Anything Positive about Smart Meters?

benny5

I’m currently with EDF as they offered the best fixed rates when my last deal ended in April.

Part of the deal was the acceptance of a Smart Meter at some time in the future (it was the early stages of Covid then). So far I’ve heard nothing and will delay their installation as long as I possibly can, sending reading every month as its no hassle for me.

Big question is; with so much negativity on this site regarding Smart Meters, does anyone have anything positive to say?

Petriix

Smart meters work well if you want to access something like Octopus Go or Agile tariffs which charge different rates at different times or if you have solar panels and want to be paid for actual exports. Otherwise no, they're just a massive waste of money and a pain to read manually (which everyone should be doing regularly).

Gerry1

Smart Meters are absolutely great - for industry.

Instead of investing £££ in adequate generating capacity as life expired power stations close down, they can just dictate how much customers can use and when they can use it.  You can also have complex tariffs that change all the time so that nobody has a clue what the prices are, let alone being able to compare them.  Smart meters put them in total control: when there's not enough to go round they can make the prices prohibitive for you.  If that doesn't work, they can ration you to a kilowatt or two.  If that doesn't work, then they can disconnect you remotely.

And before any shills start talking about tin foil hats and conspiracy theories, it's all fact.  It's all there in the specifications which you can read online.  They weren't drawn up for the fun of it, they've just promoted mythical energy savings (now estimated at a mere £11/year) and shiny toys to a gullible public and glossed over the demand management aspects.

So if you're happy with The Meter Says No, just get a smart one !

Dumb People have Smart Meters.  Smart People have Dumb Meters.

JGB1955

I have no problem with Smart Meters - I have one that has been dumb for (possibly) 5 years.  Am I bothered?  Not at all.  Do I want it upgraded?  Still not bothered.  I read (and upload) my meter readings every month.  I would still do that with a 'modern' SM. No change.

benny5

Petriix said:

Smart meters work well if you want to access something like Octopus Go or Agile tariffs which charge different rates at different times or if you have solar panels and want to be paid for actual exports. Otherwise no, they're just a massive waste of money and a pain to read manually (which everyone should be doing regularly).

Gerry1 said:

Smart Meters are absolutely great - for industry.

Instead of investing £££ in adequate generating capacity as life expired power stations close down, they can just dictate how much customers can use and when they can use it.  You can also have complex tariffs that change all the time so that nobody has a clue what the prices are, let alone being able to compare them.  Smart meters put them in total control: when there's not enough to go round they can make the prices prohibitive for you.  If that doesn't work, they can ration you to a kilowatt or two.  If that doesn't work, then they can disconnect you remotely.

And before any shills start talking about tin foil hats and conspiracy theories, it's all fact.  It's all there in the specifications which you can read online.  They weren't drawn up for the fun of it, they've just promoted mythical energy savings (now estimated at a mere £11/year) and shiny toys to a gullible public and glossed over the demand management aspects.

So if you're happy with The Meter Says No, just get a smart one !

Dumb People have Smart Meters.  Smart People have Dumb Meters.

JGB1955 said:

I have no problem with Smart Meters - I have one that has been dumb for (possibly) 5 years.  Am I bothered?  Not at all.  Do I want it upgraded?  Still not bothered.  I read (and upload) my meter readings every month.  I would still do that with a 'modern' SM. No change.

Well that pretty much sums up the whole SM fiasco, total waste of consumers money.

MWT

I'm very happy with mine, it is the only way I could get a tariff like Octopus Agile and pay a rate per kWh that Clif and OFTM could only dream of

comeandgo

I have a dumb smart meter.  It's no different from the meter it replaced.  I still have to read it and give readings to company, our remote location means it does not do what it should.

GunJack

In answer to the OPs question......no

Sterlingtimes

Gerry1 said:

Dumb People have Smart Meters.  Smart People have Dumb Meters.

I am one of the people who Gerry 1 describes as "dumb". We cannot all be as intelligent as Gerry 1. Yet I did save £300 last year by moving onto a smart meter tariff which charges differential rates for each 30-minute slot. The relatively minor inconvenience is to minimise electricity consumption between 4 PM and 7 PM, e.g. not doing the laundry during those hours. 

Gerry1

Sterlingtimes said:

Gerry1 said:

Dumb People have Smart Meters.  Smart People have Dumb Meters.

I did save £300 last year by moving onto a smart meter tariff which charges differential rates for each 30-minute slot. The relatively minor inconvenience is to minimise electricity consumption between 4 PM and 7 PM, e.g. not doing the laundry during those hours. 

You must have been on the world's worst tariff !

I'd certainly be extremely Dumb if I moved to Bulb's absurdly expensive smart tariff.  Their off-peak rate is always more expensive than my 24 hour single rate, their 5pm - 8pm peak rate is more than DOUBLE, and their daily charge is 51% higher.  That's Dumb for you !

Highland76

benny5 said:

Big question is; with so much negativity on this site regarding Smart Meters, does anyone have anything positive to say?

Yes, I'm very happy with my smets2 meters which i had installed last year through E.ON. They work as they should and even when after I moved to EDF in June, they retained full functionality...shock horror(!). My main reason for getting them installed was never having to manually submit meter readings again as I work for long periods offshore so previously I used to get estimated bills - this is no longer the case. If you get smets2 meters installed, then you've pretty much got nothing to worry about despite all the horror stories out there.