Getting a smart meter installed

badmemory

If you have any eyesight or physical difficulties then reading the meter yourself may be a problem. When you switch the old supplier immediately loses access to the meter so doesn't have a reading & the new supplier can't access because they are very likely not to be compatable. So basically you are left with them guessing.

System

Posters are highlighting the cons of getting a smart meter, but have failed to mention the one inbuilt energy-saving feature.

Quote: On average a household with a smart meter saves two percent on their energy bills a year, or 354kWh. That may not sound like much, but it’s enough energy to have 115 hot baths or to listen to your favourite song on a tablet every day for 35 years. Unquote Source: SmartEnergy GB

So the average household uses 17,700 kWh/year (354/2*100) and saves 354kWhs. Looking at Ofgem's Typical Domestic Consumption Values, it is impossible to work out how this 17,700 figure is arrived at. As there is no underpinning analysis to support the quoted savings, it seems to be a case of 'Trust Me'. Are people really that stupid?

ariba10

Hengus wrote: »

Posters are highlighting the cons of getting a smart meter, but have failed to mention the one inbuilt energy-saving feature.

Quote: On average a household with a smart meter saves two percent on their energy bills a year, or 354kWh. That may not sound like much, but it’s enough energy to have 115 hot baths or to listen to your favourite song on a tablet every day for 35 years. Unquote Source: SmartEnergy GB

So the average household uses 17,700 kWh/year (354/2*100) and saves 354kWhs. Looking at Ofgem's Typical Domestic Consumption Values, it is impossible to work out how this 17,700 figure is arrived at. As there is no underpinning analysis to support the quoted savings, it seems to be a case of 'Trust Me'. Are people really that stupid?

I can’t quite understand how the very fact of having a “smart meter “ will cut my bills.

Do you have the the gas/electricity at a cheaper rate?

EachPenny

ariba10 wrote: »

I can’t quite understand how the very fact of having a “smart meter “ will cut my bills.

Do you have the the gas/electricity at a cheaper rate?

In theory seeing how much you are spending should make you think about cutting back, so the smart meter IHD has the effect of giving you a 'nudge' to switch off.

You could liken it to being in a taxi and seeing the meter tick up. For some people seeing the rising bill has the effect of asking the driver to pull over because they figure they may as well walk the rest of the way. But if you can't see the taximeter there's less chance you'll do that.

Obviously switching off reduces your energy consumption, and therefore reduces your bill.

The flaw in the plan is that some things you cannot switch off. And also the people most likely to do some switching off are probably the ones who already have an idea about their energy consumption and costs and would do the switching off regardless of getting a 'nudge'.

So essentially smart meters are convenient for people who enjoy monitoring their energy usage very closely, but absolutely useless for people who'd rather open a window in the middle of winter instead of going up/downstairs to turn the boiler off.

There are some smart meter-linked tariffs some customers might find cheaper, but that market is in the very early stages of development. When it is properly established people will - perhaps compulsorily - be paying different amounts for energy depending on the time of day. And most people will probably experience that as a 'penalty' for using energy at the wrong time, rather than as an incentive to use it at the right time.

ariba10

I live in a house that was built towards the end of the first world war (as were all the houses in the area)

The ceilings are nine foot from the floor. The electric meter is as close to the ceiling as is possible to get (overhead power supply)

The gas board in their wisdom moved the gas meter into the garden??

I am in my late 80s.

If they advertised that you “could” make savings of whatever I would understand but not will!

Merlin139

Do you want a Smart Meter?

Do you need a Smart Meter?

Will it save money?

What did Ebico say when you asked them if it was worth it?

These are just a few of the things you need to know, but will you come back to find out the answer?

wavelets

textbook wrote: »

I have just joined Ebico and I have to call them to give meter reading. The guy on the phone suggested a smart meter. Is it worth it? He said they'll install it for free

How do you define "worth it"? :huh:

Remind me, how much did they say they would charge you to have it installed? :cool:
Any charge for supplying it?

badmemory

And just for another negative - sometimes they install them & they don't "make contact" & so you need to read them yourself. You would think that should be easy, it ought to be. But they often seem to not know which buttons you need to press to get the right readings & when you press them they pass by so quickly you have little chance of actually reading them.


This whole thing shouldn't be rocket science, but from what I have seen it seems to be easier to put a rocket in space than put a smart meter that is actually smart in someone's home.


We appear to STILL be in "couldn't organise a booze up in a brewery" territory. I'm waiting for generation 3 meters in the hopes that they finally get their acts together.