MSE Poll: Energy smart meters: what's your view?

ellertonandy

I had a smart meter installed 3 years ago. Was told from day1 that it would not work as there was no communication from our village. Also I was not given anything to monitor the electric in-house. Therefore a complete waste of time for something which does not work,but having to be paid for via our standing charges. Has anyone calculated the total cost of the project against the savings actually made through actively monitoring electric use. I don’t know anyone who has changed there habits due to smart meters. The only positive is the benefit in many cases that meters do not require reading.

iJamgar

I have had Solar PV array for 10 years now and love it.  Smart meters? not so much they really don't like Solar.  Got a smart meter fitted in 2019, didn't really want it but they said they are transferable now (true for me at leat) and work with Solar PV (false - they lied).  From the start the electric smart meter caused issue with the protected circuit in the kitchen tripping out.  We identified it happened when the solar PV was generating lots of electric and we turned an appliance on and !!!!!! the RCB would trip.  Very annoying as had to keep resetting it.  Complained and they told me sorry that can't happen it's your electrics in the house get it tested.

Now it didn't happen ever for the 7 years without a smart meter.  Then it did for the 6 months the smart meter was working.  It has never happened since the smart meter broke.  You tell me what was causing it?

Yes the smart meter "woked" for 6 months and because on the the electric meter updates every x seconds (can't remember how often) the IHD worked as well.  Then the electric smart meter broke.  It stopped talking to whatever network it sends data on and the IHD stopped being useful as at best if it worked at all it gave a gas reading maybe every half hour if it felt like it.  Got the supplier to check things and they said no dice we will have to replace the meter.  I asked if they could guarantee it would not break again and if it would deff work with Solar PV and not give the nuicance tripping that had mysteriously stopped now the meter was broke.  They said no so I said no you can't replace and they said ok we can make it dumb but you will have to submit reading (I think they expected that to be an issue) so I said great can you do the same to the gas one they said no to that   I left them as soon as I could after that debacle.

So now I have half a smartmeter system with gas transmitting the readings and a dumb electric meter I have to read every once in a while.  Nothing will ever convince me these smartmeters were a good idea or to have the electic one repaired/changed.  The tech is rubbish and typical of this country half baked at best.  Why can't we have meters we can all interegate with any device so not stuck on their stupid IHD?  Why can't thos with a tech bent get direct access to the raw data from these systems? I think they don't want us to know it for some reason.  Anyway if you have Solar PV beware these things can be a royal pain.  If you have solar PV nd it is all working be thankfull and prey it doesn't break and don't let them change anything as I don't think they actually know what they are doing.

the.spike

The problem with Smart Meters, other than what people have been talking about, which are more teething problems created by OFGEM and various other initial design and rollout decisions, is that overall there isn't a benefit until EVERYONE has a Smart meter, smart appliances, and a smart grid. At that point things like this can start happening:

The Grid: I've got a bit of a surge, can you only draw power if you really need it?
Smart Meter: I'll have a word with the appliances in my house.
Smart Fridge: The door's been open so I'm going to need to chill and draw power.
Smart Freezer: No one has opened me so I'm good for a couple of hours. I won't draw power till then. If someone opens me I might have to adjust.
Smart Dryer: I can reduce the heat, it'll take longer to dry the sheets but I'll use less power for a while. I'll let them know it's going to take a little while.
Smart Meter: We've cut what we can.
The Grid: Thanks.

The problems with switching and meters going dumb, problems with FIT and such are all down to how OFGEM has pushed suppliers to roll out smart meters before there was an agreed standard. This is now being fixed and work is ongoing to bring all the installed meters up to the same spec. But this approach has left a bad taste in the mouths of many consumers and has hurt the reputation of Smart Meters.

Also, Smart Meters can take readings every 30 minutes, but you have to opt in to that. Otherwise it's once a month. Someone mentioned about graphs not being updated, this isn't a Smart Meter issue, that's a supplier issue. You can get access to the data, if your supplier puts that in place. Many don't as it's a cost for a very small number of consumers.

Ultimately Smart Meters are a good thing, once they've sorted out the teething problems.

moggs119

I read my meter on the same day every month, so I know my costs to the penny. It's no big deal. No point in having a smart meter. I'm a lot smarter, anyway. Lol.

rjm2k1

I've been offered them many times and always refused.

My parents were threatened with court if they didn't allow their supplier to change over to smart meters, my dad said he would see them there. They didn't bother them again.

Someone I know moved into a rented property which had top-up cards linked to the smart meter. Despite wanting to switch supplier, because the existing supplier couldn't provide a new top-up cards linked to the existing meters, they spent 3 weeks of missed appointments over winter (lots of wasted trips, no gas or electric) before they ripped out their own meters and put new ones in, which was promptly ripped out and replaced by the new supplier once switched. 

This is supposed to be good for us and the environment?

webweasel

If you have a smart phone you can download the free Bright app which connects to the DCC Smart Meter database so you can get ½ hourly usage data on your phone irrespective of who you have switched to (or who you switch to in the future). IMO a supplier agnostic set-up should be the main selling point of smart meters but of course each supplier wants to tie you in with their app! 

Glow Hildebrand (who make Bright) also sell CADs for £50 which will give you real-time energy monitoring. The SMETS2 CAD isn’t available yet but should be soon. Again this should be part of the installation but at least you can add it yourself.

MARGE_2

Had smart meters installed Sept 2021: never had a reading taken, I can’t give a reading as there’s no reading available so no bill paid since Aug 21: called emailed all to absolute “we will get someone to contact you “ then …….. nothing 

I’m terrified of what the outcome for me will be if ever this is resolved!! 

The IHD is giving me a daily \weekly \ monthly amount spent so I’m using this to keep a record each week, but it’s not good enough!! Wish I’d left well alone … the laugh is I did it to see if there was anywhere I could save!! 

Ozzig

One small positive regarding the monitor, it was a really simple way to show the children how much we spend each day, they seem to respond to a small plastic device rather than the word of a parent

When we switched from BG who installed it to EDF the meter went dumb and we were categorically assured it would stay that way due to the age/version, which I expected.

The monitor stopped working a few weeks later, which was a minor inconvenience as I'd been using it for meter readings.

Then just before the current massive hikes, they've managed to make both things work again from their end, what are the chances ???

clive764

They have been marketed dishonestly. SMART Meters are to enable surge pricing.

kags

It’s a pity the poll only had “Good” and “Bad” options: I would have chosen “Neutral - It’s not made any difference”.

I had my smart meter fitted about 15 months ago, as part of the price fix contract I’d switched to (electricity only, no mains gas).  The IHD sits in the kitchen, I’ve never put any tariff information in, so it just shows me the usage, and I vaguely notice whether it’s green, amber or red … and maybe the change as I switch appliances on.  It’s no bother, I don’t stress when it goes into (what it defines as) the red (I’ve always done my best not to use more energy than I need … probably goes back to growing up during the 1970s energy crises), my meter is outside so I never had any issues with it not being read previously … and was easy to access if ever I did need to give a reading.

When we get to the stage of being able to reward people who can help cut consumption when there’s narrow generation margins, then I’ll be happy to delay cooking tea, running the washing machine/dishwasher, turning the heating down for an hour if there’s an incentive.