is it worth installing smart meter? (EON)

shaggy

For the past few years i have been reluctant to get a smart meter installed due to incompatibilities when changing supplier. But now I've switched to EON they are telling me i am eligible for a free 'second generation smart meter' meaning it is fully compatible should I leave EON.

Is it worth going for smart meters in this day and age and what are the drawbacks ?

Gerry1

Disadvantages: If you read the smart meter specifications you will find that your smart meter can have Time of Use tariffs that are prohibitively expensive at peak times (e.g. 4pm - 7pm), that it can limit the power you are using at any time (Load Limiting) and that it can cut you off completely (Load Shedding). All carried out remotely.

Advantages: You may save a whopping £11 per year if you play with the shiny toy and it tells you that you've left the lights on.

JohnB47

shaggy wrote: »

For the past few years i have been reluctant to get a smart meter installed due to incompatibilities when changing supplier. But now I've switched to EON they are telling me i am eligible for a free 'second generation smart meter' meaning it is fully compatible should I leave EON.

Is it worth going for smart meters in this day and age and what are the drawbacks ?

My view is that we will all end up having smart meters. I will not be having ones until it can be guaranteed that they will be at lease 2nd generation.


If you have that commitment, I would go ahead but do think about whether they will work in your environment - regardless of them being 1st or 2nd generation.


I wouldn't want a 2nd generation meter fitted that didn't work because of poor connectivity issues (eg blocks of flats) and then to find that reading the meters myself becomes more difficult. I've read that some smart meter displays aren't easy to read or need lots of buttons to be pressed to get a reading.


I would ask what make of meter is being fitted and post that make here to get some feedback on quality.

chezlong

On the Eon smart meter usability, it is probably the worst I've come across! (Hope theres someone from Eon looking at this). I'd like to be able to see my hourly usage, ideally a graph, but willing to put in the time to write down the numbers, as I want to make sure my main loads are coming on during the Economy7 period. Nope! Despite readings being sent to Eon hourly (or even more frequently?) the stupid display cant show that.
Never mind, I'll use the web app! Oh wait, I cant see any usage data on that at all, except for some estimation garbage.
Let me see my data, Eon.

A._Badger

shaggy wrote: »

For the past few years i have been reluctant to get a smart meter installed due to incompatibilities when changing supplier. But now I've switched to EON they are telling me i am eligible for a free 'second generation smart meter' meaning it is fully compatible should I leave EON.

Is it worth going for smart meters in this day and age and what are the drawbacks ?

As Gerry1 says above, the disadvantages in the future could be very serious indeed. But I'm not sure I can think of any advantages unless you find reading your traditional meter hard for some reason. It certainly can't save you any money that you couldn't already save with a bit of common sense.

MoneyMate

Positive Points
Not having to go outside to read meters in freezing cold wet weather.

Negative
Cost to run inhouse display around 85p per year.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

shaggy wrote: »

For the past few years i have been reluctant to get a smart meter installed due to incompatibilities when changing supplier. But now I've switched to EON they are telling me i am eligible for a free 'second generation smart meter' meaning it is fully compatible should I leave EON.

Is it worth going for smart meters in this day and age and what are the drawbacks ?

Morning shaggy and many thanks for joining us.

We're now fitting second generation SMETS2 smart meters as standard. Something like 95% of installations are SMETS2. There are still some properties where we're working to sort out issues. As I say, these are the exception.

SMETS2 meters retain their smart features following a change of supplier. There's no charge to fit them and they'll send us meter readings automatically so you don't have to. This will help keep accounts accurate and stop estimated bills.

If you do decide to go ahead, you can book an appointment through your online account. Alternatively, you can do this via the Live Chat service on our website. Advisors are online from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and between 8am and 6pm Saturdays.

Please let me know if you need any more information as happy to help.

