Economy seven teleswitching service switch off

MrsOs

Hi we have an economy seven meter and utility warehouse told us we have to change our meter to a smart meter by March 23. Can someone tell me if this meter is becoming obsolete please as I’ve heard nothing again from that first call about 4 months ago. The messages on the website says your meter may stop working properly it doesn’t say it will which makes me wonder if this is some attempt to frighten people to move to a smart meter 

[Deleted User]

It is not "some attempt to frighten people".   Why would your supplier be trying to frighten you?  What would be the point in that?

The radio teleswitch service is being turned off.

It was supposed to be getting turned off years ago, and the planned date for turning off keeps getting shifted.

For quite some time, the plan was to turn it off in March 2023 - exactly as your supplier says.

There has been some indication lately that it's being delayed for another two years.

Your meter will still work fine (that's why they say may stop, there are different designs) - or at least it will still record all your units - but anything that is supposed to only turn on at the night rate might just not turn on at all.

Why would having a smart meter be a bad thing?

Gerry1

Deleted_User said:

Your meter will still work fine (that's why they say may stop, there are different designs) - or at least it will still record all your units - but anything that is supposed to only turn on at the night rate might just not turn on at all.

Obviously Utility Warehouse went to the same Scaremongering School as Ovo !

"What will actually happen is that your meter will stop working properly and it may mess up your bills pretty badly. If your heating and hot water are also controlled via RTS, it’s very likely that your house will turn into The North Pole or Sahara Desert…" 

The reality is that you won't notice any difference if the Long Wave signal is turned off.  Your teleswitch will still operate at the usual times: it'll just be like a digital watch put away in a drawer and not checked against the Greenwich Time Signal.  It might drift by a minute a year.

inspectorperez

Gerry1 said:

Deleted_User said:

Your meter will still work fine (that's why they say may stop, there are different designs) - or at least it will still record all your units - but anything that is supposed to only turn on at the night rate might just not turn on at all.

Obviously Utility Warehouse went to the same Scaremongering School as Ovo !

"What will actually happen is that your meter will stop working properly and it may mess up your bills pretty badly. If your heating and hot water are also controlled via RTS, it’s very likely that your house will turn into The North Pole or Sahara Desert…" 

The reality is that you won't notice any difference if the Long Wave signal is turned off.  Your teleswitch will still operate at the usual times: it'll just be like a digital watch put away in a drawer and not checked against the Greenwich Time Signal.  It might drift by a minute a year.

Thanks for keeping a balanced perspective on this subject as there is just so much misinformation about. Is it 2023, 2024 or 2025, seems to depend on which suppliers website you visit. At least you have published an authoritative link on another thread stating that it is actually 31 March 2025.

I have spoken to 2 EDF customer relations staff who were both oblivious to this situation which perhaps underlines the fact that some suppliers may not be entirely up to speed on the issue.

dunstonh

The reality is that you won't notice any difference if the Long Wave signal is turned off.  Your teleswitch will still operate at the usual times: it'll just be like a digital watch put away in a drawer and not checked against the Greenwich Time Signal.  It might drift by a minute a year.

The drift could be more than that.  Our economy 7 meter switches to night rate at 8.50am and ends at 3.50pm.   It tends to shift every month or two. Last month was just two minutes but earlier in the year it was 2 hours.

[Deleted User]

Gerry1 said:

Deleted_User said:

Your meter will still work fine (that's why they say may stop, there are different designs) - or at least it will still record all your units - but anything that is supposed to only turn on at the night rate might just not turn on at all.

Obviously Utility Warehouse went to the same Scaremongering School as Ovo !

"What will actually happen is that your meter will stop working properly and it may mess up your bills pretty badly. If your heating and hot water are also controlled via RTS, it’s very likely that your house will turn into The North Pole or Sahara Desert…" 

The reality is that you won't notice any difference if the Long Wave signal is turned off.  Your teleswitch will still operate at the usual times: it'll just be like a digital watch put away in a drawer and not checked against the Greenwich Time Signal.  It might drift by a minute a year.

Some units on the RTS system (I think a little less than 10% on the admittedly old survey I saw) rely on the LW signal to actually trigger the switching, not just to keep the clock in sync.

On those units, if there is no LW signal, there is no switching.  It will simply stay in whichever position it was at the time.

What you say is true for most people, but it is not a blanket truth.

macman

But does the industry actually know where those 10% of RTS are installed in order to target them for replacement by 23/24/25?

[Deleted User]

My guess would be that they do not.  

inspectorperez

[Deleted User] said:

My guess would be that they do not.  

Got to say I’m intrigued by this particularly as I reckon my family holiday property is almost certainly within the 10% macman refers to.

Our dinosaur analogue electric meter is located some distance away from this property alongside a bank of similar meters relative to other properties with radio teleswitches next to each meter. Each property is heated with night storage heaters on Economy 7 or similar such tariffs.

I’m just wondering what the solution is in terms of replacement? Is it a SMET 2 smart meter or some other form of smart technology linked to the Economy 7 tariff?

[Deleted User]

A SMETS2 smart meter.

There are "alternative metering arrangements" allowed for in the regulations, but that wouldn't usually be used in the situation you describe. 

Gerry1

dunstonh said:

The reality is that you won't notice any difference if the Long Wave signal is turned off.  Your teleswitch will still operate at the usual times: it'll just be like a digital watch put away in a drawer and not checked against the Greenwich Time Signal.  It might drift by a minute a year.

The drift could be more than that.  Our economy 7 meter switches to night rate at 8.50am and ends at 3.50pm.   It tends to shift every month or two. Last month was just two minutes but earlier in the year it was 2 hours.

Bet it's not a Radio Teleswitch !