Requesting SMETS2 upgrade for third party home displays: experience?

securityguy

I've had a SMETS1 meter from British Gas for some years, probably from around the time of early installs.  It largely works, except for the problem others have seen that the usage doesn't reflect properly in the app/website data.  It's correct in billing for things like Peaksave and my EV tariff, and the Bright and Ivie apps work correctly, so I'm confident it's reporting correctly; the problem is just BG's data flow.  It's DCC enrolled, presumably, as otherwise Bright and Ivie wouldn't work.

With my Home Automation hat on I'd like to get a Hildebrand / Glowmarkt home display so that I can get at the raw data in real-time (I have an MQTT broker running, so it should be very easy to integrate).  So I've ordered a SMETS1 Display and CAD from Hildebrand.

I've just had my order cancelled by them: apparently, the SMETS1 DCC enrolled Trilliant Comms Hubs won't work with third party displays.    There might be a fix in a few months, there might not.

What Hildebrand are proposing is that I contact my supplier, here BG, stating that under the "Smart Meter license obligations 49.4(d) & (e) Standard conditions of the electricity supply license (Electricity Act 1989) [I] wish to exercise [my] right to have a third party device", and ask for my meter to be upgraded to SMETS2.

Has anyone tried this?  I want to get hold of the data but not enough to want to waste my time having a fight with my supplier that I end up losing.  Is the cited regulation something that will open doors, or will it be greeted with a yawn?

Bendo

Absolutely no supplier is going to switch working meters. Hildebrand suggestion is simply farcical and completely nonsense.

MultiFuelBurner

Bendo said:

Absolutely no supplier is going to switch working meters. Hildebrand suggestion is simply farcical and completely nonsense.

Octopus did switch out out working smets 1 for smets 2 when we moved to them.

I wonder if this now counts towards suppliers smart meter installs even if it's an upgrade?

FreeBear

securityguy said: What Hildebrand are proposing is that I contact my supplier, here BG, stating that under the "Smart Meter license obligations 49.4(d) & (e) Standard conditions of the electricity supply license (Electricity Act 1989) [I] wish to exercise [my] right to have a third party device", and ask for my meter to be upgraded to SMETS2.

Has anyone tried this?  I want to get hold of the data but not enough to want to waste my time having a fight with my supplier that I end up losing.  Is the cited regulation something that will open doors, or will it be greeted with a yawn?

The request will probably be met with a blank face - Your average CS rep won't know the first thing about the rules & regulations even when beaten around the head with a large print copy. You'd be better off switching to a more agile supplier that is more switched on to innovative tariffs and recognises that technology (e.g. meters) need to keep pace.

Whether Octopus is on the ball, I couldn't say, but worth a punt. Although, if your SMETS1 meter is getting on for 10 years old, it might be due for a replacement anyway.

Bendo

FreeBear said:

securityguy said: What Hildebrand are proposing is that I contact my supplier, here BG, stating that under the "Smart Meter license obligations 49.4(d) & (e) Standard conditions of the electricity supply license (Electricity Act 1989) [I] wish to exercise [my] right to have a third party device", and ask for my meter to be upgraded to SMETS2.

Has anyone tried this?  I want to get hold of the data but not enough to want to waste my time having a fight with my supplier that I end up losing.  Is the cited regulation something that will open doors, or will it be greeted with a yawn?

The request will probably be met with a blank face - Your average CS rep won't know the first thing about the rules & regulations even when beaten around the head with a large print copy. You'd be better off switching to a more agile supplier that is more switched on to innovative tariffs and recognises that technology (e.g. meters) need to keep pace.

Whether Octopus is on the ball, I couldn't say, but worth a punt. Although, if your SMETS1 meter is getting on for 10 years old, it might be due for a replacement anyway.

There is no issue with rules and regulations here. The meter is compatible with 3rd party hubs, if no 3rd party hub is available thats not the fault of the supplier.

securityguy

Bendo said:

There is no issue with rules and regulations here. The meter is compatible with 3rd party hubs, if no 3rd party hub is available thats not the fault of the supplier.

I suspect you're right that it'll go nowhere.

But what I read Hildebrand as claiming is that DCC have told them that the Trilliant hub isn't compatible with 3rd party displays.  Even so I agree, this sounds like something that would be rejected.

What I could do is go back to Hildebrand and say "has anyone actually managed to do this?"  If the answer is "no", I have absolutely no interest in being the test case.  But if they say "with form of words X, supplier Y actually agreed to do the swap" (which I agree appears unlikely) then I might give it a punt.