Octopus Tracker

debitcardmayhem

Qyburn said:

Which raises the question, how does the smart meter data deal with time changes? Did it return 50 readings, with the period 01:00 to 02:00 appearing twice, on the day it changes BST to GMT? And obviously 46 readings when it changed GMT to BST.

logically it should use utc and its up to the receiving end to sort it out

masonic

Qyburn said:

Which raises the question, how does the smart meter data deal with time changes? Did it return 50 readings, with the period 01:00 to 02:00 appearing twice, on the day it changes BST to GMT? And obviously 46 readings when it changed GMT to BST.

Consumption data is returned using timestamps. For example 2024-01-22T00:00Z or 2024-07-01T00:00+0100. At least by the time it gets through to the Octopus API, consumption grouped by day can comprise 46 or 50 readings at the start and end of BST. However, there are always 48 HH readings in each 24 hour period. I've never bothered to check whether the IHD daily consumption matches local time or is fixed to UTC, but I suspect the former because the IHD clock (synchronised with 'server time') observes BST. Providing timestamps are used, it doesn't matter from a billing perspective what time zone the meter observes.

Spies

Take this with a pinch of salt, however I predict the last day of the month we will be notified of the formula change for Tracker, that way there will be 30 days notice before the 1st March. 

MultiFuelBurner

Spies said:

Take this with a pinch of salt, however I predict the last day of the month we will be notified of the formula change for Tracker, that way there will be 30 days notice before the 1st March. 

Well that would be nice of Octopus for us to get the majority of winter out the way.

Telegraph_Sam

Bit late in the day to put this query:
What "alerts" you that there has been an instance of missing data - with all the consequences for averaging that we have been reading about? Naively perhaps I just take my gas and electric / smart and non-smart bills as gospel, not having seen anything drastic that would cause me to suspect a system failure.  I don't go looking through the bills twice a month for missing data (which I believe I would have to cross check with Guy Lipman's software). Is the explanation that members of this forum ARE sufficiently switched on by the topic that they spontaneously go to the trouble of checking everything all the time? Admiration is due if so. Pity that there isn't an ignition warning light.

masonic

Telegraph_Sam said:

Bit late in the day to put this query:
What "alerts" you that there has been an instance of missing data - with all the consequences for averaging that we have been reading about? Naively perhaps I just take my gas and electric / smart and non-smart bills as gospel, not having seen anything drastic that would cause me to suspect a system failure.  I don't go looking through the bills twice a month for missing data (which I believe I would have to cross check with Guy Lipman's software). Is the explanation that members of this forum ARE sufficiently switched on by the topic that they spontaneously go to the trouble of checking everything all the time? Admiration is due if so. Pity that there isn't an ignition warning light.

Was discussed about a week ago: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80531673/#Comment_80531673

There are apps and the Guy Lipman website which will tell you exactly where you have gaps without having to cross check anything. There's little point checking after a bill has been produced. It would only be worth knowing near the time so that action can be taken to avoid an averaged bill in the future.

Here's my missing data report from Guy Lipman, showing one solitary missing HH data point during the time my new meter was provisioning:

Telegraph_Sam

Thanks. The point I was trying to make was: What is it, if anything, that triggers me to look up Guy Lipman in the off chance that something might be missing in the first place? Other than studiously looking through the bill details as a matter of course, and trying to distinguish averaged readings in place of missing data.
I haven't checked but last time I communicated with GL he said that his data did not include Tracker.

Spoonie_Turtle

Telegraph_Sam said:

Thanks. The point I was trying to make was: What is it, if anything, that triggers me to look up Guy Lipman in the off chance that something might be missing in the first place? Other than studiously looking through the bill details as a matter of course, and trying to distinguish averaged readings in place of missing data.
I haven't checked but last time I communicated with GL he said that his data did not include Tracker.

Presumably just a periodic check if you don't want to comb through your bills.  Proactive rather than reactive.

Your tariff won't affect what data your smart meter has recorded, in this context.

masonic

Telegraph_Sam said:

Thanks. The point I was trying to make was: What is it, if anything, that triggers me to look up Guy Lipman in the off chance that something might be missing in the first place? Other than studiously looking through the bill details as a matter of course, and trying to distinguish averaged readings in place of missing data.
I haven't checked but last time I communicated with GL he said that his data did not include Tracker.

You would do it periodically before your bill date. Once a bill has been produced it is too late to do anything about it.

I think you misunderstood GL when he said his data didn't include Tracker. It doesn't mean people with Tracker can't see their usage data, just that he can't calculate bills using Tracker. You can still explore your data and check for gaps.

fuelcrusher

I have a strange one at the moment. Guy Lipman page tells me I have a missing half hour on 20th Jan 05:30 - 06:00. The octopus website indeed has this half hour missing with the total for the day of 20.03kWh. However when I check the app I can see that half hour of data 0.43kWh and the days total shows 20.46kWh so it adds up exactly.

So, leave it to see if the web site corrects or just send a reading to average. Averaging annoys me because we do load shift. Last time I 'tweeted' them over a similar I was ignored so I don't think I'll bother that avenue.