Smart meter reading frequency

Ksenby30

Hello,

Apologies, I am fairly new to all of this.

I am currently with Scotishpower for Gas and Electricity and recently when I have opened the app it has asked me to change from monthly meter readings to either daily or half hourly. They claim that this may save me money.

I'm not sure how this would make me save money though, as I have a smart meter that appears to update l daily anyway.

I currently have to provide a monthly reading before getting our bill. 

Has anyone else made changes to there meter reading frequency and has it saved you money? 

TIA 

ariarnia

the meter will record half hour data but only send it to your supplier for when you have it set.

changing to more regular reporting is supposed to save you money because you can better track you use and then change your behaviour. if you arent interested in doing that then it makes no difference. 

I think the reason they want it is because it gives a better idea of demand to match supply. so some big industry businesses have to give half hour readings as part of there commercial contracts as even a small amount of increase can draw a lot more power from the grid. but its the same with domestic customers on mass so the more people who give regular readings the more accurate the picture is for the day ahead supply situation. 

there might also be some tarrifs where you want faster reporting becayse you get discounts for time of use. but i dont think it sounds like that's he case here?

some more info is here from ofgem about why there encouraging it and why it might become compulsory in the future https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/news-blog/our-blog/how-half-hourly-settlement-will-help-cut-energy-bills

Scot_39

Ksenby30 said:

Hello,

Apologies, I am fairly new to all of this.

I am currently with Scotishpower for Gas and Electricity and recently when I have opened the app it has asked me to change from monthly meter readings to either daily or half hourly. They claim that this may save me money.

I'm not sure how this would make me save money though, as I have a smart meter that appears to update l daily anyway.

I currently have to provide a monthly reading before getting our bill. 

Has anyone else made changes to there meter reading frequency and has it saved you money? 

TIA 

Some people on SVR Single Rate tariffs with some suppliers are now participating in load shifting schemes - and paid to save energy over typical use - during peak hours.

AFAIK these schemes all require 30min logging to supplier.

You might want to check out your supplier website or read some posts by those participating in the schemes and the pay back they get.

It might be too late now to join anyway - or it may become a rolling thing - you might want to check if your supplier is doing it - and if you can still qualify later on in winter / spring - if interested.

I havent looked into it as not on SR - so already have peak and off peak rates.

Others however are worried about providing that information to the utility companies - and what it might mean for future time of use billing.

Spoonie_Turtle

Scot_39 said:

Ksenby30 said:

Hello,

Apologies, I am fairly new to all of this.

I am currently with Scotishpower for Gas and Electricity and recently when I have opened the app it has asked me to change from monthly meter readings to either daily or half hourly. They claim that this may save me money.

I'm not sure how this would make me save money though, as I have a smart meter that appears to update l daily anyway.

I currently have to provide a monthly reading before getting our bill. 

Has anyone else made changes to there meter reading frequency and has it saved you money? 

TIA 

Some people on SVR Single Rate tariffs with some suppliers are now participating in load shifting schemes - and paid to save energy over typical use - during peak hours.

AFAIK these schemes all require 30min logging to supplier.

…

I havent looked into it as not on SR - so already have peak and off peak rates.

Some here have participated whilst not being on the single rate SVT, it's about decreasing load in a specific peak time slot and being rewarded for that reduction rather than a change in tariff at all.

Alnat1

With my energy company Octopus, 30 minute data allows me to see graphs and charts breaking down my usage into greater detail.

For example, it lets me see how much I'm using overnight and allows me to see if turning stuff off at the plug is saving me money.

There's no negatives to it unless you're the sort that doesn't think SP should be able to tell that you occasionally make a cuppa at 3am and they will somehow use that info against you.

[Deleted User]

In the next year or so, suppliers will be offering more time-of-use tariffs. Price comparisons will be carried out by taking a 12 month pull of data from your smart meter which will be overlaid against all available tariffs. 30 minute data not only shows total energy use but also when that energy was used. This profile will result in you being offered the lowest tariff for your pattern of energy use.

The industry is keen on 30 minute profiling as it is a better way of managing supply to meet predicted demand; it avoids the need to have a coal-fired power station sitting idle just in case it is needed. Energy suppliers also pay their wholesalers on 30 minute usage.

All new meter installations are now set up for 30 minute profiling and I can well see it becoming mandatory. Don’t buy into the hype that burglars might use the data to know when you are not at home. Any burglar worth the title doesn’t need smart meter data to target homes.   

Scot_39

Dolor said:

The industry is keen on 30 minute profiling as it is a better way of managing supply to meet predicted demand; it avoids the need to have a coal-fired power station sitting idle just in case it is needed. 

All new meter installations are now set up for 30 minute profiling and I can well see it becoming mandatory. Don’t buy into the hype that burglars might use the data to know when you are not at home. Any burglar worth the title doesn’t need smart meter data to target homes.   

1) coal stations and even diesel generator farms are needed simply because wind without storage is too unreliable.

In last few months alone - 1/2 hourly generation has ranged from c3GW to a record 19GW - average c10.5-11 iirc. - about 35-45% installed capacity of c25.5GW as of July.

And when that 3GW - 7-8GW loss happens - and it does regularly for days on end - wholesale spot electrcity prices skyrocket - wholsale to £2500 at c6pm peak hour few weeks ago £670 ave daily etc. Cf £50 in summer.

There was a UK record peak of c£9700 reached in July to buy GW on EU interconnects - again in large part due to lack of wind delivery - to keep London and SE grid up.

2) suspect the only theft from 1/2 hourly meter data some people (*) are worried about is the clear risk of a rise in peak rates under time of use tariffs.

Reading other posts the meters store it regardless.

(*) There are several mse regular posters who are quite clearly  against giving half hourly data for whatever reason - doesn't really bother me.



Wholesale prices swing wildly on a day to day hour to hour basis.  See above.

Some domestic users in USA states signed up to live wholesale pricing deals  - as offered cheap deals in normal conditions.  In Texas a while back during a cold snap, the local and uniquely more isolated state grid nearly collapsed and these users ended up with bills based on state cap - at iirc $10,000/GWh - for days.  Some billed more that week than a normal year.

Averaging and bought ahead hedge price deals may look bad when prices low or falling, as hopefully they will again,  but they do protect against such extremes.

ariarnia

Alnat1 said:

With my energy company Octopus, 30 minute data allows me to see graphs and charts breaking down my usage into greater detail.

For example, it lets me see how much I'm using overnight and allows me to see if turning stuff off at the plug is saving me money.

There's no negatives to it unless you're the sort that doesn't think SP should be able to tell that you occasionally make a cuppa at 3am and they will somehow use that info against you.

i don't have a problem with it but i would be interested in knowing if more regular reporting does anything to how often the gas meter communicates with the hub. as gas meters are normally on a battery then my only concern about that would be if it drains the battery faster (there separate systems in the home and to the supplier database so i can see why they both might or might not be related). 

Spoonie_Turtle

^ As far as I understand, the gas meter communicates with the hub every 30 mins anyway.  I guess it's then just a case of how often the hub communicates with the supplier?

[Deleted User]

Spoonie_Turtle said:

^ As far as I understand, the gas meter communicates with the hub every 30 mins anyway.  I guess it's then just a case of how often the hub communicates with the supplier?

For consumers on a 30 minute profile, the supplier initiates a data pull once every 24 hours: usually in the early hours of the morning. The meter sends back up to 4 index readings and an XML file with 30 minute usage data.