2022 Frugal Living Challenge

YoungBlueEyes

otb666 said:

my poor FIL is having his sleep broken up by all the appliances his neighbours are now running in early hours He is 90 and I do feel sorry for him.

Has it moved beyond the idea stage? I didn't realise it was on the go already.

Poor man, these committees don't always consider the full ripple effect do they?

ladyholly

Octopus have trialled this in some places already. My DD was delighted as she has to do a fair bit of washing of uniforms that both she and her husband wear. Their employer only gives them 3/4 sets and her husband is a chef so needs a constant suplly of clean tops and trousers.

Viking_mfw

Horrified to discover that the Fairy non bio "mega pack" I bought this week, was the same price as before but now only 50 washes instead of 60. I mean, for us it's about twice that, but still, the cheek!

Primrose

cw18 said

I heard about that a couple of weeks ago.   Apparently only open to people with smart meters - so it rules out myself, my OH and my daughter.

I heard that they'd actually have to move a minimum percentage of their normal 'daytime use' into the specified hours - so the supplers are going to need to already have a picture of when you use your energy.    And it's partly because I don't want them to be able to monitor at that level that I'm resistant to having smart meters.

I also don't see the need to replace perfectly good meters, when it costs money (and environmental damage) to produce the replacement.   I'm now adding to this that we've just had one put in for my Mum (the meter wasn't in a great place for someone with even minor mobility issues to get to to read) and it doesn't look like it's working!   We were initially told we'd see data from it 'by tomorrow', and when I phoned after 2 days was told it can take 'up to 10 days'.   When I phoned around that point for something else and asked again, I was told 'up to a month'.   In the meantime my Mum's had emails from them saying they're not getting any data from it - but how is she supposed to sort it????

So we've had a perfectly good 'dumb' meter taken out, and a new Smart meter put in - only it's not connecting to the suppliers end so it's not a Smart meter at all, and all my Mother has is a new 'dumb' meter that someone will still have to crouch down in front of in an under stairs cupboard in order to get a reading every month

Cw28.   We,ve rejected a smart meter too for exactly the same reasons as you state.  However I fear that eventually they will be forced on us all whether we like it or not.  The reality is that the majority of people are intelligent enough to monitor their own fuel use, especially now when the costs are going through the roof.
the move seems to be to force all consumers down a single common path for the convenience of the providers rather that that of customers.

We're already seeing it  it with some businesses and banks refusing the use of cash and I suspect before long  all water companies will be forcing all consumers to have water meters installed. 

ladyholly

Eventually every will be "smart" and only on line which will be a problem when your internet goes down or as recently happen to some neighbours of mine workman cut the cable and then spen days and days arguing who should repair it. This is not including cyber terrorism.

Primrose

Yes it really worries me to read of cases like this.  

It seems that all these organisations are focus g on short term benefits and not properly going through  their long term "what if? Planning processes.  There is something seriously wrong with our training processes if this is happening.

the same seems to be applying to British Telecom,s  ill judged plan to start abolishing telephone land lines. All these organisations seem to be run by "bright young things" who haven,t lived long enough to remember some of the situations of the past and how "old fashioned" technology was the only thing that rescued an emergency situation.

Floss

Please remember that even in the days before smart meters (i.e. pre-2000) Gas & electricity meters LEGALLY  HAD to be replaced after a life of between 15-20 years due to their calibration accuracy. It is not a new thing for meters to have to be changed brought in just to force everyone onto smart meters.

tooldle

Equally those ‘bright young things’ you speak of, can see the technological future that many who have lived far longer close their minds to. Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT) has huge possibilities for us all. 

Primrose

tooldle said:

Equally those ‘bright young things’ you speak of, can see the technological future that many who have lived far longer close their minds to. Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT) has huge possibilities for us all. 

Yes of course!  We all benefit from these modern inventions.  What I,m trying to say is that we all live in very uncertain times, and  one of the prime  requirements of technological industries, as well as governments is to keep our country safe under all circumstances.  To do this they should be doing a great deal of potential "disaster planning" when it comes to new developments and ensuring that the "older fashioned baby" isn,t thrown out with the bathwater. 

In national emergencies of all kinds, especially these days you have to have an alternative source of communication when the internet goes down or mobile telephone signals are not available.   

tooldle

Disaster planning and recovery remains a key element of modern business.