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

SnakePlissken

Ultrasonic 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😉

Why are you on an Economy 7 tariff at all then? Odds are you'd save money by being on a single-rate tariff. Do you have an idea of your typical annual day and night usage in kWh?

As the comments above re. Smart meters - they're nonsense. There are no pricing or accuracy concerns of smart meters, they don't 'contol' your meter they are your meter. That data is sent automatically to the supplier makes things easier for the customer, not somehow worse.

Do though distinguish between the In Home Display (IHD) which is the little screen thing people can have in their homes and the actual smart meter (which is a direct replacement for the current meter). IHDs can end up with incorrect tariff data so that the energy costs displayed in pounds can be wrong but importantly the actual energy usage in kWh won't be and this is more useful anyway. Even in the the tariff info. on the IHD is wrong it won't mean you get billed incorrectly. 

I put off getting a smart meter for ages but honestly I've only experienced positives since having one.

Im not aware of accuracy or pricing  concerns re smart meters.

For me personally  anything networked is a potential security risk, with smart meter security being questionable compared to other more robust networked devices.  

I'm  happy to manually submit readings and have an eon energy monitor that lets me see real time usage on my meter.
Likewise i dont enable IOT on devices be it a washing machine or a smart speaker.

But thats my personal choice and I would not critise anyone who embraces IOT or smart meters. As that is their personal choice

QrizB

comperinha said:

One concerning thing is that the "smart" functionality is visible as a wifi network named "BG" so it appears that BG is still getting data from the meter even though I'm not their customer. Anyone know how I can turn this off?

Smart meters don't use wifi. Wherever the BG access point name is coming from, it's not your smart meter.

Ultrasonic

SnakePlissken said:

For me personally  anything networked is a potential security risk, with smart meter security being questionable compared to other more robust networked devices.  

What network are you concerned about? Smart meters do not connect you your home WiFi if that's what you're thinking?

SnakePlissken

Ultrasonic said:

SnakePlissken said:

For me personally  anything networked is a potential security risk, with smart meter security being questionable compared to other more robust networked devices.  

What network are you concerned about? Smart meters do not connect you your home WiFi if that's what you're thinking?

I know they dont connect to my LAN via WIFI or Ethernet, they connect to a WAN.

As  I said my preference is no smart meter, but each person can make theirs own decision and I wont criticise what ever anyone else chooses. 

[Deleted User]

SnakePlissken said:

Ultrasonic said:

SnakePlissken said:

For me personally  anything networked is a potential security risk, with smart meter security being questionable compared to other more robust networked devices.  

What network are you concerned about? Smart meters do not connect you your home WiFi if that's what you're thinking?

I know they dont connect to my LAN via WIFI or Ethernet, they connect to a WAN.

As  I said my preference is no smart meter, but each person can make theirs own decision and I wont criticise what ever anyone else chooses. 

The comms hub contains GCHQ approved security.

https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/information/the-smart-security-behind-the-gb-smart-metering-system

At the moment, the Government doesn’t need to change the rules on smart meters as demand presently exceeds supply. Suppliers also have the right to fit smart meters when existing meters are deemed to be end-of-life. I suspect that like most technologies there will come a point in the near future when suppliers will just say that they can no longer support analogue meters.

There is much more to smart metering than just an accurate bill. The Government, for example, has launched an industry-wide consultation which, inter alia, includes the rollout of time-of-use tariffs. These are now being used in many countries around the World. If a user wants to determine the cheapest time-of-use tariff then kWh/year put into a price comparison website will no longer work. Price comparisons will require 12 month’s worth of profiled data pulled from the actual smart meter. Standard tariffs will still be available but at a higher cost: flexibility of energy use will come at a cost.

Ultrasonic

SnakePlissken said:

Ultrasonic said:

SnakePlissken said:

For me personally  anything networked is a potential security risk, with smart meter security being questionable compared to other more robust networked devices.  

What network are you concerned about? Smart meters do not connect you your home WiFi if that's what you're thinking?

I know they dont connect to my LAN via WIFI or Ethernet, they connect to a WAN.

As  I said my preference is no smart meter, but each person can make theirs own decision and I wont criticise what ever anyone else chooses. 

Sure, but it's important not to be put off yourself or to discourage others on the basis of flawed understanding/reasoning. 

brewerdave

QrizB said:

comperinha said:

One concerning thing is that the "smart" functionality is visible as a wifi network named "BG" so it appears that BG is still getting data from the meter even though I'm not their customer. Anyone know how I can turn this off?

Smart meters don't use wifi. Wherever the BG access point name is coming from, it's not your smart meter.

Sure the mystery access point isn't BT not BG ??

[Deleted User]

brewerdave said:

QrizB said:

comperinha said:

One concerning thing is that the "smart" functionality is visible as a wifi network named "BG" so it appears that BG is still getting data from the meter even though I'm not their customer. Anyone know how I can turn this off?

Smart meters don't use wifi. Wherever the BG access point name is coming from, it's not your smart meter.

Sure the mystery access point isn't BT not BG ??

If the SMETS1 meter hasn't been adopted by the DCC then I suspect that the meter is showing the last supplier that had access to smart meter data and the old tariff. It doesn't necessarily follow that BG still has access to the meter.

brewerdave

[Deleted User] said:

brewerdave said:

QrizB said:

comperinha said:

One concerning thing is that the "smart" functionality is visible as a wifi network named "BG" so it appears that BG is still getting data from the meter even though I'm not their customer. Anyone know how I can turn this off?

Smart meters don't use wifi. Wherever the BG access point name is coming from, it's not your smart meter.

Sure the mystery access point isn't BT not BG ??

If the SMETS1 meter hasn't been adopted by the DCC then I suspect that the meter is showing the last supplier that had access to smart meter data and the old tariff. It doesn't necessarily follow that BG still has access to the meter.

If you look back ,you will see that @comperinha talked about a "wifi" network - I assume that he means that it was visible on his other wifi capable devices eg smart phone

SnakePlissken

[Deleted User] said:

SnakePlissken said:

Ultrasonic said:

SnakePlissken said:

For me personally  anything networked is a potential security risk, with smart meter security being questionable compared to other more robust networked devices.  

What network are you concerned about? Smart meters do not connect you your home WiFi if that's what you're thinking?

I know they dont connect to my LAN via WIFI or Ethernet, they connect to a WAN.

As  I said my preference is no smart meter, but each person can make theirs own decision and I wont criticise what ever anyone else chooses. 

The comms hub contains GCHQ approved security.

https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/information/the-smart-security-behind-the-gb-smart-metering-system

At the moment, the Government doesn’t need to change the rules on smart meters as demand presently exceeds supply. Suppliers also have the right to fit smart meters when existing meters are deemed to be end-of-life. I suspect that like most technologies there will come a point in the near future when suppliers will just say that they can no longer support analogue meters.

There is much more to smart metering than just an accurate bill. The Government, for example, has launched an industry-wide consultation which, inter alia, includes the rollout of time-of-use tariffs. These are now being used in many countries around the World. If a user wants to determine the cheapest time-of-use tariff then kWh/year put into a price comparison website will no longer work. Price comparisons will require 12 month’s worth of profiled data pulled from the actual smart meter. Standard tariffs will still be available but at a higher cost: flexibility of energy use will come at a cost.

As I said its not for me, but if others want to use it go for it.