Smart Meter using electricity

scoittishmovies

I originally posted this in the wrong forum page so apologies for the repeat.

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.

Update from previous responses : I do realise that the IHD uses electricity if I charge it but I don't charge it there. The ONLY device plugged in anywhere on the premises is the alarm unit.

Verdigris

Yes, but it comes from the supply side, so you won't be paying for it. It's only a tiny amount, probably less than a mobile phone.

Perhaps your analogue meter was under-reading?

scoittishmovies

Verdigris said:

Yes, but it comes from the supply side, so you won't be paying for it. It's only a tiny amount, probably less than a mobile phone.

Perhaps your analogue meter was under-reading?

That was a suggestion by SP. But it doesn't make sense of it using electricity now. The device plugged in is still using the same power even if the old meter was faulty it shouldn't be using the amount being recorded. The alram has been checked using a digital meter plug and seems ok.

Verdigris

Could somebody have tapped into your supply in a neighbouring unit?

scoittishmovies

Verdigris said:

Could somebody have tapped into your supply in a neighbouring unit?

Unlikely, it's a trivial amount in the sense that if someone was tapping in I would think it would be to use a lot more.

jonnypb

Verdigris said:

Could somebody have tapped into your supply in a neighbouring unit?

The usage would be a lot higher if someone had tapped into it.

[Deleted User]

Just to be clear, we are talking about the smart meter and not the IHD? The latter uses a small amount of electricity from the supply side of the meter.

scoittishmovies

[Deleted User] said:

Just to be clear, we are talking about the smart meter and not the IHD? The latter uses a small amount of electricity from the supply side of the meter.

The meter reading is 00006, the hand held device is reading 00006.348  I only have the alarm plugged in, the smart meter device is charged at home.

Verdigris

My calculations makes the consumption 62.5W/hr on average. 55mA is about 13W, so there does seem to be a discrepancy, if that is the only load. Is there an outside light on a light sensor switch, or timer?

[Deleted User]

scoittishmovies said:

Dolor said:

Just to be clear, we are talking about the smart meter and not the IHD? The latter uses a small amount of electricity from the supply side of the meter.

The meter reading is 00006, the hand held device is reading 00006.348  I only have the alarm plugged in, the smart meter device is charged at home.

If the IHD is plugged in, it is using electricity that you are paying for. The average energy use for a house alarm is:

Burglar Alarm

72 kWh/year

to 150 kWh/year

Gerry1

It seems that meter disks tend to rotate very slowly with no load, so they were tweaked to stop this.  The result was that extremely low consumption was under recorded.  Search on 'anti-creep' for the details.  Therefore, your 1kWh per year may well be an underestimate.

If you have sufficient patience you can check your smart meter by closely watching the red LED marked 1000 Imp/kWh or similar (Impulses = flashes), so if the alarm is using 1.5kWh per week and the LED is 1000 Imp/kWh then the meter should flash 1500 times per week (once every 8 minutes 56 seconds).

You could then disconnect the alarm and see whether the meter still flashes with no load, but it might make watching paint dry seem very exciting.