Smart Meter and Chameleon IHD6 Device

WebProd

Hi,

I have a SMETS2 Smart Meter from SSE. Then, I changed provider and went for Bulb (cheaper but much worse customer service :-( ). 
I now have a Chameleon IHD6 device from Bulb but it doesn't connect to the Smart Meter. 

If someone's a professional here, can you tell me if it should be possible to have an IHD provided by Bulb to work with a SMETS2 smart meter provided by SSE? 

Thanks

[Deleted User]

There are numerous SMETS2 meter and IHD manufacturers. All devices have to comply with the relevant technical standards before they are  allowed on to the smart meter network. You will need to contact the smart meter team at Bulb as only they can connect the IHD to the secure Home Area Network that is generated by your smart meter communications hub.

WebProd

[Deleted User] said:

There are numerous SMETS2 meter and IHD manufacturers. All devices have to comply with the relevant technical standards before they are  allowed on to the smart meter network. You will need to contact the smart meter team at Bulb as only they can connect the IHD to the secure Home Area Network that is generated by your smart meter communications hub.

Thanks. So you're saying that it is technically possible to connect an IHD from company X to a SMETS2 smart meter from company Y? 

brewerdave

I'm a bit confused - "normally" the IHD is supplied when the smart meter is first fitted ie by SSE. Many people have reported difficulty in getting an IHD supplied afterwards - how did you persuade Bulb to supply one ?? They should have known that it needs to be "paired" with the meter(s)

es5595

I have the Chameleon IHD6 device and I’m on bulb. It’s a house I moved into so not sure which order it all arrived in, but if does connect to the smart meter… albeit only if it’s on the inside wall where the smart meter is outside. Literally it’s got to be a metre or two away. 

Also, it doesn’t seem to update with any of the bulb pricing so it’s constantly out of date and giving me incorrect info. Definitely not as helpful as I thought it would be! 

WebProd

brewerdave said:

I'm a bit confused - "normally" the IHD is supplied when the smart meter is first fitted ie by SSE. Many people have reported difficulty in getting an IHD supplied afterwards - how did you persuade Bulb to supply one ?? They should have known that it needs to be "paired" with the meter(s)

SSE did give me an IHD, but it's not an IHD6, it's an old one. 
So this is the full story: 

When I switched to Bulb, I absolutely needed an IHD6 because I got an offer from Bulb to get Samsung SmartThings Hub v3 + SmartThings motion sensors and smart plugs for £1. I have an automated house and I needed an IHD6 to be able to connect it to my SmartThings ecosystem to automate some things according to my electrical consumption. 

I convinced Bulb to send me an IHD6 by opening a formal complaint to the Energy Ombudsman lol.... 

MWT

WebProd said:

Thanks. So you're saying that it is technically possible to connect an IHD from company X to a SMETS2 smart meter from company Y? 

100%

I helped someone transfer from SSE to Octopus, they had a smart electric meter from SSE but not smart gas.

Octopus supplied a smart gas meter and a new IHD6 which they connected to the new gas meter and the original SSE electricity meter.

It will require Bulb to 'join' the IHD to the meters but it is a routine task (although not as simple as it should be) and should not cause them problems.

WebProd

MWT said:

WebProd said:

Thanks. So you're saying that it is technically possible to connect an IHD from company X to a SMETS2 smart meter from company Y? 

100%

I helped someone transfer from SSE to Octopus, they had a smart electric meter from SSE but not smart gas.

Octopus supplied a smart gas meter and a new IHD6 which they connected to the new gas meter and the original SSE electricity meter.

It will require Bulb to 'join' the IHD to the meters but it is a routine task (although not as simple as it should be) and should not cause them problems.

Thanks a lot. Good news for me! They've been really unhelpful at Bulb. As I said, I had to make a million complaints, including one to the Energy Ombudsman to get an IHD in the first place, but now, I'm stuck with useless agents who don't understand what needs to be done to connect my IHD to my SSE smart meter.... A pure nightmare. 

Would it please be possible to explain in more details what needs to be done so that maybe I can forward that to Bulb agents? 

Thanks again!!

[Deleted User]

WebProd said:

I convinced Bulb to send me an IHD6 by opening a formal complaint to the Energy Ombudsman lol.... 

Arguably, Bulb has complied in full with the EO Decision. Personally, I wouldn’t bother with SmartThings. Sign up to BrightApp (free) and they can pull your smart meter data. 

MWT

WebProd said:

Would it please be possible to explain in more details what needs to be done so that maybe I can forward that to Bulb agents?

You need their smart meter team to issue a 'join request' to connect the meter and the IHD.

Frontline CS staff will not understand that but ask them to forward it to the smart meter team.

WebProd

MWT said:

WebProd said:

Would it please be possible to explain in more details what needs to be done so that maybe I can forward that to Bulb agents?

You need their smart meter team to issue a 'join request' to connect the meter and the IHD.

Frontline CS staff will not understand that but ask them to forward it to the smart meter team.

Thanks a lot!!! Very helpful