SMETS will NEVER work

dibby15

I live in a 5-storey block of flats in Hove, and the gas meters are all installed in the basement. Due to the amount of concrete between the basement and each flat, SMETS gas meters will never work [the Electricity meters are on each floor next to the flat, so should not be a problem there]. Can a supplier eventually insist on fitting a SMETS gas meter when it will never work? Is there an answer to this puzzle?

matelodave

The fact that you may not get an IHD to work in your flat, doesn't mean that a smart meter can't or wont work as a smart meter and send it's data back to the supplier. In some cases a repeater, remote antenna or wireless mesh network would allow that to happen.

The smart bit is the meter and it's communications to the supplier, not the device that sits on your coffee table or windowsill

Robin9

I have a Smart Gas meter in a cellar - the installer ran a long cable to a battery/comms pack on the outside. Works fine.

bengalknights

They usually attach a mini antenna type device to a external wall and wire it to meter on deep installs to allow the broadcast back to suppliers.

WhoIsThat

dibby15 wrote: »

I live in a 5-storey block of flats in Hove, and the gas meters are all installed in the basement. Due to the amount of concrete between the basement and each flat, SMETS gas meters will never work [the Electricity meters are on each floor next to the flat, so should not be a problem there]. Can a supplier eventually insist on fitting a SMETS gas meter when it will never work? Is there an answer to this puzzle?

I'm sorry, but I do not agree with your thread title, nor the premise on which you base your question, and therefore will not comment further at this time.

[Deleted User]

WhoIsThat wrote: »

I'm sorry, but I do not agree with your thread title, nor the premise on which you base your question, and therefore will not comment further at this time.

whether it will work or not it wont matter.A dumb digital gas meter, E6 usually,is exactly the same in its dimensions you would not know the difference, and could not tell without taking it apart.
Smart version just has a small module inside..
Matelot is correct, there is a way round gas meters not communicating to the electric meter because ot the distance or thick walls

brewerdave

Houbara wrote: »

Matelot is correct, there is a way round gas meters not communicating to the electric meter because ot the distance or thick walls

But ,I suspect in the current circumstances, such installations will come way down the "priority list".
There are still so many standard installations to do and so little time...……..tick, tock -2024 cometh:rotfl:

Talldave

One unachievable deadline is very much like another....

[Deleted User]

brewerdave wrote: »

But ,I suspect in the current circumstances, such installations will come way down the "priority list".
There are still so many standard installations to do and so little time...……..tick, tock -2024 cometh:rotfl:

Yes, neverending updates from Capita who are running the DCC ..Last one this November.. I ve given up on looking out for an example of a successful smart switching ..Brexit is 3.5 years and counting, this seems longer !

Kid_Icarus

Smart Gas meters send their readings back to DCC (and then to the supplier) wirelessly via a comms hub. This is an oblong box a bit smaller than a 1litre juice container and gets its power from a smart electricity meter. The IHD also gets its data from the comms hub and therefore has to be within range to receive this data.

So as long as the gas meters are within range of a smart electricity meter they will be able to communicate back to the DCC. Gas meters do not have any mains electric supply to operate for obvious reasons (they all have a long life internal battery).

The whole concept of an IHD is now redundant - way back in the early days of the smart metering program it was obviously the way to go, but technology has moved on yet the suppliers keep ploughing on wasting money trying to get IHDs to work.

Almost everyone has a smart phone of some kind these days, it would be far better to scrap IHDs (which only get dumped in a drawer a few months after installation, once the novelty has worn off) and send consumption data to an app on your phone. It would then be possible to do clever things with geolocation "you appear to be away from home, but your smart iron is still plugged in. We've turned it off for you" etc etc.

badmemory

And what about those of us who don't spend a lot of money on a useless fancy mobile phone because we barely have a signal on a good day? Just to be clear I do not live in the middle of nowhere. Just a small town near a bigger town & quite near a rather big city.