Smart Meters

MWT

brewerdave said:

outlaw777 said:

Hi I've had lots of mixed reviews regarding getting a smart meter installed for gas, any recommendations on here shall I get a smart meter or traditional meter?

Can't get a smart gas meter fitted unless you already have a leccy smart meter as far as I'm aware.

I thought that too, but there is a version with a Comms Hub powered direct from the incoming electricity supply apparently.

rrl28

I'm happy with my smart meters and IHD, it saves me the bother of going outside in the rain or snow to read my meters to enter the readings into my excel spreadsheet.

brewerdave

victor2 said:

outlaw777 said:

Thanks all above, any one against smart meters?

The In-House Display (IHD) that smart meters come with is an interesting toy at first, but usually ends up in a drawer somewhere - it has nothing to do with the meter's ability to send readings or receive tariff information.

And yet the "toy" is still front and centre of the TV advertising for smart meters !! Also many apparently lose connection with the actual meters which means that the benefit outlined by @rr128 cannot be realised.

[Deleted User]

The meter reading shown on the IHD is the total index reading for all 4 meter registers. It follows that for consumers who are on a dual rate tariff such as Octopus Go/Go Faster they would be well advised to read the actual registers on the meter if they switch suppliers.

 By way of example, my meter is currently recording the offpeak usage on the R1 register and the peak usage on the R2. It matters not a jot as far as Octopus is concerned as it bills on 30 minute usage not index readings. Statements from Octopus do not show any index readings. Get it wrong, then the consumer could find him/herself being billed for units already paid for. 

RickMac

outlaw777 said:

Thanks all above, any one against smart meters?

I have a 'traditional' electric meter and have just had a replacement 'traditional' gas meter fitted, as the previous one's life had run its course.

It's all subjective on whether having a smart meter fitted can be seen as a positive or not.

I prefer to have personal freedom and choice; the following article of today (09/11/22) highlights why having a smart meter can, in certain circumstances, remove these options:

"A rising number of households are having their energy smart meters remotely switched to prepayment meters, the energy regulator has said.

Energy firms can use the technology to swap customers who are in debt to the more costly plan without needing their permission.

It can leave customers, who need to top up, at risk of running out of energy.

Ofgem said it had received reports of "vulnerable customers being left without power for days or even weeks.

Once a smart meter is installed, it is a much simpler process for a supplier to swap the customer into prepay mode at the push of a button, rather than having to apply for a warrant and install a physical box."

There are of course many other arguments for and against but I cannot think of a single reason why I would benefit from one.

[Deleted User]

There are of course many other arguments for and against but I cannot think of a single reason why I would benefit from one.

Accurate billing. 

Cheaper time-of-use tariffs.

Usage monitoring.

Voltage monitoring; eg, overvoltage alerts (My Grid voltage this time last year was 256V - using smart meter data I was able to get the DNO to reduce it to 240V.

etc etc.

RickMac

outlaw777 said:

Thanks all above, any one against smart meters?

ps - slightly tongue in cheek but 👉  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N29AtA3VodU

QrizB

RickMac said:

There are of course many other arguments for and against but I cannot think of a single reason why I would benefit from one.

Last month my electricity cost under 9p/kWh. This was enabled by my smart meter. Without it I might have been paying 34p/kWh like many other people were.

Compared to paying 34p/kWh, this saved me £27.

doodling

Hi,

Deleted_User said:

victor2 said:

outlaw777 said:

Thanks all above, any one against smart meters?

There are numerous people, some on this forum, who are against them for a variety of reasons, ranging from (unproven) health concerns to the (unused) ability to contol your utility supply remotely. If ever the utility market opens up again, there will doubtless be more tariffs available to people with smart meters because they will be based on Time-of-Use, particularly for electricity. I don't even know if you can have a smart gas meter without a smart electric one, as the gas meter usually commmunicates with a hub on the electric meter, which than transmits data to a central hub, which the supplier can access.

The In-House Display (IHD) that smart meters come with is an interesting toy at first, but usually ends up in a drawer somewhere - it has nothing to do with the meter's ability to send readings or receive tariff information.

