Shortest wait for smart meter?

olbas_oil

Is there any way of finding out what the various energy companies have as waiting times to fit a smart meter? It seems you have to be an account holder before you get to see this. Suppose you were wanting to do a switch (albeit temporary) based on the quickest installation? 

[Deleted User]

There is no simple way. Smart meter installation times vary by supplier and region. What’s the sudden rush: we have all had years to think about this?

Alnat1

Meter fitters usually work for multiple companies and it's more a matter of how busy they are in your area/if any are working in your area.

MattMattMattUK

olbas_oil said:

Is there any way of finding out what the various energy companies have as waiting times to fit a smart meter? It seems you have to be an account holder before you get to see this. Suppose you were wanting to do a switch (albeit temporary) based on the quickest installation? 

In general Octopus, British Gas and EDF tend to be slightly faster than the others, but it really does depend on region and demand, there is currently a shortage of meters at the moment but it varies regionally and the wait will likely be the same whatever supplier you are with.

Why the desperate rush?

olbas_oil

"Why the desperate rush?"

The house is a recent purchase, and there's decisions to be made about replacing the boiler. At the moment we have no good information about energy consumption. 

MattMattMattUK

olbas_oil said:

"Why the desperate rush?"

The house is a recent purchase, and there's decisions to be made about replacing the boiler. At the moment we have no good information about energy consumption. 

Reading the meter every day will give you accurate usage information. If you are planning on replacing the boiler with another gas boiler then the simple way to look at it is that in terms of a cost saving it is almost never worth it if you are replacing one condensing boiler with another condensing boiler, if you are replacing a non-condensing boiler with a condensing boiler it will be worth it, you might well save 30-40% on the gas used by your boiler. Other options such as heat pumps are much more complicated as they may require new radiators, sufficient insulation etc. 

EssexHebridean

olbas_oil said:

"Why the desperate rush?"

The house is a recent purchase, and there's decisions to be made about replacing the boiler. At the moment we have no good information about energy consumption. 

Agree with Matt3 about reading the meters daily - at least that allows you to keep a manual record. 

It might be worth asking the neighbours to see if anyone locally has had a particularly swift experience getting one fitted - alternatively you could just go ahead and book an appointment with your current supplier and see what they have to say? At least that would get the ball rolling and if you decided to switch supplier before the appointment date then I'd think it would just cancel. 

At the moment on here we seem to be hearing decent things about various suppliers lead times depending on the region - for one person at one end of the country one supplier might be "best" and for another, elsewhere, it could be a different firm entirely, hence it's a bit difficult to help with any degree of accuracy. 

diystarter7

olbas_oil said:

Is there any way of finding out what the various energy companies have as waiting times to fit a smart meter? It seems you have to be an account holder before you get to see this. Suppose you were wanting to do a switch (albeit temporary) based on the quickest installation? 

Hi OP

Times will vary.
You sound a bit like me, if it needs doing it has to be done quickly and I note the exact reason as well, best to get it done.

Try EDF and BG, give them a call and see what others have said.

I'm sure you have though long and hard about this and see an advantage of some type, hence your question

I'm sure you have done your homework but being aware of stats may help you further should you encounter a problem, the link below may help you and others be better prepared for most eventialities .

From Which magazine from about two weeks ago about some of the problems you may encounter, but chances of that are relatively small 5/6%. IMO a very helpful read for those wanting one of these items.
https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/energy-supplier-not-getting-readings-from-your-smart-meter-youre-not-alone-aVihU5a6LLKI

I wish you luck in getting it quickly and I hope it all goes smoothly.

Thnaks

pfpf

went live with Octopus on the 4th Feb. kept checking and a slot became available on the 13th Feb to book for 16th March.
Yorkshire.

EssexHebridean

For some context from the article mentioned above:

23% of people with a smart meter in our survey reported having had a problem with it in the last 12 months. Of those who had a problem:

• 41% said their energy supplier had not received meter readings;  This is most likely to be where people still have unadopted SMETS1 meters - and those are no longer being fitted. Of those already fitted, more are being adopted and making a return to being "smart" all the time.
• 40% said their in-home display was not working; This is not a problem with the Smart Meter.
• 26% said the smart meter itself was not working; That's incredibly vague - and probably includes a lot of those who also "voted" in the other categories too.
• 9% said they had recieved inaccurate bills; Very likely a good proportion of these will reflect straight back to the SMETS1 issue again, and estimated bills.
• 6% had installation issues; This is not a problem with the smart meter.
• 5% said their smart meter is hard to access. This is not a problem with the Smart meter and in fact may even mean having one is an advantage

On that final point - this is actually a situation where having a smart meter may well make life simpler for someone. In almost all cases they are installed in exactly the same position as the meter they are replacing was - ergo if the SM is hard to access, so was the original one - however a correctly working SM needs accessing less often (as so long as the bills show readings are being sent, it will just need a periodic "check reading" to ensure everything tallies up.) 

Ultimately, a smart meter that is not sending readings is no different to a dumb meter - in almost all cases, it certainly isn't any worse.

diystarter7

pfpf said:

went live with Octopus on the 4th Feb. kept checking and a slot became available on the 13th Feb to book for 16th March.
Yorkshire.

Hi

Regarding "Octopus" - this supplier appears to be a good supplier according to various polls/etc and a thread I have posted.

Thank you for sharing and I hope it goes well. Do feel free to read the link I posted from Which magazine, dated about 2 weeks. Lots of good info if things go belly up and what to do and what may go wrong. It also points out the advantages. A very fair and well-balanced article as always from Which.

Take care.