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Smart Meter using electricity
scoittishmovies
Posts: 21 Forumite
Does anyone know if a smart meter uses electricity to power itself?
I recently "upgraded" to a smart meter with Scottish Power for a small work unit I rent from the local council.
It's only used for storage so there is no need for heating or lighting, although lights are installed, just not used. The ONLY requirement for power is a small burglar alarm which uses 55mA. In 4 years of being in the unit I have used about 1 unit of electricity per YEAR. SP said it uses a battery and wifi. I don't have wifi so assume it must go down their power line somehow.
The meter was installed with a reading of 00000 and after 4 weeks it's 00006 - so six unit used in 4 weeks. After speaking with Scottish Power, their script says that the meter can't be fault and I must be using something else plugged in that I don't know about - it's a bare shell. I suspect that the meter does use electricity or is faulty but to prove it, I need to pay for an electrician to provide a report which would not be reimbursed.
Has anyone else had a smart meter installed and noticed if it uses power with no other devices being used? I imagine most domestic users wouldn't notice a small change like this as it's only using 1 unit per week, 52 units over the year - it might not be a lot of money, but it's the principle of it that bothers me. BTW that's 52 hours of burning a one bar fire over the year. So much for saving money using a smart meter.
Appreciate any input as I'm still arguing this one with SP.
I recently "upgraded" to a smart meter with Scottish Power for a small work unit I rent from the local council.
It's only used for storage so there is no need for heating or lighting, although lights are installed, just not used. The ONLY requirement for power is a small burglar alarm which uses 55mA. In 4 years of being in the unit I have used about 1 unit of electricity per YEAR. SP said it uses a battery and wifi. I don't have wifi so assume it must go down their power line somehow.
The meter was installed with a reading of 00000 and after 4 weeks it's 00006 - so six unit used in 4 weeks. After speaking with Scottish Power, their script says that the meter can't be fault and I must be using something else plugged in that I don't know about - it's a bare shell. I suspect that the meter does use electricity or is faulty but to prove it, I need to pay for an electrician to provide a report which would not be reimbursed.
Has anyone else had a smart meter installed and noticed if it uses power with no other devices being used? I imagine most domestic users wouldn't notice a small change like this as it's only using 1 unit per week, 52 units over the year - it might not be a lot of money, but it's the principle of it that bothers me. BTW that's 52 hours of burning a one bar fire over the year. So much for saving money using a smart meter.
Appreciate any input as I'm still arguing this one with SP.
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Comments
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Probably better on the utilities board, given this isn't even about a house, never mind a house buying/renting/selling issue.2
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If you mean the actual meter (as in connected to the mains at the entry point) then yes they use electricity, i'm not sure if the are designed in a way where it only counts the power out of them (as all the power to the board will go through it) or the power into it (which would include itself I guess).My smart gas meter is cabled before the smart electricity meter so that doesn't "count" towards my usage, I assume.1
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A smart meter does use some power yes, depending on the exact model they use between 0.8 and 1.2 KWh per year.scoittishmovies said:Does anyone know if a smart meter uses electricity to power itself?
I recently "upgraded" to a smart meter with Scottish Power for a small work unit I rent from the local council.
It's only used for storage so there is no need for heating or lighting, although lights are installed, just not used. The ONLY requirement for power is a small burglar alarm which uses 55mA. In 4 years of being in the unit I have used about 1 unit of electricity per YEAR. SP said it uses a battery and wifi. I don't have wifi so assume it must go down their power line somehow.
The meter was installed with a reading of 00000 and after 4 weeks it's 00006 - so six unit used in 4 weeks. After speaking with Scottish Power, their script says that the meter can't be fault and I must be using something else plugged in that I don't know about - it's a bare shell. I suspect that the meter does use electricity or is faulty but to prove it, I need to pay for an electrician to provide a report which would not be reimbursed.