Just to clarify - someone started a thread sharing the BBC report about major concerns over the number of people that have been remotely switched to pay-as-you go, bypassing the normal need for energy companies to get a court warrant. So already it's been used. 

No, it hasn't.  Yes, the ability to switch a smart meter to prepayment mode after going through the proper processes (which don't require a court warrant incidentally) has been used but no, the ability to arbitrarily switch off people's supply has not been used.

There have also been discussions in parliament about the risk to the National Grid posed by Chinese Smart Meters being rolled out with potential to act as a Trojan Horse that could bring down the entire grid. (The mechanism being the ability to remotely switch off people's energy. If you're interested I'll find the details.

Which makes and models of smart meters are you concerned about and how many of them are installed?  Why can't British made smart meters have software installed in them by foreign powers? If I was a foreign organisation tasked with infiltrating the UK smart meter network, I'd be subverting smart meters made in countries friendly to the UK, not those I made myself which would be subject to much more scrutiny.

EssexHebridean

Deleted_User said:

doodling said:

Hi,

Deleted_User said:

victor2 said:

outlaw777 said:

Thanks all above, any one against smart meters?

There are numerous people, some on this forum, who are against them for a variety of reasons, ranging from (unproven) health concerns to the (unused) ability to contol your utility supply remotely. If ever the utility market opens up again, there will doubtless be more tariffs available to people with smart meters because they will be based on Time-of-Use, particularly for electricity. I don't even know if you can have a smart gas meter without a smart electric one, as the gas meter usually commmunicates with a hub on the electric meter, which than transmits data to a central hub, which the supplier can access.

The In-House Display (IHD) that smart meters come with is an interesting toy at first, but usually ends up in a drawer somewhere - it has nothing to do with the meter's ability to send readings or receive tariff information.

Just to clarify - someone started a thread sharing the BBC report about major concerns over the number of people that have been remotely switched to pay-as-you go, bypassing the normal need for energy companies to get a court warrant. So already it's been used. 

No, it hasn't.  Yes, the ability to switch a smart meter to prepayment mode after going through the proper processes (which don't require a court warrant incidentally) has been used but no, the ability to arbitrarily switch off people's supply has not been used.

There have also been discussions in parliament about the risk to the National Grid posed by Chinese Smart Meters being rolled out with potential to act as a Trojan Horse that could bring down the entire grid. (The mechanism being the ability to remotely switch off people's energy. If you're interested I'll find the details.

Which makes and models of smart meters are you concerned about and how many of them are installed?  Why can't British made smart meters have software installed in them by foreign powers? If I was a foreign organisation tasked with infiltrating the UK smart meter network, I'd be subverting smart meters made in countries friendly to the UK, not those I made myself which would be subject to much more scrutiny.

I didn't make any assertion that the ability to switch of people's supply had been used yet.

Deleted_User said:

victor2 said:

outlaw777 said:

Thanks all above, any one against smart meters?

There are numerous people, some on this forum, who are against them for a variety of reasons, ranging from (unproven) health concerns to the (unused) ability to contol your utility supply remotely. If ever the utility market opens up again, there will doubtless be more tariffs available to people with smart meters because they will be based on Time-of-Use, particularly for electricity. I don't even know if you can have a smart gas meter without a smart electric one, as the gas meter usually commmunicates with a hub on the electric meter, which than transmits data to a central hub, which the supplier can access.

The In-House Display (IHD) that smart meters come with is an interesting toy at first, but usually ends up in a drawer somewhere - it has nothing to do with the meter's ability to send readings or receive tariff information.

Just to clarify - someone started a thread sharing the BBC report about major concerns over the number of people that have been remotely switched to pay-as-you go, bypassing the normal need for energy companies to get a court warrant. So already it's been used. 

<snip>

Yes, you did. 

Ps - if you want to be taken seriously quoting things from the Daily Mail is probably not your best approach. However, it possibly does explain why you appeared to think that all reporting in the media should be taken as gospel and couldn't possibly be either wrong, or hyperbolic.