Smart Water Meter

Sterlingtimes

tghe-retford said:

 By what I can read, our local water company will be upgrading every single meter by 2035 and they claim it is to reduce carbon emissions from meter reading (and I suspect, paying said meter readers a wage too).

I understand that leakage detection is paramount.

Sterlingtimes

I had understood that Severn Trent was using lamp posts for communication with smart meters, but here in the centre of England, Severn Trent is using Connexin to install 40-foot wooden telegraph poles.

 

charybdis26

I'm having a faulty smart meter replaced this Friday (It hasn't advanced beyond 000000.000 since it was installed in Oct 2023 by Thames Water and has been acknowledged by them as being defective)

Should the replacement meter be displaying usage immediately following its installation or is there a need to wait for "activation" before I can myself see any change in the LCD readout ? I can't seem to get a straight answer from TW (or their various subcontractors)

I'd like know if I can expect to see movement in the LCD display before the workmen leave with their blandishments that it will take a while before the meter is activated. The faulty meter was a Sensus (don't know which type) if that helps. TIA

brook_heather

charybdis26 said:

I'm having a faulty smart meter replaced this Friday (It hasn't advanced beyond 000000.000 since it was installed in Oct 2023 by Thames Water and has been acknowledged by them as being defective)

Should the replacement meter be displaying usage immediately following its installation or is there a need to wait for "activation" before I can myself see any change in the LCD readout ? I can't seem to get a straight answer from TW (or their various subcontractors)

I'd like know if I can expect to see movement in the LCD display before the workmen leave with their blandishments that it will take a while before the meter is activated. The faulty meter was a Sensus (don't know which type) if that helps. TIA

I had the same Sensus smart water meter installed last August and the reading also stayed at zero (it was reporting this zero vaue daily to my account portal) - I raised a few complaints and eventually a few days ago they fixed it so it started advancing immediately - they didn't have to replace the meter.  I assume the original installer hadn't "activated" the meter in some way so it may be possible they just apply the same fix to your meter rather than having to change it.  The LCD updates in real time so if you run a tap you will see it incrementing.

charybdis26

brook_heather Many thanks for your input. That's most helpful! I did suggest that it may have needed a knowledgable tap in the right spot to kickstart it, or activation, but the current meter has been "inspected" twice following my complaints to TW and I'm told a replacement meter has been arranged for this Friday. 

I'd be happier if the in situ meter could be brought to life, but either way, I do want a means to monitor my usage and have accurate billing once again. I'll update this thread after the TW bods have taken a look. Cheers!

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Update 24 May

My Sensus meter has now been exchanged and I've witnessed the LCD display advancing as expected when water flow was restored. It seems the Oct '23 Sensus installation was carried out shoddily and grit allowed to enter and interfere with the meter's performance. Quite why there wasn't any attempt to check correct working of the old meter before leaving site is anyone's guess.  You'd think/hope that would be part of their standard operating procedure.