Is this a ‘threat’ to make me go over to the dark side to a Smart Meter?

Gunner276

bintheredunthat said:

Thanks for the info. No storage rads, just the washing machine, dishwasher etc. I read an article in the Telegraph recently by a journo who said he wouldn’t have one of they paid him to. Issues about pricing and accuracy were his main concern and the fact that they control your meter and it’s readings from afar and not the householder. It looks like it’s wise to wait till the lat minute and  they want to insert a chip in my head to give them readings😉

If it's in the paper it must be true. Smart meters are great. No more need to submit readings! You also get access to a lot more types of tariff

FreeBear

Gunner276 said:

bintheredunthat said:

Thanks for the info. No storage rads, just the washing machine, dishwasher etc. I read an article in the Telegraph recently by a journo who said he wouldn’t have one of they paid him to. Issues about pricing and accuracy were his main concern and the fact that they control your meter and it’s readings from afar and not the householder. It looks like it’s wise to wait till the lat minute and  they want to insert a chip in my head to give them readings😉

If it's in the paper it must be true. Smart meters are great. No more need to submit readings! You also get access to a lot more types of tariff

Wish that were true - I have to submit monthly readings to my supplier despite having a so-called smart meter. But at leat I can access the readings from the IHD, so don't have to get wet to read the gas meter (yes, they are SMETS1 jobbies).

As for accuracy, I have a whole house energy monitor alongside the smart meter - The numbers both record are close enough.

ashe

FreeBear said:

Gunner276 said:

bintheredunthat said:

Thanks for the info. No storage rads, just the washing machine, dishwasher etc. I read an article in the Telegraph recently by a journo who said he wouldn’t have one of they paid him to. Issues about pricing and accuracy were his main concern and the fact that they control your meter and it’s readings from afar and not the householder. It looks like it’s wise to wait till the lat minute and  they want to insert a chip in my head to give them readings😉

If it's in the paper it must be true. Smart meters are great. No more need to submit readings! You also get access to a lot more types of tariff

Wish that were true - I have to submit monthly readings to my supplier despite having a so-called smart meter. But at leat I can access the readings from the IHD, so don't have to get wet to read the gas meter (yes, they are SMETS1 jobbies).

As for accuracy, I have a whole house energy monitor alongside the smart meter - The numbers both record are close enough.

But that doesn't leave you any worse off than you were for a regular meter does it? In fact still better off as you have the IHD and therefor access to readings, real time usage info etc. annoying about the readings part but it's usually down to supplier needing to connect to it. My last two suppliers have managed to do this with our smets1, and current supplier has just said they'll just fit a smets 2 instead to resolve this 

Section62

ashe said:

But that doesn't leave you any worse off than you were for a regular meter does it? In fact still better off as you have the IHD and therefor access to readings, real time usage info etc.

In this respect I'll be worse off when I have to have 'smart' meters.

The current meters have big clear (black on white) numerals on the registers and I can see all three of them from a distance.  I don't need to get close to the meters to read them.

Whilst I should get an IHD, if it fails then (AIUI) I won't get a replacement unless I buy one myself.  And your idea of "better off" means using electricity I'm paying for to display that information, so financially I'll be worse off as well.

'Smart' meters are wonderful for some people, but those who think 'smart' meters are wonderful shouldn't make the mistake of thinking everyone will benefit in the same way they have, nor view the 'benefits' in the same way.

[Deleted User]

Section62 said

Whilst I should get an IHD, if it fails then (AIUI) I won't get a replacement unless I buy one myself.  And your idea of "better off" means using electricity I'm paying for to display that information, so financially I'll be worse off as well.

Hi,

you don't need to use the IHD just because you get it free, just don't plug it in, though most folks try it for a week or so then stuff it back in the box.

Section62

frugalmacdugal said:

Section62 said

Whilst I should get an IHD, if it fails then (AIUI) I won't get a replacement unless I buy one myself.  And your idea of "better off" means using electricity I'm paying for to display that information, so financially I'll be worse off as well.

Hi,

you don't need to use the IHD just because you get it free, just don't plug it in, though most folks try it for a week or so then stuff it back in the box.

I know that, but was responding to ashe who said that having an IHD means 'smart' meters make you "still better off".

An IHD switched off or still in the box doesn't provide any benefit.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

it was the comment about using IHD and electricity cost, costs nothing in the box.

Section62

frugalmacdugal said:

Hi,

it was the comment about using IHD and electricity cost, costs nothing in the box.

The "idea" referred to was using the IHD to get "access to readings, real time usage info" - which wouldn't work if it is [unplugged and] in the box.

FreeBear

ashe said:

FreeBear said:

Gunner276 said:

bintheredunthat said:

Thanks for the info. No storage rads, just the washing machine, dishwasher etc. I read an article in the Telegraph recently by a journo who said he wouldn’t have one of they paid him to. Issues about pricing and accuracy were his main concern and the fact that they control your meter and it’s readings from afar and not the householder. It looks like it’s wise to wait till the lat minute and  they want to insert a chip in my head to give them readings😉

If it's in the paper it must be true. Smart meters are great. No more need to submit readings! You also get access to a lot more types of tariff

Wish that were true - I have to submit monthly readings to my supplier despite having a so-called smart meter. But at leat I can access the readings from the IHD, so don't have to get wet to read the gas meter (yes, they are SMETS1 jobbies).

As for accuracy, I have a whole house energy monitor alongside the smart meter - The numbers both record are close enough.

But that doesn't leave you any worse off than you were for a regular meter does it? In fact still better off as you have the IHD and therefor access to readings, real time usage info etc.

The real time usage along with the graphics are pretty useless. It doesn't have the granularity to identify peaks in consumption, and the details in the historical usage gets lower the further back you go. What would be useful is having access to a data port like they do over on the continent so that I could plug my computer in - Sure, could use something like the Bright app, but I shouldn't need to go scraping data from a remote site that will be minutes/hours out of date.

On balance, having a smart meter has little real benefit for me.

wild666

A friend has had his analogue meters in since 1982 and regularly gets texts, emails and calls from his supplier to get him to change to smart meters. All he says is that in 40 years his annual usage hasn't increased that much that the meters are not reading the usage correctly and if they want to change them they have to prove at their cost that the meters are faulty. He's had at least 7 contact messages a year over the last 5 years and he doesn't want the smart meters unless there is a change in the law saying that every home has to have a smart meter installed.