Severn Trent radio meter

Swipe

I've recently had a Severn Trent radio meter installed. For anyone with one, how long will it take for it to appear online (still says I don't have one) and how frequent do the readings get updated on your account portal?

EDIT: my meter is now online

JosephK

We get our ST bills, from radio meter, online every six months. I always make quick read of meter to make sure readings tally.  

Swipe

I was talking to someone at Severn Trent today who told me the radio meters are not actually smart meters and that they still need to send someone to visit. The reader now hovers a handheld receiver over where the meter is which means they don't have to flip the box lid. Seems a lot of extra expensive to me for the sake of saving 30 seconds a visit.

Cardew

Swipe said:

I was talking to someone at Severn Trent today who told me the radio meters are not actually smart meters and that they still need to send someone to visit. The reader now hovers a handheld receiver over where the meter is which means they don't have to flip the box lid. Seems a lot of extra expensive to me for the sake of saving 30 seconds a visit.

They don't need hover the receiver over the meter, Severn Trent read my meter, which is inside the house, from the end of a long drive.

Loads of external meters are difficult to read because of misting and water in box. Loads of post on that issue.

reefer37

they are not smart meters but just slighty not dumb meters.

they read from and hand held reciver which a guy can read from a van.

cost yes alot of money but it means you can read a street of meters in a few minutes compaired to hours.

we are finding now though that the batteries only last for 5 years and not the 10 they were sold on. so now most are returning to dumb meters.

price for a smart water meter is very expensive compaired to dumb or semi smart meters

benny5

Swipe said:

I've recently had a Severn Trent radio meter installed. For anyone with one, how long will it take for it to appear online (still says I don't have one) and how frequent do the readings get updated on your account portal?

EDIT: my meter is now online

I’ve also just had one of these meters fitted (Diehl R400 Altair) in a cupboard next to the sink.

The installer from Network Plus (working with Severn Trent) said there would no need for future customer readings.  He said the device reported reading back to Network Plus (via radio) who was managing the network on ST behalf.

Don’t know if this means a central database or readings captured from ‘drive-by’ activity.

Does anyone know?

Mister_G

In certain parts of the country the water meters are connected permanently to a fixed radio network.

Have a read here: Water metering (arqiva.com)

Other areas still use the drive-by method of data collection.

I can imagine, in the fullness of time, that all water meters will be read remotely, the same as gas and electricity are moving towards.

bumlard

Old thread but I wondered if anyone knew if these Diehl R400 meters have an LED impulse like you get on an electricity meter? What would be ace is if there was an LED impulse for every litre or maybe 10 litres consumed. I could place a little arduino board and an optical pulse meter to then show live water  use in my home assistant server but wasn't sure how to do it with this meter. Perhaps if not an LED there is a magnetic pulse I could read in a similar way?