British Gas have suddenly decided to invite themselves round this month

savefortherain

Not for Christmas dinner, but to install a smart meter. Not really done any research on these, I like the idea of not having to give them readings every month. What work does it involve? It's not one of those pre payment things I assume.

However, we are in the middle* of a global pandemic and unless it is an absolute emergency, I am not letting anyone into my home. What are my rights here, the email received seems very official and definite, hence why I am making this post instead of ignoring it.

*yes, middle, we are far from out of the woods yet regarding covid19

Robin9

Lots and lots of threads on this forum re Smart Meters - for and against.

Are the meters actually in your house or in the garage or outdoor meter box?

Changing the Electric takes less than an hour; Gas about 90 mins.   The fitters will be wearing full ppe and there's no need to talk face to face.

MWT

You can decline the appointment citing your Covid concerns and rearrange for a suitable date in the future, or simply decline as there is no compulsion to have them fitted, unless you have put yourself on a tariff that requires a smart meter, in which case they can move you to a less favourable tariff if you continue to decline.

The only time they can insist on fitting a new meter is if the old meter has reached the end of its service life, do they mention that in their letter?

matelodave

MWT said:

The only time they can insist on fitting a new meter is if the old meter has reached the end of its service life, do they mention that in their letter?

Who determines when it's reached the end of it's service life? Lots of people have meters that are 20-30 years old and others have had them changed when they are less than ten years old.

The manufacturers may certify them for a certain lifetime but surely it's up to the meter owner ((the supplier, DNO or even the meter leasing company)to decide when or if he wants to change a meter and to even decide what sort or make of meter to install. There may not be a legal requirement to have a smart meter but it doesn't prevent the supplier in specifying one although you can request that it's smart functionality isn't activated.

savefortherain

Robin9 said:

Lots and lots of threads on this forum re Smart Meters - for and against.

Are the meters actually in your house or in the garage or outdoor meter box?

Changing the Electric takes less than an hour; Gas about 90 mins.   The fitters will be wearing full ppe and there's no need to talk face to face.

Can I get a brief summary of the for and against? It's only a small house and the meters are in the living room.

matelodave

savefortherain said:

Robin9 said:

Lots and lots of threads on this forum re Smart Meters - for and against.

Are the meters actually in your house or in the garage or outdoor meter box?

Changing the Electric takes less than an hour; Gas about 90 mins.   The fitters will be wearing full ppe and there's no need to talk face to face.

Can I get a brief summary of the for and against? It's only a small house and the meters are in the living room.

The last thing you'll get is a brief summary - you need a meter to measure either your gas or leccy, so does it really matter what sort it is any more than it's colour.

There are the conspiracy theorists who all reckon it's plot to subvert the population, others who think it'll fry their brains and those like me who think that they are a really good idea as it helps you get accurate bills without having to read the meter and send the readings in once a month and can avoid bill shock for those who cant be bothered to read their meters

So you take your choice, a bit like Marmite, you either hate them (with no specific reason) or like them because they've got advantages.

Just my opinion you understand but I'm sure that Gerry will be along in a moment with his views 

[Deleted User]

To answer the OP’s question. The installation should take no more than an hour. All installers now have to be CV19 secure. The installer will confirm that smart meters are suitable for your home; ie, checking the signal and meter box size etc. He will then turn off your gas boiler (if you have one) and replace the meter. He will then turn off your electricity; fit the comms hub and the electricity meter. They then go through a 34 point installation on their phone. This includes reading your meters; removing meters from the database; pairing the gas meter to the electricity meter/comms hub; gas pressure check etc. He will also connect and leave you with a working IHD. There is nothing to fear here. I have had SMETS2 meters for 18 months. 

JohnB47

[Deleted User] said:

To answer the OP’s question. The installation should take no more than an hour. All installers now have to be CV19 secure. The installer will confirm that smart meters are suitable for your home; ie, checking the signal and meter box size etc. He will then turn off your gas boiler (if you have one) and replace the meter. He will then turn off your electricity; fit the comms hub and the electricity meter. They then go through a 34 point installation on their phone. This includes reading your meters; removing meters from the database; pairing the gas meter to the electricity meter/comms hub; gas pressure check etc. He will also connect and leave you with a working IHD. There is nothing to fear here. I have had SMETS2 meters for 18 months. 

Unless you have the experience of quite a few people who post on this forum. You could end up with smart meters that, even if they are the latest technology, don't send their readings automatically and/or the In House Display doesn't work. Meaning you could end up having to take, with more difficulty than before, the meter readings manually. Or it could go swimmingly and you'll wonder what the fuss is about. S'up to you.

es5595

Also, how old is your boiler? There have been a spate of recent incidents of the smart meter installation causing a surge that has fried circuit boards. 

Otherwise, they seem like a good idea and you’ll have much more accurate bills without the hassle of reading the meters. 

[Deleted User]

Like them or hate them, according to Ofgem there were 17.4M smart meters operating in smart mode as at 30 Jun 20. Yes, there are some ongoing problems which some suppliers appear to be dealing with better than others.

MWT

... and if you do go ahead, make sure you take a photo of the current meters before they are removed so you have a record of the readings just in case the wrong numbers are send in by the engineer...