Smart Meter Woes

Spoonie_Turtle

My parents were against them and I was initially of the mind 'if it ain't broke, no need to fix it' - our previous meter was nice and simple, easy to read/photograph, plenty of certified life left, and while I liked the idea of the smart functionality, really didn't want to risk anything going wrong. 

But we had to have one to be able to stay on Tracker, and it turns out that even with not using the hot water, it still heated up every day that we were on holiday *facepalm*  (probably didn't help that it was a relatively chilly month) - I genuinely hadn't thought the temp would drop that much without being used and replaced with cold water.  So now I know!  Okay not a huge discovery, but one I had no other way of finding out.  And it's just been interesting to find out what our baseload truly is, how much wired-in appliances use, etc.  Information is far more useful than educated guesses.

di893AASSpp99

I've had a smart meter for 78 years its called a BRAIN, the good Lord has also provide me with arms and hands with fingers, used to TURN THINGS DOWN OR OFF...!!!!! dont need a smart meter, its all very SMELLY....

lohr500

@di893AASSpp99

You may or not need one, but the facts seem to be that you will have no choice once your existing meter/s are deemed to be end of life.

And whilst it may not be relevant to your own energy requirements, smart meters do open the door to a range of competitively priced time of use (TOU) tariffs. These TOU tariffs aren't just of interest to those running electric vehicles or who have solar generation/battery storage systems.

Without a smart meter we couldn't access our EDF ECO20:20 tariff which is allowing us to get 80% of our electricity consumption at 11.44p per unit.

I do agree if all you need is a single rate tariff then the benefits of a smart meter are minimal, especially if you are in the habit of always submitting readings on a regular basis. 

[Deleted User]

di893AASSpp99 said:

I've had a smart meter for 78 years it’s called a BRAIN, the good Lord has also provide me with arms and hands with fingers, used to TURN THINGS DOWN OR OFF...!!!!! dont need a smart meter, its all very SMELLY....

We ‘old’ people really don’t like change. Smart meters have absolutely nothing to do with you or me turning things on and off. When we were young our electricity was generated from gas and coal with a bit of nuclear thrown into the mix. These sources produced a very stable output of electricity. 

Today, we have wind and sun which are anything but stable sources of energy. There are days when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow, and other days when there is a cloudless sky and strong winds. To manage this variable supply, Grid operators need as much visibility as possible of how much energy you and I use and when we use it. This is what smart meters provide.

To smooth out the supply peaks and troughs, we will see more and more tariffs which offer low prices when supply exceeds demand and high prices when there is a supply shortage. Consumers who want the freedom to use energy in any amount they want, when they want, will end up paying more than a consumer who is prepared to be flexible. Why pay 50p/kWh to put the dishwasher on at 7pm when it might only be 15p/kWh at 9pm?

Trust me, there is nothing sinister or smelly about smart metering. Who would have thought 25 years ago that you and I would be posting our thoughts on a webpage that can be read anywhere around the World. Smart metering is the future whether we ‘olds’ like it or not.