

I didn't want this thread to turn into the usual pros / cons of smart meters. Having been in the industry I do understand what they do and what they don't do quite well, and what the likely consequences of installing them is going to be. I am certainly not going to be misled by "Smart Energy GB", which in my eyes is exactly what has been happening. We the consumers are paying for these meters by the way, indirectly I will accept.

In response to one of the earlier comments, I also have a business contract and you don't have to sign up for them on a multi year basis. The contracts are generally just a bit more contractual than retail at the SME end. I am also aware that switching supplier will likely make a SMETS1 meter dumb, and that you can seperately ask for a meter to be made dumb, but what they switch off remotely will I am sure also be capable of being switched back on again remotely.

As suggested I am inclined to believe that all Mike O'Brien did was unplug the energy consuming in room display and put it in a cupboard. All the smart meter functionality will persist, and if true illustrates just how little the politicians understand.

So far, no real stories of people successfully getting one removed, which is a bit disappointing. Please, someone give me some hope

wavelets

937carrera wrote: »

I have bought a new home with a smart meter fitted and I would like it removed.

I don't want to operate it in dumb mode, neither am I interested in arguments as to why I should want one.

Has anyone had any success in achieving this, which suppliers are willing to co-operate, how do you go about it.

I have done a search and there are stories of people getting them removed, but no tips on how to actually make it happen. The politician who was responsible for introducing them has had his removed https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6884140/smart-energy-meters-blast-eco-friendly-drive/

I'm quite willing to change supplier

Thanks in advance for any suggestions

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=74780609&postcount=279 :cool:

If you are that desperate to have the meter removed, give notice to your supplier that yous wish to terminate the electricity supply to your home.
A charge will apply for disconnection, and they should remove the meter.
(If not, tell them to as you will not accept any ongoing responsibility for it's safebeing, as you will have no electricity supply. If necessary, tell them the wall it is currently on is going to be demolished)

:cool:

wavelets

matelodave wrote: »

It's unlikely that he's had the smart meter removed, he's probably just chuck the In Home Device away....

Correct.

That is the more accurate way the Daily Mail reported it, as opposed to the contemptible comic the OP prefers to rely upon

'I got rid of mine’: Ex-energy minister behind UK smart meter rollout says he binned home power reader...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6002319/I-got-rid-Ex-energy-minister-UK-smart-meter-rollout-says-binned-his.html