Smart meter install - what to watch out for?

dharm999

Am having smart meters installed in a few weeks. Electricity meter is inside the front door, and gas meter is outside still.  Not really sure what is involved with having them installed, so looking for views on what to watch out for

Thanks

Ayr_Rage

Provided there is sufficient space it's just a meter swap.

For the electric side the installer will visually check your consumer unit and do a basic test at a socket to check the wiring is correct, that just plugs in.

Once the power is disconnected make sure all outlets are switched off individually so you can turn them back on one by one once power is restored.

A pressure leak test will be done on the gas side.

Once the gas is reconnected the installer should purge the system of air before leaving.

If all goes to plan the meters should talk to each other and the network and your In Home Device should start showing your usage straight away.

Make sure you take your own meter readings on the old meters, the installer should leave a card with the final old meter readings and the starting readings of the new meters.

Robin9

When you get your next bill check that the new meters are shown

Scrounger

Ask the fitter to install an isolator switch. 

This will make any future upgrades on your consumer unit much easier.


Scrounger

FreeBear

Scrounger said:

Ask the fitter to install an isolator switch. 

This will make any future upgrades on your consumer unit much easier.

The request needs to be made to the energy supplier's smart meter team. Wait until the installer turns up, and he/she may not have one on the van.

Tell the supplier that you are planning on getting an EV charging point fitted in the near future (which is what I did), and an isolator switch will be fitted (usually) free of charge.

lohr500

Are you on Economy 7 or any other form of dual rate electricity tariff now?
If so can you take a photo and post it here of your existing electricity meter and any other meters/boxes close to it?

If you are only on a single electricity rate, the switch to a smart meter should be straightforward.

But if you are on a dual rate tariff, it isn't as straightforward and there have been many reports of engineers fitting incorrectly configured smart meters which have resulted in either a complete loss of the dual rate tariff, or the means to switch on and off the off-peak circuits usually associated with storage heaters and overnight immersion heaters.  

dharm999

am I right to assume both smart meters need a power source close by?  For the gas smart meter will the engineer drill through the wall to the room where the boiler is and connect it up to a socket in there?

For the electricity smart meter, it’s currently in a lobby area just inside the front door, but there are no sockets in this area, however the lobby area has an inner door that opens in to a hall, and there is a socket just inside the hall, so would the engineer drill through the wooden frame to feed the wiring for the electricity smart meter?

Apologies if these are stupid or completely obvious questions

Thanks

dharm999

lohr500 said:

Are you on Economy 7 or any other form of dual rate electricity tariff now?
If so can you take a photo and post it here of your existing electricity meter and any other meters/boxes close to it?

If you are only on a single electricity rate, the switch to a smart meter should be straightforward.

But if you are on a dual rate tariff, it isn't as straightforward and there have been many reports of engineers fitting incorrectly configured smart meters which have resulted in either a complete loss of the dual rate tariff, or the means to switch on and off the off-peak circuits usually associated with storage heaters and overnight immersion heaters.  

On single rate billing for electricity, so no dual rate complications 

dharm999

FreeBear said:

Scrounger said:

Ask the fitter to install an isolator switch. 

This will make any future upgrades on your consumer unit much easier.

The request needs to be made to the energy supplier's smart meter team. Wait until the installer turns up, and he/she may not have one on the van.

Tell the supplier that you are planning on getting an EV charging point fitted in the near future (which is what I did), and an isolator switch will be fitted (usually) free of charge.

Thanks, will do that.  Current supplier is Octopus

Ayr_Rage

@dharm999 the electricity meter and the attached communications hub are powered by the incoming supply.

The gas meter is battery powered.

Neither need a socket.

dharm999

Ayr_Rage said:

@dharm999 the electricity meter and the attached communications hub are powered by the incoming supply.

The gas meter is battery powered.

Neither need a socket.

That’s really helpful, thanks, as I was worried about how they are powered.  Does the battery in the gas meter need changing frequently?