Would you recommend a smart meter from Octopus energy?

Scrounger

MattMattMattUK said:

rocket1925 said:

I was moved to octopus from avro.
Anyway like many others having to be careful with my gas/electricity usage and wondered if I should get a smart meter fitted?
I hear a lot of pros and cons and hassle from them, so looking for people's opinions as to whether I should go down that route.

The pros are that it should make billing cheaper, opens up cheaper tariffs if you have an EV and will in the future open up cheaper ToU tariffs. The negatives only exist for those who love fashioning aluminium foil into
headwear. 

I have two smart meters (in two different properties).

One has a tendency to overcharge, the other one is as good as gold.

There is still a long way to go IMO 

Scrounger

However

Same situation as you, I had SMs fitted 24th March. You cannot verify they have been installed properly - you are told to wait for at least 14 days for them to work. In my case, the Gas started working quite quickly (three days) but the Elec didn't. The IHD sat waiting for data. After my email after 14 days, yesterday (4th May) Elec started working (and I got an email from Octopus saying so). The IHD was not mentioned in the email and is still 'wating', so I've sent another email - no reply as yet.

The whole purpose of the exercise is for me to be able to monitor and see what scope there is to reduce consumption other than the obvious, an IHD is mandatory (and that is exactly why Smart Meters were being pushed for in the first place). (And, don't anybody dare suggest the IHD is not part of the Smart Meter - they will get very very short shrift indeed.)

So six weeks after and ongoing, I am not satisfied with the installatioin process. I can no longer easily read the meters (I need a ladder because their displays are appallingly difficult to read). And I can't do what I wanted to do. And I'm fed up with the hassle or chasing. My advice is - don't bother.

PS: Octopus directed me to their blog on the process of and issues with SM Installation. The complexity is humungously staggering. I mean, stupidly so, beyond belief. The people who thought that up are idiots. No wonder there are problems. If I had come across that blog earlier, it would have been enough for me to avoid SMs at all costs.

[Deleted User]

However said:

Same situation as you, I had SMs fitted 24th March. You cannot verify they have been installed properly - you are told to wait for at least 14 days for them to work. In my case, the Gas started working quite quickly (three days) but the Elec didn't. The IHD sat waiting for data. After my email after 14 days, yesterday (4th May) Elec started working (and I got an email from Octopus saying so). The IHD was not mentioned in the email and is still 'wating', so I've sent another email - no reply as yet.

The whole purpose of the exercise is for me to be able to monitor and see what scope there is to reduce consumption other than the obvious, an IHD is mandatory (and that is exactly why Smart Meters were being pushed for in the first place). (And, don't anybody dare suggest the IHD is not part of the Smart Meter - they will get very very short shrift indeed.)

So six weeks after and ongoing, I am not satisfied with the installatioin process. I can no longer easily read the meters (I need a ladder because their displays are appallingly difficult to read). And I can't do what I wanted to do. And I'm fed up with the hassle or chasing. My advice is - don't bother.

PS: Octopus directed me to their blog on the process of and issues with SM Installation. The complexity is humungously staggering. I mean, stupidly so, beyond belief. The people who thought that up are idiots. No wonder there are problems. If I had come across that blog earlier, it would have been enough for me to avoid SMs at all costs.

Download the free App BRIGHT and sign up as per the website. If your meters are connected to the network then Hildebrand (a registered DCC User) will be able to extract your usage and tariff information into its App. Alternatively, sign up to N3rgy.com (use the I am consumer link).

However

[Deleted User] said:

Download the free App BRIGHT and sign up as per the website. If your meters are connected to the network then Hildebrand (a registered DCC User) will be able to extract your usage and tariff information into its App. Alternatively, sign up to N3rgy.com (use the I am consumer link).

Thanks for those suggestions. I'll see. But at present I'm too tired to chase around sorting out problems of someone else's making. If I bought a car and it arrived with three wheels, I also wouldn't be inclined to go to KwitFit to get the missing wheel. I expect Octopus to fix the issue, not me.

[Deleted User]

However said:

[Deleted User] said:

Download the free App BRIGHT and sign up as per the website. If your meters are connected to the network then Hildebrand (a registered DCC User) will be able to extract your usage and tariff information into its App. Alternatively, sign up to N3rgy.com (use the I am consumer link).

Thanks for those suggestions. I'll see. But at present I'm too tired to chase around sorting out problems of someone else's making. If I bought a car and it arrived with three wheels, I also wouldn't be inclined to go to KwitFit to get the missing wheel. I expect Octopus to fix the issue, not me.

