EON Smart meter and Inhouse display

shudman

Having recently had a SMETS2 smart meter fitted by EON, they give a nice little inhouse display (IHD) unit (made by Chameleon) to show your usage currently and historically. Splendid !
So when the engineer left me he said "I did put your IHD in the kitchen, but it didn't seem to get a connection....so I moved it to the room right next to the smart meter". The smart meter is in a box outside, and the IHD is about 2 metres away from it....and it gets 2 "bars" of signal. I move it 3 metres away...and it says "lost connection".:mad:

So, I call EON, and after a bit of a run around and escalation, a manager says "Oh, known issue in your area, you have a poor signal". I debated/argued and tried to get my point across, that the IHD-to-Smartmeter comms has NOTHING to do with "area" signal. I fully understand that the smartmeter to supplier, is over a mobile-data type network....and they were receiving data from my meter. There was then some ridiculous comparison to my phone connecting my wifi router, which I countered by saying "you'd be happy then if you had to sit 2m from your router to get wifi?". I asked to speak to someone technical and they said I was at the highest place, and if I wanted to take it further to contact the ombudsman !! Wow :eek:
So, I call Chameleon, was told that they cannot really help, and that my comms can really only be with EON as they supplied it. However, she was super helpful and did however say, that my understanding of Zigbee comms (IHD-Mater comms) was correct, and likely to be an issue with the meter or (less likely) the IHD. Has anyone else come across this issue ? How can I move this along in EON, as this is their issue.

Robin9

Don't bother - you'll be bored with the toy after a week.

shudman

Great - thanks for the constructive reply.
Whilst it may seem a gimmick to you, IHDs have been very helpful to me on at least two occasions. I am simply after some information as to whether people have seen this problem before, and if so how to fix it. I simply thought people were a little more helpful around here, rather than just give snide and unhelpful comments.

matelodave

It would be interesting to see what other people's IHD range is.

Mine is only around 3m from the meter so it sits on a windowsill in the dining room which backs onto the meter box.

I'd prefer it in the kitchen but that's around 7m away with a couple of walls in between.

I dont use it to actually monitor my consumption because I need to press buttons to get to the appropriate screens but it's useful to remotely read the meter so saving me having to go outside

RG2015

I am with Eon and mine only drops from three bars to two bars at about 15 metres. I would recommend persisting with Eon to get a different IHD.

Mister_G

matelodave wrote: »

It would be interesting to see what other people's IHD range is.

Mine is only around 3m from the meter so it sits on a windowsill in the dining room which backs onto the meter box.

I'd prefer it in the kitchen but that's around 7m away with a couple of walls in between.

I dont use it to actually monitor my consumption because I need to press buttons to get to the appropriate screens but it's useful to remotely read the meter so saving me having to go outside

My Liberty 100 SMETS1 meter with the Pipit 500 display works over about 4m through two brick walls and shows 3 bars of signal strength on the display. It even works OK at the furthest point in the house, some 10m away (although only showing one bar).

Like you, I find it far more convenient than going outside in the cold and wet!

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

shudman wrote: »

Having recently had a SMETS2 smart meter fitted by EON, they give a nice little inhouse display (IHD) unit (made by Chameleon) to show your usage currently and historically. Splendid !
So when the engineer left me he said "I did put your IHD in the kitchen, but it didn't seem to get a connection....so I moved it to the room right next to the smart meter". The smart meter is in a box outside, and the IHD is about 2 metres away from it....and it gets 2 "bars" of signal. I move it 3 metres away...and it says "lost connection".:mad:

So, I call EON, and after a bit of a run around and escalation, a manager says "Oh, known issue in your area, you have a poor signal". I debated/argued and tried to get my point across, that the IHD-to-Smartmeter comms has NOTHING to do with "area" signal. I fully understand that the smartmeter to supplier, is over a mobile-data type network....and they were receiving data from my meter. There was then some ridiculous comparison to my phone connecting my wifi router, which I countered by saying "you'd be happy then if you had to sit 2m from your router to get wifi?". I asked to speak to someone technical and they said I was at the highest place, and if I wanted to take it further to contact the ombudsman !! Wow :eek:
So, I call Chameleon, was told that they cannot really help, and that my comms can really only be with EON as they supplied it. However, she was super helpful and did however say, that my understanding of Zigbee comms (IHD-Mater comms) was correct, and likely to be an issue with the meter or (less likely) the IHD. Has anyone else come across this issue ? How can I move this along in EON, as this is their issue.

Hello shudman and welcome to the Forums.

I'm sorry some of the information we've given hasn't been up to scratch. As you say, the In Home Display (IHD) receives information from the electricity meter. The issue with the lost connection shown on the IHD is not about the wider area network signal. This problem will be with the communication between the electricity meter and the IHD within your home.

We do find issues similar to those you describe where the meter is situated away from the IHD. Each property is different and presents its own individual challenges. Any material between the two points trying to communicate can affect the signal quality. Wood, plasterboard and other building materials generally have a minimal impact on the signal. Thick stone and concrete can have a bigger impact. Metal has the biggest impact.

I suspect something along these lines is affecting the connection between the electricity meter and the IHD at your home. This will be why our technician placed the IHD next to the meter. Totally understand this isn't always suitable and we're looking at ways to extend the reach of these communications.

These problems are industry wide and we're working with outside specialists who are looking for solutions on behalf of all energy suppliers. This is an ongoing project and, as yet, I don't have a time frame.

Sorry again the response you received when you called wasn't adequate shudman.

Malc

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

RG2015 wrote: »

I am with Eon and mine only drops from three bars to two bars at about 15 metres. I would recommend persisting with Eon to get a different IHD.

Hello RG2015 and I'm afraid a different IHD wouldn't sort this issue.

As in my reply to shudman above, the difficulty is with the communications between the electricity meter and the IHD. A different IHD will face the same issues. We need to come up with a solution whereby we can extend the reach of these communications and overcome the obstacles that currently act as barriers. This is something we're working on.

This problem only affects certain homes and it's good the reach you're seeing is much longer RG2015.

Malc

shudman

Malc...thankyou for your reply. Whilst I appreciate your comment about

"Any material between the two points trying to communicate can affect the signal quality. Wood, plasterboard and other building materials generally have a minimal impact on the signal. Thick stone and concrete can have a bigger impact. Metal has the biggest impact."

I thought I would do a test and I have a pair of photos (but cannot seem to upload here) of one 50cm just outside from the meter box, and one 3m away.....IN OPEN AIR.There are no walls, no metal (metre cab is plastic).
This HAS to be a meter component failure (HAN) or IHD itself. How can I get these replaced ? Bear in mind I have not even had this installed a week !!

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

shudman wrote: »

Malc...thankyou for your reply. Whilst I appreciate your comment about I thought I would do a test and I have a pair of photos (but cannot seem to upload here) of one 50cm just outside from the meter box, and one 3m away.....IN OPEN AIR.There are no walls, no metal (metre cab is plastic).
This HAS to be a meter component failure (HAN) or IHD itself. How can I get these replaced ? Bear in mind I have not even had this installed a week !!

Hello shudman and thank you for the additional information.

I'd suggest referring this to our specialist smart meter team. Please contact us and ask to be put through to the Smart Centre. They're available from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and between 8am and 6pm Saturdays.

I'm sorry there's nothing more I can add to my previous post.

Malc

Blot

Why do I increasingly get the conviction the whole SMETS programme is a dogs dinner.