EDF: End of Life Meter and Providing My Own New Meter (non-smart)

Ectophile

mr_stripey said:

As mentioned before, the major meter manufacturers do not make non smart meters any more. So being able to source a non smart meter and it be from a manufacturer which is approved by the various regulators and energy companies is far from easy.

In the case of the manufacturer I work for (and I have no particular axe to grind here as my job is high pressure gas supplies rather than domestic) the factories which produced the old style meters have been sold and demolished and production moved to new sites set up for the smart meter manufacturer. 

We genuinely could not produce a non smart meter now even if we wanted to - which we don't , because there is next to no demand for them.

Non-smart meters are still for sale from reputable retailers.  See, for example, https://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/products/4326507-1-phase-100a-mid-approved-meter

The whole idea that nobody makes non-smart meters any more is a myth put about by people who only want to offer smart meters.

Spoonie_Turtle

Ectophile said:

mr_stripey said:

As mentioned before, the major meter manufacturers do not make non smart meters any more. So being able to source a non smart meter and it be from a manufacturer which is approved by the various regulators and energy companies is far from easy.

In the case of the manufacturer I work for (and I have no particular axe to grind here as my job is high pressure gas supplies rather than domestic) the factories which produced the old style meters have been sold and demolished and production moved to new sites set up for the smart meter manufacturer. 

We genuinely could not produce a non smart meter now even if we wanted to - which we don't , because there is next to no demand for them.

Non-smart meters are still for sale from reputable retailers.  See, for example, https://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/products/4326507-1-phase-100a-mid-approved-meter

The whole idea that nobody makes non-smart meters any more is a myth put about by people who only want to offer smart meters.

Some available for individual sale ≠ still being manufactured.

But the suppliers are hardly going to be procuring those relative few available, are they?

mmmmikey

I suspect that both @mr_stripey and @Ectophile are correct here:

Mr S states that (a) the MAJOR manufacturers no longer make non-smart meters, and (b) points out that the meter has to be approved by the regulators and suppliers for use as a domestic supply meter. Given that Mr S works in the industry there is no reason to believe that this is untrue.

Ecto points out that non-smart meters most definitely are still available by pointing to one that is on sale. Meters are fitted in situations other than regular domestic grid supplies, such as for sub-metering in commercial premises, solar generation meters and so on. I would anticipate that this demand for non-smart meters will continue. Although the meter linked to is MID approved that is not necessarily the same as being approved for use as a domestic supply meter.

I expect this is a moot point though as the number of hoops that would need to be jumped through to actually get one fitted is likely to make doing so prohibitive, as acknowledged by the OP in an earlier post.

Reed_Richards

I have three electricity meters in my meter cupboard. One measures the electricity imported and exported by my house; that one is a smart meter.  One measures the electricity used by my heat pump; that is digital but not smart.  One measures the electricity exported (and imported) by my solar panels and battery; that too is digital but not smart.  It's ridiculous to say that there is no demand for these digital-but-dumb electricity meters because there are applications like the two I mentioned.

Even my smart meter is actually comprised of two units, the actual meter and, plugged in on top of it, the comms hub that makes it "smart".  A small fraction of those dwellings that have a smart meter fitted don't have a working comms hub so their meter is dumb.        

EssexHebridean

Reed_Richards said:

I have three electricity meters in my meter cupboard. One measures the electricity imported and exported by my house; that one is a smart meter.  One measures the electricity used by my heat pump; that is digital but not smart.  One measures the electricity exported (and imported) by my solar panels and battery; that too is digital but not smart.  It's ridiculous to say that there is no demand for these digital-but-dumb electricity meters because there are applications like the two I mentioned.

Even my smart meter is actually comprised of two units, the actual meter and, plugged in on top of it, the comms hub that makes it "smart".  A small fraction of those dwellings that have a smart meter fitted don't have a working comms hub so their meter is dumb.        

