Old smart meter

yaya73

Hi, really need help! I am with Bulb for my gas and elec. My meter submits a day and night reading which is costing me a lot of money. Bulb told me I had a first gen smart meter but they couldn't update it yet. What can I do about this? I was thinking of changing supplier but would that make a difference??

matelodave

Your meter records what you use - the type of meter makes not a jot of difference whether it's old, new smart, dumb, latest generation or any other it will still record what you use so getting a different one wont reduce your bills. 

However that said,  if you've got gas heating and hot water you may well find that a day/night tariff for your electricity is not the best solution unless you use a significant amount of your leccy during off-peak times (usually midnight to around 7 am) as the day rates can be significantly higher than a single rate and even the off peak rates aren't ever so cheap nowadays.

There are two ways to reduce your energy bills - 1 = use less, 2 = get a cheaper tariff (either with Bulb or another supplier).

There are cheaper energy suppliers than Bulb so perhaps you should get onto a couple of comparison sites to see if you can get a better tariff. You could also put a bit of effort into reading your meters yourself and determining how much energy you use and doing what you can to reduce your consumption by turning stuff off, turning it down or using stuff more efficiently.

The big problem with waiting for a bill and then throwing your hands up in horror is that you've already used it and therefore have to pay for it. However if you actively monitor what you are using and when you use it by reading the meters more often, checking your bills etc you can do something about reducing your consumption and the consequential bills.


How much leccy do you use in a year (look back at your old bills), how much at the day rate and how much at the night rate. What is your tariff (how much is a kwh during the day and during the night and what is your standing charge). Use a comparison site to see whether you can get a better deal

Robin9

yaya73 said:

Hi, really need help! I am with Bulb for my gas and elec. My meter submits a day and night reading which is costing me a lot of money. Bulb told me I had a first gen smart meter but they couldn't update it yet. What can I do about this? I was thinking of changing supplier but would that make a difference??

As @matelodave has said use a comparison site  - eg Citizens Advice or Which -  and see if you can get a better tariff than the one you're on - it shouldn't be difficult to beat Bulb.   

Run the comparison a few times - try different suppliers of gas and electric as dual fuel generally isn't the cheapest option; try combining your day and night electric as E7 generally is not the best option when you've got gas.

If you do change suppliers your Smart meter will probably go dumb and you will need to read your meters monthly - but you already do that don't you ?

Gerry1

Most suppliers would let you switch to single rate without changing the meter, but Bulb have chosen to be awkward and no longer do this.

It's another good reason to leave Bulb because they're unlikely to be the cheapest.  It's not hard to see why - if you and a friend were each paid £50 when you signed up, that £100 has to be clawed back somehow.

When you've identified a cheap electricity supplier, read their reviews on this forum and on Citizens Advice: a couple seem to be the energy companies from hell !