Can smart meters wind you up with paying MORE for your energy?

ArbitraryRandom

I'm sure it's not illegal, but if the IHD has already been paired to a meter (which happens at installation) then it won't work for anyone else (AFAIK)... 

born_again

MeteredOut said:

victor2 said:

MeteredOut said:

deano2099 said:

But you don't have to plug it in. They usually end up chucked in a drawer after the novelty wears off.

But if you do that, how are you going to know how much it's costing you!

Schrodinger's IHD

Same way as you do with a non smart meter. Wait for the bill.. Bonus you do not have to read meter 😍

B0bbyEwing

Reed_Richards said:

I can't see that there will ever be a time when having a smart meter will exclude you from access to a tariff that is available to those who do not have a smart meter.  So on that basis, the answer is No.  

While it is an answer of sorts, that isn't the question that I asked. So it answers someone's question, just not mine.

Though my question has been answered now anyway.

deano2099 said:

B0bbyEwing said:

Thanks. Very helpful.

I'm forever cautious about change anyway. Not just smart meters. I don't always insta-believe the masses either - "it's cheap". I prefer to try & see if there's any "ahhh but........." that nobody tells you about. If there's not & if it (not just smart meters) actually is a good move then I'll do it.

So far I'm struggling to find a reason to NOT get a smart meter so I think I'll book in.

There's two ways you can save money with a smart meter. The first is the tariffs that people have been talking about, the second is just that it allows you to engage with your energy usage by giving you a lot more information. You may discover that certain devices are using far more energy that you expected and so you could make long term savings by replacing them, or even doing without.
There's only two ways you'd end up worse off - the first is opting for one of the fancy smart meter tariffs when it's not right for you and your usage pattern. The second isn't about smart meters strictly, but a smart meter is a new meter and on the off chance your current meter is faulty and under-charging you, a new working meter could lead to you paying more. But this also works the other way (a faulty meter may also be over-charging you).
To be clear, that's a tiny risk, but it is one worth being aware of.

Knowing my luck I'll be getting under charged at the moment & a new install will have me paying more. 

But hey ho, you makes your decisions.



And as for these displays, are they any different to smart plugs which tell you how much kwh you've been using & you work out the cost from that?
I ask since I already have one of those.

Netexporter

And as for these displays, are they any different to smart plugs

Yes, they're free.

Spoonie_Turtle

B0bbyEwing said:

And as for these displays, are they any different to smart plugs which tell you how much kwh you've been using & you work out the cost from that?
I ask since I already have one of those.

The main difference is it shows the whole house usage.  So useful if you want to find it how much your wired-in appliances are using, by watching the fluctuations.  Or how much gas is being used, if you have that.

BeerSavesMoney

We are currently living in a two bed flat on Octopus Agile. Our main usage during the peak hours is cooking, which even if we still do during the peak hours we regularly save 10-30% daily compared to the SVT.

B0bbyEwing

Netexporter said:

And as for these displays, are they any different to smart plugs

Yes, they're free.

My smart plug isn't costing me anything either - it's already been paid for.

ArbitraryRandom

I tend to think they're a novelty that should be on request rather than automatically issued just to live in a drawer... but I can see that if you're in the habit of looking at yours during the day then you're more likely to quickly notice things like an immersion heater/oven accidentally left on etc

Just always turn it to kWh as the unit rates on those things are not to be trusted. 

QrizB

B0bbyEwing said:

And as for these displays, are they any different to smart plugs which tell you how much kwh you've been using & you work out the cost from that?
I ask since I already have one of those.

Horses for courses.

Your smart plug will tell you how much power the one appliance plugged into it uses. The IHD covers your whole house at once, 24/7.

debitcardmayhem

B0bbyEwing said:

Reed_Richards said:

I can't see that there will ever be a time when having a smart meter will exclude you from access to a tariff that is available to those who do not have a smart meter.  So on that basis, the answer is No.  

While it is an answer of sorts, that isn't the question that I asked. So it answers someone's question, just not mine.

.

But your question was 

Can smart meters wind you up with paying MORE for your energy?

Why would they wind you up? Or are you winding us up?  Smart meters allow us to choose tariffs that suit our circumstances, the IHDs are either useful or not . The real reason that you pay MORE for your energy is down to you with or without a smart meter it’s down to your research end of.