Fair enough but I would want to know whether my smart meters were working: ie, connected to the network. Delays can be down to the industry procedures which are of a bygone era. 

victor2

However said:

Same situation as you, I had SMs fitted 24th March. You cannot verify they have been installed properly - you are told to wait for at least 14 days for them to work. In my case, the Gas started working quite quickly (three days) but the Elec didn't. The IHD sat waiting for data. After my email after 14 days, yesterday (4th May) Elec started working (and I got an email from Octopus saying so). The IHD was not mentioned in the email and is still 'wating', so I've sent another email - no reply as yet.

The whole purpose of the exercise is for me to be able to monitor and see what scope there is to reduce consumption other than the obvious, an IHD is mandatory (and that is exactly why Smart Meters were being pushed for in the first place). (And, don't anybody dare suggest the IHD is not part of the Smart Meter - they will get very very short shrift indeed.)

So six weeks after and ongoing, I am not satisfied with the installatioin process. I can no longer easily read the meters (I need a ladder because their displays are appallingly difficult to read). And I can't do what I wanted to do. And I'm fed up with the hassle or chasing. My advice is - don't bother.

PS: Octopus directed me to their blog on the process of and issues with SM Installation. The complexity is humungously staggering. I mean, stupidly so, beyond belief. The people who thought that up are idiots. No wonder there are problems. If I had come across that blog earlier, it would have been enough for me to avoid SMs at all costs.

The IHD is not an essential part of the smart meter system. It will work just fine without it and many end up unplugged in a drawer after the novelty wears off.
You can usually read your meters from the IHD - saving you the effort of going to the meter itself. Can't you do that with yours? That would only be for your personal benefit anyway, as the suppler should be getting the readings automatically.

[Deleted User]

rocket1925 said:

I was moved to octopus from avro.
Anyway like many others having to be careful with my gas/electricity usage and wondered if I should get a smart meter fitted?
I hear a lot of pros and cons and hassle from them, so looking for people's opinions as to whether I should go down that route.

Personally I do not see any benefit to smart meters and never went down the route of installing one. They remind me of step counters as in after a couple of weeks of routine you get to know how many steps you do day in and day out.

My energy consumption is a routine and no amount of looking at data on what I'm using is going make any big dent in saving energy

I read somewhere (might be wrong) that it will cost around £11 billion to install all these meters which of course is paid by the consumers

 

victor2

Deleted_User said:

rocket1925 said:

I was moved to octopus from avro.
Anyway like many others having to be careful with my gas/electricity usage and wondered if I should get a smart meter fitted?
I hear a lot of pros and cons and hassle from them, so looking for people's opinions as to whether I should go down that route.

Personally I do not see any benefit to smart meters and never went down the route of installing one. They remind me of step counters as in after a couple of weeks of routine you get to know how many steps you do day in and day out.

My energy consumption is a routine and no amount of looking at data on what I'm using is going make any big dent in saving energy

I read somewhere (might be wrong) that it will cost around £11 billion to install all these meters which of course is paid by the consumers

 

I agree, the IHD is about as useful as a step counter.

The big benefit with smart meters is that you don't have to give readings (so long as they stay smart), and more tariffs are becoming available to those with smart meters.

We're all paying for it through our utility bills whether we have one or not!

Mstty

@Deleted_User @victor2 Strangely it had the opposite effect on us with the April cap price rise.

Now the smart meter is showing everything correctly priced per kWh wise we are looking to get under a certain amount each day as to not waste too much money on energy.

Deciding some days to use certain high energy usage items and it makes us think more about the energy we use.

I am sure we will settle into a rhythm and it will become less used but for now it's very useful to us.

So the example tonight is film night. We have a nice projector and are using it less since working out what it used on the smart meter and started using it for film nights only. We know how much it will use later on for three hours and we have decided go for a cheaper microwaved meal option rather than the oven to supplement this.

[Deleted User]

victor2 said:

Deleted_User said:

rocket1925 said:

I was moved to octopus from avro.
Anyway like many others having to be careful with my gas/electricity usage and wondered if I should get a smart meter fitted?
I hear a lot of pros and cons and hassle from them, so looking for people's opinions as to whether I should go down that route.

Personally I do not see any benefit to smart meters and never went down the route of installing one. They remind me of step counters as in after a couple of weeks of routine you get to know how many steps you do day in and day out.

My energy consumption is a routine and no amount of looking at data on what I'm using is going make any big dent in saving energy

I read somewhere (might be wrong) that it will cost around £11 billion to install all these meters which of course is paid by the consumers

 

I agree, the IHD is about as useful as a step counter.

The big benefit with smart meters is that you don't have to give readings (so long as they stay smart), and more tariffs are becoming available to those with smart meters.

We're all paying for it through our utility bills whether we have one or not!

I send my readings twice a year standing at the meter and doing it on the app on phone so no big gain. But I will agree with you on price savings and will compare come 2024 when my fix rate comes to an end. See what big savings i can get with having the thing in my house.