How to use a smart meter

QrizB

Alfie2020 said:

Thanks I could see the  different readings.  I would never worked that out in a million years.  It was much easier to just look up at the meter previously.  Now I just need to check the off peak times.  I don't know if it will click when it changes over like the old meters.

Do you still have an E7 contactor? If so, you' should get a click.

However the EDMI ES-12b is a five-terminal meter, so the fitter might have removed your contactor (assuming you ever had one). You might not hear a click but there will be a LED or on-screen icon to let you know.

If you post a photo of your meter and associated wiring, we might be able to help you answer these questions.

Alfie2020

Yes I know I am a dinosaur, my work colleagues can't work me out either.  I suppose I just want to check that the accuracy is OK to start with (having had a colleague have one increase the usage!).  Knowing the times means I can make sure I use the offpeak as I have been up until now.  The noise when it clicked over was just a useful reminder and meant I knew how early to get up to use the washing machine etc.  An LED icon on the meter isn't going to be any use when in bed.  I'm not too good at this technology stuff.

QrizB

Thanks for the photo.

I can't see a contactor, so you probably won't get a clunk.

Do check your actual E7 times if you can; they may well have changed from what you're used to.

macman

Why would the E7 times have changed? I thought they were determined by the DNO?

EssexHebridean

macman said:

Why would the E7 times have changed? I thought they were determined by the DNO?

If the clock on the old meter was not curate then the times may have drifted from the standard, would be my guess.

Alfie2020

Thanks for your replies.  My apologies for not checking in before now. Life!  Anyway, had the meters for nearly a month now and getting to grips with the electricity one.  Now I have a query on the gas.  We have just a gas cooker so usage is low (part of the reason why I've concentrated on getting to grips with the electricity one first).  I noticed today that it was showing some usage 'today' when the cooker had not be used.  I have been watching this evening and there is a slight change (1.85KWH to 1.86KWH over 1.5 hours) showing on the monitor.  Is this correct?  I cannot smell gas at all and carbon monoxide monitor is fine.  

matelodave

The gas meter only sends a reading once every 30 minutes, so even though you may not actually be using the gas, the meter will send the update when its ready to do so, not necessarily when you are boiling an egg.

MikeJXE

Very informative this thread and has probably help many people

What I can't get my head round is only use gas for cooking, in view of the standing charge on the gas meter is this not more expensive than using electric and only having one standing charge to pay ? 

t0rt0ise

MikeJXE said:

Very informative this thread and has probably help many people

What I can't get my head round is only use gas for cooking, in view of the standing charge on the gas meter is this not more expensive than using electric and only having one standing charge to pay ? 

It's unusual to only use gas for cooking. Most who have gas also use it for heating. But if it's not used for heating then quite probably it would be cheaper not to have it at all, but you'd have to pay a few hundred pounds to have it removed in order to avoid the standing charge.

EssexHebridean

MikeJXE said:

Very informative this thread and has probably help many people

What I can't get my head round is only use gas for cooking, in view of the standing charge on the gas meter is this not more expensive than using electric and only having one standing charge to pay ? 

Yep - we’ve gone from a DD of around £2 a month just a handful of years ago, to seeing anything up to £14 a month now of our DD dedicated to the gas supply, which indeed is a huge rise. However, our current gas cooker is only 5 years old - installed when the kitchen was done, and we very much prefer cooking using gas. The actual cooking process is also far cheaper than using electricity - we tend not to worry too long about cooking for extended periods of time in the oven for example, where I know this is now a significant concern for many with electric ovens. 

We cook a fair amount - we’re not “ready meals” people at all, the closest we come to that is heating the occasional tinned soup really and the microwave frequently doesn’t get used more than a couple of times a week, sometimes not even that - so for us although we’ve seen an increase because of no longer being able to get zero-standing-charge tariffs, we probably aren’t so far off what we’d spend on cooking with electric anyway.