Why are people so disparaging about IHDs?

Xbigman

dealyboy said:

@Xbigman said:

Yes I know we all know it's kWh that count and we can all use our spreadsheets but it's long been established there are parts of the population that struggle with this particular mathematics issue especially when you add in cubic feet/meters and calorific values for gas calculations.

That's why some of us are here to help when those that need it pop onto the forum.

This is one of the reasons its flawed. Because some people struggle we are all treated like that. Everything in this country is dumbed down thus pushing everyone to be dumb. The IHD should default to consumption with the option to use cost for those that find that useful.

However my main point is still valid. If you look back at what you've paid without knowing consumption its pretty meaningless. 


Darren

... mine does ... if what you are referring to is real time electrical power usage. In fact it shows both the usage and the cost per hour underneath in small point size. For other consumption figures (energy, cost, time periods etc) I need to select the calendar button or menu.

As already stated the figures are accurate; the IHD presents information using data from the SMETS 2 meter which I can interrogate to obtain the raw data for E7 splits.

It might help to reboot the IHD.

I am electricity only.

No. I'm talking about historic usage. Some one who only looks at £ might be spending £2.00 per day now but after the 1st of July might only be spending £1.65. Most of the regulars on this site know this is because the price changed but there's an awful lot of people who will think they've only used £1.65 rather than using £2. Just look at the number of 1st time posters who tell us what their direct debit is without any other information. 



Darren

born_again

Swipe said:

Or maybe the energy companies just need to make more of an effort to keep people's smart meters up to date with the correct tariff info

Kind of sums a lot up there. (no disrespect) 

IHD is not a smart meter. It is a dumb device, connected to a smart meter. That shows usage, but as far as the actual cost side goes relies on companies updating with the correct info.
As has been pointed out. Which the current pricing system, each suppler has it's own way of doing this, & taking the EPG deduction from the true unit costs.

RG2015

victor2 said:

RG2015 said:

Chrysalis said:

victor2 said:

Chrysalis said:

I think IHD's would be better without cost been quoted, used for usage, not tariff or billing information.

....

While I agree because the cost indicated will never quite match exactly what is billed, people aren't really interested in kWh usage, they want to know the cost.

For example, we've just got a new "smart" appliance, which uses  a small amount of power 24/7. I've monitored what its use has been overnight and the kWh figure means nothing to my OH. All she wants to know is the cost and therefore potential saving by not having it on standby.

Maybe IHD's would be more useful showing historical billed cost, with the ability to average that out over the billing period, but then people would have to typically wait a month to see the effect of their efforts to save, assuming kWh figures meant little to them - and that's before you try to explain how gas volume used is converted to kWh for billing purposes!

Well the app does show your bills, so as such the cost, unlike the IHD's its accurate.

Once again, a blanket statement is being made.

I can categorically say that my IHD is accurate and I suspect that I am not the only one.

It is incorrect to imply that IHDs are not accurate.

All you can say is that some IHDs are inaccurate. Possibly with evidence you could say that many IHDs are inaccurate.

It depends on your definition of accurate.

An IHD will rarely match what a customer is billed to the penny, due to rounding and the way VAT has to be applied. On top of that, the Calorific Value of gas changes daily, which an IHD doesn't show, and then the supplier uses an "average" CV for the entire billing period. We're only talking pennies on a typical monthly bill, but the discrepancy is there.

1. Accuracy. I agree, it will be accurate within a few pennies, but that is fine and no cause for concern.
2. Gas. I should have said that I am not connected to the gas network, so I am only commenting on electric.

I do not believe that the widespread trashing of IHDs would be justified if the only complaint was a small, insignificant  discrepancy.

I would much prefer to see a bit more evidential rigour if anyone is advocating that IHDs should be consigned to the back of a drawer.  

MattMattMattUK

[Deleted User] said:

MattMattMattUK said:

Chrysalis said:

I think IHD's would be better without cost been quoted, used for usage, not tariff or billing information.

I also think the octopus mini should be how it should have been from the start, I find it much better than the IHD I received.

