Do I HAVE to have a smart meter?

GingerTim

MWT said:

GingerTim said:

You can't have a smart gas meter without a smart electricity meter having been installed first (the former sends readings via the latter).

It is possible, just uncommon in domestic premises.

The electricity meter does not send anything on behalf of the gas meter, they both connect to the comms hub via the HAN created by the comms hub.

The confusion comes from the placement of the comms hub on top of the electricity meter, but the only direct connection it has is for power, not data.

Ta! Every day's a school day, and all that.

EssexHebridean

Ignoring communications about the need for a meter to be replaced is all well and good, except when the communication turns into "we've applied for and got a warrant to enter your property and change your meter" at which point it all becomes rather needlessly expensive... 

As for the reasons behind clarifying why essentially smart meters are just meters - it's as much as anything else for others who come to the thread later. This is a public forum, and as such we have to assume that any thread may be picked up in the fiture and read by someone with reservations about smart metering. We also know that often, those reservations people have about smart meters are based on scaremongering rather than fact - indeed, we've seen that very scaremongering repeated on the forums many times. Just recently we had someone who posted here adamant that they didn't want a SM because "radiation" - the subsequent reply pointing out to that person that they were worried about radiation from a SM while using the internet, probably owning a mobile phone, microwave, etc etc might end up in front of someone else who has been told that "radiation" is a problem with SM's - and if the correct, calm and rational information given on that thread then helps that person to actually go away, do some reading of proper scientific research, and this have their mind set to rest, then that's a good thing. When someone posts here, the replies they get don't only help them - they help others too - and that's why setting out of factual information is helpful.

OP - what you could do is establish what the end of life date on your meter actually is to inform yourself as to whether it actually HAS reached end of life, or whether this is a supplier getting ahead of themselves, or simply an error.  Try here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1126202/schedule-4-december-2022.pdf
Although your meter was installed in 2015 I think you said, it could well have been a couple of years old by that time, and there are an awful lot of 10 year certified meters! 

But yes - as already said, you can choose not to have an in-life meter replaced with a smart meter, but once the meter becomes end of life,  it must be replaced, and that will very likely be with a Smart one, these days. 
 

debitcardmayhem

Of course the meter could short, overheat etc causing a fire, or the new one will be certified as not ringing home to China to … 😛

km1500

when a meter reaches its certification date its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

Thus with uncertified meters you could be underpaying or overpaying - or indeed paying exactly the right amount. Noone knows. Hence the need to replace them.

Spoonie_Turtle

km1500 said:

when a meter reaches its certification date its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

Thus with uncertified meters you could be underpaying or overpaying - or indeed paying exactly the right amount. Noone knows. Hence the need to replace them.

It's not just that, but legally suppliers cannot bill against an expired meter. 

So if they can't bill against the readings, what do they do?  I don't actually know the answer, but when suppliers don't get readings they use estimates based on past usage, which could well be higher than a person's actual usage, particularly now when people might be trying to cut down to save money.  So maybe that's what they do if the meter's expired.  I don't know.

BrainDrained

EssexHebridean said:

OP - what you could do is establish what the end of life date on your meter actually is to inform yourself as to whether it actually HAS reached end of life, or whether this is a supplier getting ahead of themselves, or simply an error.  Try here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1126202/schedule-4-december-2022.pdf
Although your meter was installed in 2015 I think you said, it could well have been a couple of years old by that time, and there are an awful lot of 10 year certified meters! 

 

Thank you.  The manufacturer is in the list but the actual model isn't.
However, I've just noticed a certification stamp on it that says May 2014, so they are getting slightly ahead of themselves.  I suppose I'll just have to grit my teeth and let them change it

[Deleted User]

BrainDrained said:

EssexHebridean said:

OP - what you could do is establish what the end of life date on your meter actually is to inform yourself as to whether it actually HAS reached end of life, or whether this is a supplier getting ahead of themselves, or simply an error.  Try here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1126202/schedule-4-december-2022.pdf
Although your meter was installed in 2015 I think you said, it could well have been a couple of years old by that time, and there are an awful lot of 10 year certified meters! 

 

Thank you.  The manufacturer is in the list but the actual model isn't.
However, I've just noticed a certification stamp on it that says May 2014, so they are getting slightly ahead of themselves.  I suppose I'll just have to grit my teeth and let them change it

There has been some debate about this, but the meters are the supplier’s responsibility and ultimately we all have to accept what the supplier is telling us. It is in a supplier’s interest to extend meter certification whenever possible but I doubt that manufacturers are interested in taking this work forward given that analogue meters have had their day.

matt_drummer

BrainDrained said:

However, I've just noticed a certification stamp on it that says May 2014, so they are getting slightly ahead of themselves. 

May 2014 is nine years ago.

How are they getting ahead of themselves?

[Deleted User]

matt_drummer said:

BrainDrained said:

However, I've just noticed a certification stamp on it that says May 2014, so they are getting slightly ahead of themselves. 

May 2014 is nine years ago.

How are they getting ahead of themselves?

You would expect some months lead time? ‘Your meter certificate lapsed yesterday’ is hardly a good position for the supplier and customer to be in.

matt_drummer

Dolor said:

matt_drummer said:

BrainDrained said:

However, I've just noticed a certification stamp on it that says May 2014, so they are getting slightly ahead of themselves. 

May 2014 is nine years ago.

How are they getting ahead of themselves?

You would expect some months lead time? ‘Your meter certificate lapsed yesterday’ is hardly a good position for the supplier and customer to be in.

May 2014

It's nine years ago - what lead time time?