How many of those meters do you pay a standing charge for? The comment about there being no demand for non smart meters now was specifically intended to mean for the purpose of energy metering by suppliers I believe - not related to other uses that an individual householder might make of them. From an energy supplier point of view, they have been superceded by a more advanced product. 

mmmmikey

Reed_Richards said:

I have three electricity meters in my meter cupboard. One measures the electricity imported and exported by my house; that one is a smart meter.  One measures the electricity used by my heat pump; that is digital but not smart.  One measures the electricity exported (and imported) by my solar panels and battery; that too is digital but not smart.  It's ridiculous to say that there is no demand for these digital-but-dumb electricity meters because there are applications like the two I mentioned.

Even my smart meter is actually comprised of two units, the actual meter and, plugged in on top of it, the comms hub that makes it "smart".  A small fraction of those dwellings that have a smart meter fitted don't have a working comms hub so their meter is dumb.        

Yes, there is still demand and no doubt will be for some time. But the comment made was "there is next to no demand" which is not the same as saying there is "no demand". And it's just a figure of speech. The point being made is that as a result of the smart meter rollout the demand for digital-but-dumb meters has reduced so much that it is no longer viable for the major manufacturers to continue to supply them.

Reed_Richards

Everyone getting solar panels will get a dumb electricity meter was well.  Everyone getting a heat pump under the old RHI grant scheme in the final years before it closed had to get a dumb electricity meter as well.  I don't know what the current situation is but I find it very useful to know how much of my household electricity is being used by the heat pump. 

My point is that there is still a demand for these dumb meters and where there is a demand some equipment suppliers will find it worth their while to make them.  If that supplier is not a major manufacturer then it's a minor manufacturer; what does that matter?

I can't see any electricity supplier wanting to install a dumb meter.  And if the did I imagine their cheapest option would be to supply the meter part of a smart meter with a cover on the top instead of the comms hub.  I have a smart meter and the bottom meter bit isn't even made by the same company as the top bit, the comms hub.      

SAC2334

A rare beast in the world of any meter reader are electric dial meters nowadays . Personally I love them especially the Sangamo Westons which are for sale on specialist websites as a thing of beauty . 
I guarantee that the OP would have misread his/her dial meter a few times over the years, and also by many meter readers too . They are hated as confusing  by the public and more misread than even the worst smart meters( including Secure smart meters with their tiny keyboard ) .I would have thought that the OP was happy as larry in getting shut of his meter  with its 6 confusing little dials  spinning round in different directions . 
I also guarantee that once you get a smart meter and can start to access such amazing smart tariffs as Octopus Tracker, Go , Agile , that you will be kicking yourself you had not got onto one of these tariffs years ago .

I m a newbie myself to smart meters myself in my property  and already I ve learnt to love them with what I can do with them regarding cutting costs and having a bit of fun with Octopus savings sessions daily Tracker rates , and a free cuppa at Greggs last week  .
You can certainly buy a cheap , unreliable , digital electric meter but you need permission from your supplier to actually go ahead and pay someone a few huindred quid to install one . I have not heard of any supplier actually giving permission to go ahead and install one . 

Spoonie_Turtle

SAC2334 said:

A rare beast in the world of any meter reader are electric dial meters nowadays . Personally I love them especially the Sangamo Westons which are for sale on specialist websites as a thing of beauty . 
I guarantee that the OP would have misread his/her dial meter a few times over the years, and also by many meter readers too . They are hated as confusing  by the public and more misread than even the worst smart meters( including Secure smart meters with their tiny keyboard ) .I would have thought that the OP was happy as larry in getting shut of his meter  with its 6 confusing little dials  spinning round in different directions . 
I also guarantee that once you get a smart meter and can start to access such amazing smart tariffs as Octopus Tracker, Go , Agile , that you will be kicking yourself you had not got onto one of these tariffs years ago .

I m a newbie myself to smart meters myself in my property  and already I ve learnt to love them with what I can do with them regarding cutting costs and having a bit of fun with Octopus savings sessions daily Tracker rates , and a free cuppa at Greggs last week  .

Off topic (or at least a tangent) but your post was a joy to read - such a balanced view like this to me feels quite … I can't think of the word, weighty? … coming from someone who clearly loves and appreciates the old meters for what they are.