Refusing a smart meter installation

Nebulous2

I've always assumed that I can't get a smart meter.

I've a really old house with two extensions built at the back. The gas meter is in a garage in one of the extensions on the ground floor. The WiFi router is in the other extension on the first floor - which is where I'd prefer the IHD to be. WiFi doesn't carry through two brick / cement extension walls to the garage. Also on the first floor is a closed off fireplace and the electric meter is in what used to be a cupboard to the side of the fireplace, which has also been closed off with entry through a relatively small wooden hatch. 

Think about a right angle. Gas meter 20 metres or so from IHD through two walls and up a floor. Electric meter 10 metres from IHD through a chimney breast and in a cupboard with restricted access. 

Mobile phone signal is good through the whole house. 

Would that work? 

k_man

Smart meters don't use your WiFi, so no WiFi near the meter is not an issue 

Your IHD may not be able to communicate with the meter though, if located in the house.
That doesn't stop you having a smart meter, you just may lose the real-time usage element (which some find useful, other dismiss as a gimmick).

Cottage_Economy

Keep_pedalling said:

Ecotricity offer a variable DD option, so no reason not to use DD especially if it offers you a cheaper rate.

EssexHebridean said:

If you are already budgeting yourself then you could get the cost saving from using DD as a payment method without risking your energy company "keeping your cash" by using whole amount/variable DD - it's essentially an automated version of what you do now with paying on receipt of bills, The advantages being that you don't have to remember to make a payment, aren't going to get red bills if anything happens to get in the way of you being able to make a payment, and as mentioned get the DD rates rather than paying the higher costs you are likely to be currently. It should be said that not all suppliers offer this as a method but I believe we've established that the vast majority do. 

Ecotricity's website does suggest that they support E7 by the way - and if you're using electricity to power NSH's for heating and (in some cases or) an immersion heater for water then it begs the question of why your supplier unilaterally decided to switch you to a single rate tariff. 

Sorry, I got the wrong end of the stick. I do pay by variable direct debit already but I don't have a contract and I don't pay a fixed amount every month to build up a credit balance.

Around the time the night prices were pulled an email came out stating that Ecotricity was stopping the day and night prices in favour of one tariff. I pay the same whether night or day now. I use oil for heating, not NSH, and I don't run anything at night anyway. I have an old lady living with me who has difficulty sleeping and running appliances overnight keeps her awake so I don't bother. I run everything during the day  timed to coincide with the peak solar generation if possible.

Anyway, I'm getting off track. It might be that a smart meter could provide benefits in the form of accurately measuring my export to the grid so might be worth doing.

sebloak

Ii've had several text messages and an email from my supplier saying they need to replace my electric meter as it's over 15years old, I'm guessing this will be replaced by a smart meter? Even though I will not have requested one.

Alnat1

Yes it will be a smart meter.

wild666

EssexHebridean said:

wild666 said:

Ultrasonic said:

wild666 said:

[Deleted User] said:

We are all paying for the rollout of smart meters as part of our daily standing charge. If your supplier has deemed your existing meter to be end-of-life then they now have the right to fit a smart meter without your permission. They can also apply to a Court for a Warrant of Entry.

Reading forums such as MSE is not a good indicator of the state of smart metering. Smart meters will form a vital part of what will be a smart grid. Increasingly, we will see the introduction of time-of-use tariffs which will require a smart meter. Those that hold out will pay more for the flexibility of using energy whenever they want.

As I've said a few times a friend has had the texts, emails and letters telling him he is to have a smart meter installed on a date and he just cancels them saying his electric and gas usage hasn't increased or decreased over the 40 years he's being in his flat. They have used the end of life excuse a few times saying the meter could be giving inaccurate readings and he tells them to prove it at their expense and they drop the installation of the smart meters. 
IMHO, end of life means nothing if the meter is still giving accurate readings there are still meters reading in ft3 so should they have exchanged those meters to ones reading in M3? These meters are even older than the M3 meters and many, if not all, are still giving fairly accurate readings today.

I'd imagine that at some point there would be a safety-related end-of-life, particularly where gas meters are concerned.

Also, if electricity usage hasn't changed in 40 years that would strongly suggest a fault to me!

He is very frugal with both his electric and gas usage and the kWh usage has changed very little in the 40 years. He's out most of the day and part of the evening so his usage is only his fridge and freezer, and a bit of cooking in his air fryer and combi microwave. He doesn't have the internet only is phone has internet access and his 2Gb monthly allowance is more than enough for his needs. He moans if his electric usage goes over 2.2 kWh per day. He doesn't have a dryer only a washing machine and dries clothing and bedding outdoors. His appliances are the latest A+++ rated when he bought them he doesn't go for cheap options. 

So he's gone from using all incandescent bulbs presumably now to replacing with LEDs when they need changing, he has appliances that will be using a fraction of what their predecessors used even 20 years ago never mind 40 due to the advances in technology, and assuming he was cooking using a standard electric cooker previously, he's now using cooking methods that will be saving both time and energy, and yet his use hasn't changed in all that time? Sorry - to me there is definitely something not adding up there! 

I asked him yesterday if his total usage per day had gone down and he said fractionally over the years by around 90 kWh per year as his estimated usage for the next 12 months was 710 kWh and last year it was 750 kWh. Maybe the drop in usage was due to the 7 weeks he spent in hospital recently so no lighting or use of cooking as only his fridge was using energy.

wild666

PennyForThem_2 said:

Chrysalis said:

Dolor said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

All meters have the potential to fail. This is why there is an independent testing service. There are now millions of smart meters in homes across the Country that are being used to produce monthly statements. 

Well I have Smart Meter v2  installed June 2019 and had to move from Co-op energy to Octopus Oct 2019.  They were fine up to the move and now nearly 3 years later there is still a problem with reading remotely.  Octopus have acknowledged a problem.

I will be really really annoyed if I cannot take advantage of optimal rates because of this.  So I think Dolor said previously way back that SMET2 should be fine - not from my experienience.

My SMETS 1 electric meter can be read by Octopus but not the gas meter. I even downloaded the loop app and only the electric meter is being read. 

BrixtonDave

I have had 3 calls in thee days from SMS Meters claiming to be acting on behalf of my supplier Shell.
I told them I paid £3-4 thousand last year in gas and electricity charges and submit monthly meter readings.
And I don't want a new electricity and gas meter.
And I considered their repeated calls a form of harassment.

Can I sue?

CSI_Yorkshire

BrixtonDave said:

I have had 3 calls in thee days from SMS Meters claiming to be acting on behalf of my supplier Shell.
I told them I paid £3-4 thousand last year in gas and electricity charges and submit monthly meter readings.
And I don't want a new electricity and gas meter.
And I considered their repeated calls a form of harassment.

Can I sue?

No.

And they can come and fit new meters even if you don't want them to.

Zandoni

I've hung out as long as possible but I think I'll have to accept them soon as my meters are getting on a bit. My main reason for resisting was that I feel it's such a shame to discard equipment that is working perfectly. At least the technology has improved now so I'm hoping to have a more positive experience.