Should I opt for a dumb smart meter?

MWT

brewerdave said:

I WAS told by a previous supplier ,that the meters are fitted with the comms. module - just not set up to operate as smart if you don't want it ?

They will usually want to fit the comms unit as it enables remote firmware updates and status monitoring but they can turn off the data collection features. Also allows them to turn on the data collection without another engineer visit if the customer changes their mind or a new customer moves in.

It is however arguable that it is your right to insist that the comms module is not fitted.

Once fitted though you have no right to ask for it to be removed.

Gerry1

MWT said:

brewerdave said:

I WAS told by a previous supplier ,that the meters are fitted with the comms. module - just not set up to operate as smart if you don't want it ?

They will usually want to fit the comms unit as it enables remote firmware updates and status monitoring but they can turn off the data collection features. Also allows them to turn on the data collection without another engineer visit if the customer changes their mind or a new customer moves in.

It is however arguable that it is your right to insist that the comms module is not fitted.

Once fitted though you have no right to ask for it to be removed.

If the comms module is fitted then presumably it will still be phoning home frequently, albeit without giving meter readings, and responding to incoming calls thereby defeating the OP's intention.

[Deleted User]

Verdigris said:

MWT said:

It was like this in the USA when smart meters first rolled out there, it died down after a year or two.

I imagine it will be the same here until some other technology change attracts peoples attention...

We had this nonsense when mobile phones first became affordable, in the 1990s. Everybody was going to get brain tumours. I've never read of a case of mobile-induced tumours, even unto the 5th generation.

Radio had been in the hands of professionals for decades before cellphones came along, the difference is that cellphones are used by lay people whose imagination runs riot when they read words like 'radiation', and don't understand the difference between ionising radiation and non-ionising radiation. The nocebo effect takes over from there.

If radio was causing cancer it would have shown up long ago among people like me who work with radio all day long.

[Deleted User]

Verdigris said:

If people are worried about being fried by EMF they shouldn't have electricity in the house, what with all those wires radiating all the time.

It's conspicuous that people's allergy to EMFs never seems to extend to the things they like using.

MWT

Gerry1 said:

If the comms module is fitted then presumably it will still be phoning home frequently, albeit without giving meter readings, and responding to incoming calls thereby defeating the OP's intention.

That was my point, if the OP wants no comms, not just simply a dumb meter they need to make that clear to their supplier or the order may still go through with a comms module but no data collection.

[Deleted User]

At times, I wish that MSE was a bit more like Wikipedia. Everyone thinks that they know what a dumb SMETS1 meter is: it is a meter that has all its bits and pieces in place but it has lost contact with a supplier usually because of a switch. To all intents and purposes this meter is still ‘live’: hence, the ability of suppliers to rollout firmware to enable the meter to be enrolled with and adopted by the DCC.

I confess that I have absolutely no idea what a dumb SMETS2 meter is. Like everybody else I can speculate, but it is only speculation. I am not aware of anybody that actually has a dumb set of SMETS2 meters.

Elmer_BeFuddled

Had smart meters fitted by E.on at the beginning of August 2020. Since then the electric meter has never "phoned home" and I've continued to submit readings manually, though both meters speak to the IHD. Luckily (!?!) for me the leccy meter is at eye level next to our CU.
Also luckily for me the gas meter does "phone home" every month as it is fitted on the floor, in a small cupboard which it shares with a spare dogs bed, ironing board, bumper pack of loo rolls, 2 vacuums and a floor steamer! Don't fancy fighting my way through that lot to take meter readings monthly, though I can easily get my hand on the cut off valve if so required.

Verdigris

Also luckily for me the gas meter does "phone home" every month

The gas meter only whispers to the electric meter. The electric meter phones home on it's behalf.

Phones4Chris

Verdigris said:

MWT said:

It was like this in the USA when smart meters first rolled out there, it died down after a year or two.

I imagine it will be the same here until some other technology change attracts peoples attention...

We had this nonsense when mobile phones first became affordable, in the 1990s. Everybody was going to get brain tumours. I've never read of a case of mobile-induced tumours, even unto the 5th generation.

I think that's a little disingenuous of you. It could be that you aren't reading in all the right places, I've no idea myself, but I think I'd rather take the word of an ENT Consultant than that of the occasional reader of medical documents (are they?), since retiring as a meter reader! I'm not trying to be nasty, just pointing out the facts.

Verdigris said:

If people are worried about being fried by EMF they shouldn't have electricity in the house, what with all those wires radiating all the time.

Oh dear, have you not appreciated that mains electricity is a rather low frequency (50Hz) compared to the frequencies used for smart meters, phones and the likes!

Verdigris said:

There is no EMF hazard from smart meters. They communicate in much the same way as mobile phones. You don't put a smart meter to your ears on a regular basis.

Deleted_User said:

.............. No danger of EMF from a smart meter. Its not a microwave.

It doesn't have to be a microwave. ANYTHING that transmits radio waves creates an EMF. Different frequencies can affect different people in different ways, it's not necessarily just (if at all) a cancer risk. My suspicion is that there isn't sufficient research to draw any hard conclusions. I thought a few years ago I saw something about cancer clusters in areas where people were living right under very high voltage power lines.

Whatever your view and opinions on the matter, and you are welcome to have them, the OP has the right to minimise or eliminate any EMF fields that they feel or have been advised may make their condition worse. The OP has said nothing about using mobile phones, so that's an assumption that may have been incorrectly made. It's @littlewren 's choice, they've just asked about making the meter "dumb". Based on other comments here and my earlier comment, to be certain, the comms unit should NOT be fitted.

mac.d

I don't think saying you don't want a smart meter means its still fitted but only it only receives data and doesn't send anything back. It either is connected or it's not. Does anyone actually know if you request a non-smart meter, do they fit it without the comms unit or is it fitted as normal but just not activated? 

My only 'experience' of possible EMF levels was the first laptop I owned. Whenever I used it to connect to the internet I'd get a headache after about 30mins, but if I just used it without being connected, no headache - though this only happened if I was sitting with it on my lap, when it was sitting on a desk instead, no issues when connected to the internet. This was years ago and I've never noticed anything similar despite the plethora of wireless connections that exist these days. But I wouldn't just rubbish people's concerns, some people can be hugely sensitive to stuff that has no affect on most others. I would think that a smart meter in a cupboard in the hall or in a cupboard under the stairs shouldn't really be a concern, but that's maybe not the case for some.