Smart meters only give "estimated" readings....

sandra_jean

I have noticed that after I switch off my gas heating boiler (the only gas used in the house) my smart meter continues to clock up usage. Thinking the smart meter was perhaps faulty, I contacted e-on. I was asked for photographs, which I supplied. Now I have been told that there is nothing wrong with my smart meter, and that it only shows ESTIMATED readings.The implication is therefore that it only continues clocking up to make up the missing usage.  

Here is e-on's wording:-

"....Upon checking the meter, it meter shows that it works well and there is not issue fault. Looking at the pictures, I do see that you where referring to the In Home Display (IHD).

The IHD was showing the estimated cost, usage for gas only and for electricity only. On the last picture that the total for both gas and electricity...."

Nothing whatsoever about why the readings continued to rise when there was no usage! And yes, I know I sent three photographs of the meter, combined reading, electricity reading and gas reading. I also sent a fourth photograph showing the gas reading several hours later, proving it was more than it had been when the boiler was switched off.

Now, I don't know about you, but this sounds peculiar to me. I thought the whole point of smart meters was their instant accuracy. This sly creeping up is worrying. If I'm experiencing this, then so are countless other smart-meter users....I boggle to thinking how much money is being siphoned off in this way. It is a sneaky scam? Or is it perfectly fine and we just have to swallow the bitter pill?

Keep_pedalling

What you are describing is the in house display not the meter itself, which will show how much is being used and estimated costs. You say your boiler is off but does it have a pilot light? 

[Deleted User]

The gas meter reports usage to the comms hub every 30 minutes to protect gas meter battery life.

If you shut your boiler down 15 minutes after the last update then it will take a further 15 minutes for the gas meter to update the gas proxy meter built into the comms hub and your IHD. This can give the impression that you are using gas when you are not.

Edit: The reason that the supplier is using term estimated is because all gas meters measure the volume of gas used. The gas proxy meter has to use a fixed calorific value to convert M3 to kWh. The supplier uses the average calorific value of the gas supplied to calculate the actual volume to kWh conversion used for billing.

bagand96

The In Home Display (IHD) is not the meter.  The meter is still the box under the stairs or outside in a box as it always has been.  the IHD gets it's data from the meter, but might not always be in instant real time as it has to sync wirelessly so what you might be seeing is as EON describe, it's just updating from the meter.

The good news is your actual meter also has a display and that is the actual real time reading.  So when you switch your heating off, if it's convenient you can check the reading on the meter.  If that is still incrementing, then yes there's a problem.  Another way to check, can you log into your EON account and interrogate your use further?  Most suppliers can show you what your use is in half hour blocks (if you're set up for 30 minute reads) so you could cross reference that to when your heating was on.

The chances of it being a nationwide scam? About zero... with the millions of smart meters installed people would have noticed if they randomly sit there all day incrementing the reading.

sandra_jean

I have taken photographs of the actual gas meter at the moment I switched the gas off, and then several hours later. The reading is identical. It's only the smart meter that continues to clock up. I'm an old biddy, but it seems there's something isn't right. I have sent both photographs to e-on but all I got was the extract I included above. E-on insist there's nothing wrong with my smart meter.

TadleyBaggie

The gas meter is the smart meter, the IHD inside your house is just a gadget. The supplying company will be using the readings direct from the actual gas meter, not the IHD.

[Deleted User]

sandra_jean said:

I have taken photographs of the actual gas meter at the moment I switched the gas off, and then several hours later. The reading is identical. It's only the smart meter that continues to clock up. I'm an old biddy, but it seems there's something isn't right. I have sent both photographs to e-on but all I got was the extract I included above. E-on insist there's nothing wrong with my smart meter.

The IHD shows both electricity power (in kW) and usage in kWh - updating every 10 seconds - and gas usage in kWh  - updating every 30 minutes.

The little toy that you look at in your kitchen is not a smart meter - it is an In House Display that takes data from the two smart meters via the communications hub.

What are you seeing increasing? If it is usage on the actual meter (that is, an increase in the index reading) this usage has to shown up on the In House Display.

Alnat1

The actual gas meter is the smart meter.

The In Home Display is only for guidance and does not show the accurate amounts you will be billed for. If the actual smart meter is not recording any use when the boiler is off, then you won't be billed for use.

brewerdave

This thread ,once again ,shows what is/was wrong with those absurd TV adverts - for a long time "Einstein" talked about his smart meter whilst pointing at an IHD !!

70sbudgie

From Eon's comments that you included, you are looking at the in home display (IHD), not the smart meter. The IHD is just a display. It displays the meter readings in a format that is easier to understand. The meter will be located wherever your previous non-smart meter was located and is not the plug in display you seem to be referring to.

The IHD also creates an estimated cost from the meter readings, which I believe includes an element of the standing charge. If you are looking at the cost on the display (rather than the kWhrs), this would explain why the cost is increasing when there is no usage. (The tariff data on my IHD is wrong, so the cost information I see doesn't mean anything. I have to refer to my bills for the correct cost information).

Try looking at the kWhrs on your display. If that is showing the kWhrs increasing when the boiler is off, you will need to go to the actual meter to see whether the meter is registering consumption with all the gas turned off. 

It sounds like Eon may have done a remote check and seen that your meter wasn't registering use when you said the boiler was off, but it would be a good idea to check for yourself.

Keep_pedalling

sandra_jean said:

I have taken photographs of the actual gas meter at the moment I switched the gas off, and then several hours later. The reading is identical. It's only the smart meter that continues to clock up. I'm an old biddy, but it seems there's something isn't right. I have sent both photographs to e-on but all I got was the extract I included above. E-on insist there's nothing wrong with my smart meter.

The actual meter is the smart meter, in in house display is probably playing catch-up with the smart meter but eventually both meter and display should have matching readings, how do these compare?. Your bills are based on your smart meter not the in house display.