British Gas have suddenly decided to invite themselves round this month

prowla

Un-invite them.

Verdigris

molerat said:

Why do you have to go through the rigmarole of pressing a button several times to get that reading whilst coming across several that could be the reading ?

Some do show the total import figure by default. Depends on the model and how the supplier chooses to set the meter up. If you have a multi-rate tariff you will have to press buttons to see the figures for each. The worst smart meter, IME, is the Liberty Secure range - seven digits plus decimals that shows for about 3 milliseconds before it scrolls through eleventy-dozen other things you didn't want to know.

Gerry1

Dolor said:

es5595 said:

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. 

Yet again, this is just un-necessary scaremongering.  Power is restored when the installer re-inserts the main fuse. This simple action is no different from turning on a light switch and it does not result in a power surge Yes, electrical items will fail, and have done for years, when power is restored/turned on because electrical components age over time. Think of old incandescent light bulbs. 

TL;DR: Definitely not scaremongering, it's just good practice to disconnect sensitive equipment before switching off at the main switch.

The problem is not turning the supply on, it's turning it OFF.  When the supply is turned on at the mains switch, the low impedance of the public network will quench any spikes (BTW, voltage rather than power).  In any case, they'll be quite small because the current will build up relatively slowly in an inductive load.

However, when the supply is switched off at the mains switch, the current flowing in any inductive loads ceases instantly, the magnetic field collapses and the resultant back EMF means that boiler circuitry 'sees' a voltage spike that can be quite large.  That's why relays usually have a quench diode across the coil to protect the the semiconductor that controls it when it switches the relay off.  It also explains why you should never disconnect a car battery with the engine running: there will be nothing to damp the voltage spikes hence the diodes in the alternator are likely to fail.

In contrast, incandescent bulbs tend to fail on switch ON, because the filament is cold and the inrush current will be high.  If part of the filament has become critically thin, it will melt.  It often vaporises, causing the familiar flashover that blows the bulb's internal fuses.

savefortherain

I'm just very surprised they did an appointment without asking, was bizarre at best, intimidating at worst.

Not "here are the benefits of a smart meter, please book asap", just "we're coming round, brace yourself". During a global pandemic no less. Pretty awful way to treat a loyal customer, but as I've been finding out with my broadband, loyalty doesn't pay.

molerat

The problem for the suppliers is that they are getting fined for not fitting enough smart meters.

1 - ask customers if they would like one fitted - the majority will not reply

2 - tell customers they are coming to fit one - the majority of customers will allow it

Option 2 works best, more boxes ticked and gets the regulator off their backs.

JohnB47

Dolor said:

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.

I'll bet that Ofgem don't have figures for Smart Meters fitted but unable to send readings.

The_Green_Hornet

JohnB47 said:

Dolor said:

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.

I'll bet that Ofgem don't have figures for Smart Meters fitted but unable to send readings.

Ofgem may not have the figures but BEIS do.

As of 30 September 2020, there were 22.2 million smart and advanced meters in homes and small businesses in Great Britain, of which 18 million were smart in smart mode or advanced meters.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/937577/Q3_2020_Smart_Meters_Statistics_Report_FINAL.pdf