Smart meter impasse

Sarahspangles

matt_drummer said:

Sarahspangles said:

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a smart meter to work, and I have better uses for my time.

Sometimes it's not possible, what do you want them to do about it?

If they come back and put your old meters back in you'll be in exactly the same position you are now.

What are you looking for?

A smart meter that is smart?

[Deleted User]

So Energy are now telling us that they’re reliant on a change in legislation in 2025 to make the meter work. Is this utter BS?

You might to point out to your supplier that other suppliers, such as Octopus,  are already deploying dual-band gas meters and communications hubs to extend the range of the Home Area Network. (Both the gas meter and the IHD use the HAN to communicate with the communications hub. ALT-HAN is also available to suppliers.

If that fails, switch to Octopus and I am sure that they will deal with the issue.

matt_drummer

Sarahspangles said:

matt_drummer said:

Sarahspangles said:

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a smart meter to work, and I have better uses for my time.

Sometimes it's not possible, what do you want them to do about it?

If they come back and put your old meters back in you'll be in exactly the same position you are now.

What are you looking for?

A smart meter that is smart?

Your electricity meter is smart and is working?

Your gas meter is smart but if it is too far away from the electricity meter or the signal is blocked in some way then it won't communicate with the electricity meter as it needs to.

The communication hub is on the electricity meter.

If they can't make it work then you will have to submit manual readings just as you did before, there is nothing they can do at the moment.

It looks like you cant have what you want at the moment but at least you are no worse off than you were before.

It's a shame but that's how it goes sometimes.

Sarahspangles

[Deleted User] said:

So Energy are now telling us that they’re reliant on a change in legislation in 2025 to make the meter work. Is this utter BS?

You might to point out to your supplier that other suppliers, such as Octopus,  are already deploying dual-band gas meters and communications hubs to extend the range of the Home Area Network. (Both the gas meter and the IHD use the HAN to communicate with the communications hub. ALT-HAN is also available to suppliers.

If that fails, switch to Octopus and I am sure that they will deal with the issue.

Thank you for the actually useful suggestion! Was starting to wonder what the advice would be if I said I’d bought an electric bike and it wasn’t working - ‘just pedal?’ Lol

[Deleted User]

there is nothing they can do at the moment.

The DCC would suggest otherwise. My guess would be is that So Energy is concentrating on smart meter rollout and will start fixing problems after the rollout programme ends in 2025:

https://www.smartdcc.co.uk/our-smart-network/current-programmes/dual-band-comms-hubs/

Sarahspangles

matt_drummer said:

Your electricity meter is smart and is working?

Your gas meter is smart but if it is too far away from the electricity meter or the signal is blocked in some way then it won't communicate with the electricity meter as it needs to.

The communication hub is on the electricity meter.

If they can't make it work then you will have to submit manual readings just as you did before, there is nothing they can do at the moment.

It looks like you cant have what you want at the moment but at least you are no worse off than you were before.

It's a shame but that's how it goes sometimes.

Well now I’m even more peed off. I originally declined the smart meter installation because the meters are under the stairs on an internal load-bearing wall, and I said I was sceptical they would communicate. We were told that wasn’t possible and that agreeing to have one installed would mean nobody would ever need to access that area* So we were lied to.

* It’s a cupboard below a half-landing so not a useable space. The domestic unit has been relocated.

QrizB

matt_drummer said:

Sarahspangles said:

matt_drummer said:

Sarahspangles said:

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a smart meter to work, and I have better uses for my time.

Sometimes it's not possible, what do you want them to do about it?

If they come back and put your old meters back in you'll be in exactly the same position you are now.

What are you looking for?

A smart meter that is smart?

Your electricity meter is smart and is working?
Your gas meter is smart but if it is too far away from the electricity meter or the signal is blocked in some way then it won't communicate with the electricity meter as it needs to.
The communication hub is on the electricity meter.
If they can't make it work then you will have to submit manual readings just as you did before, there is nothing they can do at the moment.

The technology to fill in holes in the HAN is cheap and simple (from about £10 on eBay):

https://smarthomescene.com/reviews/extending-network-range-with-cheap-zigbee-signal-repeaters/

However, you'd need to get it added to your HAN and that's where it becomes tricky, as the home owner doesn't have any ability to do this and I imagine you'd struggle to persuade your energy company (not even Octopus) to add a random Zigbee device to the "GCHQ-approved security" of the HAN.

matt_drummer

Sarahspangles said:

Thank you for the actually useful suggestion! Was starting to wonder what the advice would be if I said I’d bought an electric bike and it wasn’t working - ‘just pedal?’ Lol

You haven't bought any smart meters though, the meters belong to your energy supplier.

The only way to solve your issue is to talk to your supplier or try another one, but they still might not work.

How far is your gas meter from your electricity meter?

QrizB

Sarahspangles said:

Well now I’m even more peed off. I originally declined the smart meter installation because the meters are under the stairs on an internal load-bearing wall, and I said I was sceptical they would communicate.

Wait, are the gas meter and the electricity meter both together in the same space? We've all been assuming their several metres apart and/or separated by fully-dense walls.

If they're co-located, they should be communicating easily.

matt_drummer

[Deleted User] said:

there is nothing they can do at the moment.

The DCC would suggest otherwise. My guess would be is that So Energy is concentrating on smart meter rollout and will start fixing problems after the rollout programme ends in 2025:

https://www.smartdcc.co.uk/our-smart-network/current-programmes/dual-band-comms-hubs/

OK then, put it another way, there isn't anything that So Energy are prepared to do about it at the moment.

Whatever the issue is, it would still be sensible to submit meter readings rather than keep allowing estimated bills to be raised.