Malc

Highland76

OP,
I had latest gen SMETS2 meters fitted by E.ON last month, and for me they're worth it. TBH, I couldn't care less about the supplied In Home Display (IHD) and as a result, its switched off and sat collecting dust somewhere in the home lol. What I do care about though, is never having to go outside in freezing weather to take readings again or get estimated bills because I wasn't home to take meter readings (i'm away offshore a lot). IMHO everyone will be forced to have smart meters one day, though that one day could be decades away. So might as well get in early, now that the SMETS2 metering standard has fixed (or is supposed to have fixed) the issue of meter compatibility between different suppliers

Oh and some strange things I've noticed since we had smart meters installed:

* The smart meters haven't given cancer to any family members
* E.ON haven't turned off the electric yet at peak energy usage time
* Perhaps the strangest thing of all, our energy usage has remained the same :rotfl:

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

chezlong wrote: »

On the Eon smart meter usability, it is probably the worst I've come across! (Hope theres someone from Eon looking at this). I'd like to be able to see my hourly usage, ideally a graph, but willing to put in the time to write down the numbers, as I want to make sure my main loads are coming on during the Economy7 period. Nope! Despite readings being sent to Eon hourly (or even more frequently?) the stupid display cant show that.
Never mind, I'll use the web app! Oh wait, I cant see any usage data on that at all, except for some estimation garbage.
Let me see my data, Eon.

Hello chezlong and welcome to the Forums.

I'm sorry you're unhappy with the In Home Display (IHD) that came with your smart meters. We've used several types of IHD since we started installing smart meters. I agree, the early ones aren't as sophisticated as later versions.

Our latest IHDs show how much energy is being used daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. This is in both kWh and pounds. The electricity updates every 10 seconds and the gas every 30 minutes.

For Economy 7 meters, the IHD will only show the reading currently being used. When the time period changes to either day or night the reading on the IHD will also change to match this.

The information shown on the IHDs is in a numerical format and not a graph. At the moment, there's no plan to put graphs on IHDs. This could change as we're always looking to develop our products.

There are graphical displays on the E.ON See pages of your online account. Accuracy depends on the amount of readings on the account. It's best to enter readings in the first week of every month and request a bill. E.ON See takes about two weeks to pull the information through to the graphs. It doesn't go into the sort of detail you're looking for as it shows usage monthly. At the moment, it's best to view E.ON See through a Desktop Browser rather than the App.

We collect readings from smart meters on a monthly basis. They can be collected more frequently including half-hourly provided the customer gives their permission. Please let us know if you would like to change how often we collect your readings. The more readings we have, the greater the accuracy of things like E.ON See.

Sorry again your particular IHD doesn't do what you want chezlong.

Malc

Streaky_Bacon

PROS:

Never having the hassle of needing to take regular manual meter readings.

CONS:

When your energy supplier messes up your billing, coming to this forum and being lectured for not taking regular manual meter readings. :rotfl:

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Highland76 wrote: »

OP,
I had latest gen SMETS2 meters fitted by E.ON last month, and for me they're worth it. TBH, I couldn't care less about the supplied In Home Display (IHD) and as a result, its switched off and sat collecting dust somewhere in the home lol. What I do care about though, is never having to go outside in freezing weather to take readings again or get estimated bills because I wasn't home to take meter readings (i'm away offshore a lot). IMHO everyone will be forced to have smart meters one day, though that one day could be decades away. So might as well get in early, now that the SMETS2 metering standard has fixed (or is supposed to have fixed) the issue of meter compatibility between different suppliers

Oh and some strange things I've noticed since we had smart meters installed:

* The smart meters haven't given cancer to any family members
* E.ON haven't turned off the electric yet at peak energy usage time
* Perhaps the strangest thing of all, our energy usage has remained the same :rotfl:

Hello Highland76 and glad you're okay with your smart meters.

Totally take your point about no longer having to go outside in the wet and cold to take readings. I think it's also worth mentioning the value to customers with disabilities who can't actually take readings. They no longer have to wait for a meter reader/friend/family member/carer to make sure their bills are accurate and not estimated.

Sorry you don't like the display. You seem to be well on top of things without it.

Malc