For those who dont know, Octopus are trialling a product which sends usage information to your phone for the current day and live watts usage.  So no need to be sitting next to a IHD display, and with it being an app, it means octopus can provide software updates when needed.

https://octopus.energy/blog/octopus-home-mini/

I am really surprised that the system for getting data off the HAN was not better designed, if they had made it accessible by user paring, over Zigbee, Bluetooth etc. then it would have solved a lot of issues, would have allowed a PC to draw down data easily etc. The data accessibility at the local level seems flawed.

Our smart meter system is deliberately locked down for security reasons as there is the potential for a malign actor to cause considerable long-term damage to the National Grid if our smart meters are disconnected from the Grid en masse.

https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/information/the-smart-security-behind-the-gb-smart-metering-system

I understand why elements of the system need to be secured, especially the elements around connection/disconnection, but there is no reason that the data access part could not have been made more accessible on the local level, allowing direct paring to the HAN at a local level rather than requiring remote paring, which would have no risk of disconnection being in the walled off HAN components. 

Mstty

Swipe said:

Or maybe the energy companies just need to make more of an effort to keep people's smart meters up to date with the correct tariff info

The IHD is not a smart meter!!!!!

Swipe

Mstty said:

Swipe said:

Or maybe the energy companies just need to make more of an effort to keep people's smart meters up to date with the correct tariff info

The IHD is not a smart meter!!!!!

born_again said:

Swipe said:

Or maybe the energy companies just need to make more of an effort to keep people's smart meters up to date with the correct tariff info

Kind of sums a lot up there. (no disrespect) 

IHD is not a smart meter. It is a dumb device, connected to a smart meter. That shows usage, but as far as the actual cost side goes relies on companies updating with the correct info.
As has been pointed out. Which the current pricing system, each suppler has it's own way of doing this, & taking the EPG deduction from the true unit costs.

Give me a break! Why is everyone so pedantic on this forum? The IHD pulls the tariff info from the smart meter. If the smart meter has the wrong tariff details so does the IHD. 

RG2015

Mstty said:

Swipe said:

Or maybe the energy companies just need to make more of an effort to keep people's smart meters up to date with the correct tariff info

The IHD is not a smart meter!!!!!

Surely the IHD pulls the tariffs off the smart meter.

dealyboy

RG2015 said:

Mstty said:

Swipe said:

Or maybe the energy companies just need to make more of an effort to keep people's smart meters up to date with the correct tariff info

The IHD is not a smart meter!!!!!

Surely the IHD pulls the tariffs off the smart meter.

... after 107 posts  ... where's that scream emoji ?

RG2015

dealyboy said:

RG2015 said:

Mstty said:

Swipe said:

Or maybe the energy companies just need to make more of an effort to keep people's smart meters up to date with the correct tariff info

The IHD is not a smart meter!!!!!

Surely the IHD pulls the tariffs off the smart meter.

... after 107 posts  ... where's that scream emoji ?

I only have electricity. My smart meter displays my electricity rate per kWh and the daily standing charge. The same are shown on my IHD.

My IHD went blank for 6 or 7 months but the smart meter still had the correct tariffs. How else does my IHD get this data?

Please tell me if I have got anything wrong.

dealyboy

RG2015 said:

dealyboy said:

RG2015 said:

Mstty said:

Swipe said:

Or maybe the energy companies just need to make more of an effort to keep people's smart meters up to date with the correct tariff info

The IHD is not a smart meter!!!!!

Surely the IHD pulls the tariffs off the smart meter.

... after 107 posts  ... where's that scream emoji ?

I only have electricity. My smart meter displays my electricity rate per kWh and the daily standing charge. The same are shown on my IHD.

My IHD went blank for 6 or 7 months but the smart meter still had the correct tariffs. How else does my IHD get this data?

Please tell me if I have got anything wrong.

How does my IHD get messages from the supplier ? ... 'Welcome to EDF @dealyboy you old scoundrel' (I added the last bit).