Smart Meters - let me know the pro's.... 23 June 2019 at 5:22PM edited 30 November -1 at 12:00AM in Energy 51 replies 3K views

wymondham

Hi All

I'm hearing/seeing a bombardment of ads telling me to save the environment, save the planet and the polar bears (said by young children for maximum effect) by fitting a smart meter. Can anyone let me know how this saves energy or the planet - I've tried to find out but can't see it - I must be missing something?

I currently send in my meter readings each month....

Robin9

wymondham wrote: »

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I currently send in my meter readings each month....

You may do, I may do, most of the regulars on this forum do but many don't - time and again we hear of people who haven't read their meter in years, didn't know they had to, landlords who won't give access to meter cupboards, large catch up bills .............

Smart meters will go a long way to "solving" this problem but the suppliers need to get their act together and respond to flat batteries, dubois readings - that technology is already there, it's the ability to transfer suppliers that is being handled very badly.

Cat_Loving_Lady

You can monitor usage by the minute hour day and month. It also shows spikes in usage I.e when the kettle is on. I use ours to see how much we are using each day. The only way it helps the environment is if it causes you to change your habits ie turning off lights, being more economical. Tbh my Bill's haven't gone down even though I'm using alot less kw because prices have gone up. I'm glad I've got one though because I monitor our usage.

missmaybesaver

They don’t do anything other than record usage, like any other meter - they just make it easier to keep an eye on it 🙂

I guess the idea is that if you can see your usage more clearly then you see what’s using power and use less.

They’re handy for people who can’t take regular readings due to access etc too.

Also if you have solar panels, electric vehicles etc you need a smart meter to be able to take advantage of particular smart tariffs to save you money.

Jonesya

By itself a smart meter doesn't save any energy, but it does provide you with more information about your usage which may help you to reduce your usage.

Smart meters allow the development of new tariffs and in the future we are likely to see tariffs which offer lower prices to encourage consumption during periods when energy is cleaner and cheaper, but charge more during peak periods which tend to be dirtier because older and more polluting power stations need to run to meet the peak demand.

[Deleted User]

wymondham wrote: »

Hi All

I'm hearing/seeing a bombardment of ads telling me to save the environment, save the planet and the polar bears (said by young children for maximum effect) by fitting a smart meter. Can anyone let me know how this saves energy or the planet - I've tried to find out but can't see it - I must be missing something?

I currently send in my meter readings each month....

With someone like you , sending in monthly readings and on top of your real usage, then there is no benefit. You will be most probably aware of what appliances cost to run as well.
The only reason I could see people like you accepting a smart meter is the hard cash inducements of some cracking low smart meter tariffs only available if they agree to have a smart meter fitted.
That recent smart meter only tariff from EDF with gas at only 2.8p/kwh and 16p dsc is tempting especially for big users.
Most of my friends I know and have helped with switching suppliers are absolutely dreadful at sending readings in . You would be lucky to get a reading sent in once every 2 years.
Meter readers are a rare sight nowadays and if they do call round they are not in and out at work. This is normal behaviour for most of the UK IMO and these are the people who need smart meters

AndyCF

There's a few advantage if you prepay in that you have (usually) a lot more choices in how you pay, you can still go to the shop (varies on supplier , some you have to go to Post Office only others you can go elsewhere) or pay online or via an automated phone line etc etc.

I've kept my legacy (digital though!) gas meter for now and won't bother until V2 Smarts are all out, and they have been out for at least six months if not longer to ensure that you are getting a half decent-ish unit to start with, maybe.

Not bothering with this 'we'll upgrade it either by replacing it or updating tis firmware' nonsense. I can see the latter actually going wrong in a few cases, and I used to work in IT. Would be probably better but more costly to replace them all again. Then again who 'forgot' to check that V1's would work with each supplier eh ?

Although I'm not massively fussed about the Smart electric one (its prepay) although I do get more E.Credit on it if needed, I did actually look into having it swapped back and it was going to not be that cheap to do, probably involving switching suppliers to get them to comply as well. I'm relatively happy with it though to be honest. I ignore the IHD apart from its 'credit remaining' screen, that's the only thing I ever look at as to be 100% honest with a prepay meter that's all that really is important. You can always turn a light off if you wanted to save a pence, don't need a meter to tell you that.

emc

wymondham wrote: »

I'm hearing/seeing a bombardment of ads telling me to save the environment, save the planet and the polar bears (said by young children for maximum effect) by fitting a smart meter. Can anyone let me know how this saves energy or the planet - I've tried to find out but can't see it

Smart meters do not save the planet nor the environment, and do not even save energy. They have a display which can be monitored and which may prompt the consumer to switch off devices to stop using electricity, which would save energy.

Therefore the Smart Energy GB adverts are misleading. Each advert raises an emotive and genuinely important issue, such as climate change, showing a child's face with the headline "I want to help fight climate change" but then makes a spurious link to smart meters "I want a smart meter". Then follows a disclaimer that negates the link and the message of the advert "Smart meters can't solve climate change on their own."

The misleading claims from Smart Energy GB have caused the advertising standards agency to ban at least one of their adverts.

The_Fat_Controller

I have found the In Home Display useful, couldn't fathom out how gas was being used one day.

On checking my hob found one burner on the lowest setting, I had turned it right down rather than off after cooking my dinner !

The IHD does make you realise how much each device in the home uses and get's you into better habits.

When I got my smart meter I also moved to monthly billing in arrears, they read the meter remotely and bill me, which is taken by Direct Debit a couple of weeks later, I only pay for what I have actually used after the usage !

Smart_Energy_GB

Hi wymondham.

Smart meters will facilitate better integration of renewable power and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, through efficiently managing energy supply and demand by using near-real time energy data. Smart meters are the foundation of a smart energy system, and without them we will struggle to make widespread use of wind, solar and hydro power. With smart meters, we’ll know when & where cheaper, greener energy is available, cutting down waste and decarbonising the energy system.

Smart meters also make it easier for us to identify the situations where we're using a lot of energy and might want to make changes to reduce it. If you use the information shown on your IHD to help reduce your energy use, you should be able to cut your energy usage.

oliverbrown

wymondham wrote: »

I'm hearing/seeing a bombardment of ads telling me to save the environment

Yes, it must be costing them a fortune to advertise these smart meters.

Sorry, I meant it must be costing US a fortune, via our energy bills.