Has anyone else had a smart meter installed and noticed if it uses power with no other devices being used? I imagine most domestic users wouldn't notice a small change like this as it's only using 1 unit per week, 52 units over the year - it might not be a lot of money, but it's the principle of it that bothers me. BTW that's 52 hours of burning a one bar fire over the year. So much for saving money using a smart meter.
Appreciate any input as I'm still arguing this one with SP.
No one with two brain cells to rub together thinks that a smart meter will save energy, the government hopes that they will change usage patterns, but even that is doubtful.1 -
To save you time, your smart electricity meter does consume some electricity; however, it is powered from the Grid side of the meter. That is, the cost is NOT added to your bill. If the IHD is plugged in it will consume a very small amount of your paid for electricity. Just put the IHD in a drawer and it will use nothing.scoittishmovies said:Does anyone know if a smart meter uses electricity to power itself?
I recently "upgraded" to a smart meter with Scottish Power for a small work unit I rent from the local council.
It's only used for storage so there is no need for heating or lighting, although lights are installed, just not used. The ONLY requirement for power is a small burglar alarm which uses 55mA. In 4 years of being in the unit I have used about 1 unit of electricity per YEAR. SP said it uses a battery and wifi. I don't have wifi so assume it must go down their power line somehow.
The meter was installed with a reading of 00000 and after 4 weeks it's 00006 - so six unit used in 4 weeks. After speaking with Scottish Power, their script says that the meter can't be fault and I must be using something else plugged in that I don't know about - it's a bare shell. I suspect that the meter does use electricity or is faulty but to prove it, I need to pay for an electrician to provide a report which would not be reimbursed.
Has anyone else had a smart meter installed and noticed if it uses power with no other devices being used? I imagine most domestic users wouldn't notice a small change like this as it's only using 1 unit per week, 52 units over the year - it might not be a lot of money, but it's the principle of it that bothers me. BTW that's 52 hours of burning a one bar fire over the year. So much for saving money using a smart meter.
Appreciate any input as I'm still arguing this one with SP.1 -
Yes, of course it uses some electricity.
6 units is 6kWh, at - what - about 15p/kWh? So 90p in a month, a tenner a year. It's a totally trivial amount, and the reason you're noticing it is because you basically don't use electricity.
Why did you change to a smart meter? If there's no consumption to monitor, there's no point in monitoring it...
IIWY, I'd get a small solar panel and battery installed for the burglar alarm's power, and get the electricity disconnected. How much is the connection's standing charge?0 -
Apologies for putting this in the wrong section, must have been too much browsing there!
I realise that the IHD uses power if it's on charge but I've no need for it other than checking up on the readings and it's powered back at home.
As for thinking a smart meter saves you money, no, I haven't fallen for that one. The only one saving money is the utility companies not sending out meter readers.
I'll repost in the Utilites forum but thank you all for such quick responses, appreciated. And apologies if you see it all again!0 -
They don't anyway. We've never seen a reader here in the time we've lived here, near-on a decade. We just report our own readings online.scoittishmovies said:
As for thinking a smart meter saves you money, no, I haven't fallen for that one. The only one saving money is the utility companies not sending out meter readers.0 -
That's an option for a solar panel and worth investigating. As for being a trivial amount, it's 28.88p Kwh and probably about to rise and if these devices do use that much, imagine how much is being made from the millions that are in use? As for getting one, it was for convenience to prove I don't use electricity, ironically.AdrianC said:Yes, of course it uses some electricity.
6 units is 6kWh, at - what - about 15p/kWh? So 90p in a month, a tenner a year. It's a totally trivial amount, and the reason you're noticing it is because you basically don't use electricity.
Why did you change to a smart meter? If there's no consumption to monitor, there's no point in monitoring it...
IIWY, I'd get a small solar panel and battery installed for the burglar alarm's power, and get the electricity disconnected. How much is the connection's standing charge?0 -
30p/kWh...?!? That's ridiculous.0
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