Told have to switch from radio signal to smart meter?

Gerry1

If you lose a two-hour gap in E7 in the middle of the night, you also lose the ability to 'double dip' by having cheap rate last thing at night and first thing in the morning.

Another good reason to wait until push comes to shove.

textbook

Qyburn said:

textbook said:

I was told have to switch over from British Gas for my electric meter.  The radio signal meter will stop working and have to go to smart meter.

 Is this true and should I book an engineer to come and do it?

What tariff are you on?  There are a few oddball tariffs living on which rely on the radio switch and can't be exactly replicated with a smart meter.  In addition, if your existing meter (or the radio teleswitch) switch storage heaters on and off then make sure the new meter can do the same.

Yes,   I've got storage heaters

textbook

Spoonie_Turtle said:

MP1995 said:

Just imagine you really need a two rate meter and you ignore getting a smart meter that can handle different rates without RTS.....

Then fastforward to just before or when they turn off RTS....do you think you will get an immediate booking for a new smart meter with everyone else in the same boat needing one?

The potential problem is if they have a more complex tariff than Economy 7, chances are the supplier won't set that up because they don't support billing those using smart meter data (which is a choice they've made, it's certainly not impossible).  So if they do have the meter changed, chances are they'll just be put on standard Economy 7 and have to lump it.

Not that members here can help change that.  But they can help OP weigh up the consequences of that happening vs the potential risk of not changing by the time the RTS signal is switched off.

Of course if the OP is on standard Economy 7 already then it's much simpler - although some have E7 off-peak in split blocks overnight, and the smart meters are usually set up to have just one single off-peak block instead so that is a change some have to be aware of.

Sorry but I'm clueless about this.   Is economy 7 the cheap night rate?   I currently have a night rate and day rate.  (I have storage heaters).   So it's important I continue to keep the cheaper rate at night as well as my different day rate.

So for confusion,  I have no intention of changing from British Gas.  Just worried I will lose my cheaper night rate for storage heaters 

BarelySentientAI

textbook said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

MP1995 said:

Just imagine you really need a two rate meter and you ignore getting a smart meter that can handle different rates without RTS.....

Then fastforward to just before or when they turn off RTS....do you think you will get an immediate booking for a new smart meter with everyone else in the same boat needing one?

The potential problem is if they have a more complex tariff than Economy 7, chances are the supplier won't set that up because they don't support billing those using smart meter data (which is a choice they've made, it's certainly not impossible).  So if they do have the meter changed, chances are they'll just be put on standard Economy 7 and have to lump it.

Not that members here can help change that.  But they can help OP weigh up the consequences of that happening vs the potential risk of not changing by the time the RTS signal is switched off.

Of course if the OP is on standard Economy 7 already then it's much simpler - although some have E7 off-peak in split blocks overnight, and the smart meters are usually set up to have just one single off-peak block instead so that is a change some have to be aware of.

Sorry but I'm clueless about this.   Is economy 7 the cheap night rate?   I currently have a night rate and day rate.  (I have storage heaters).   So it's important I continue to keep the cheaper rate at night as well as my different day rate.

So for confusion,  I have no intention of changing from British Gas.  Just worried I will lose my cheaper night rate for storage heaters 

Day and night rate (or peak and off-peak rate) come in different styles and there's lots of different names for it. 

Economy 7 means that there are 7 hours of cheap rate.  Most people have this as 7 hours in a row overnight.  Some people have 5 hours, then a gap in the very early morning, then 2 more hours or something like that.

Some people have Economy 10, which (maybe obviously to you now) is 10 hours of cheap rate.  This is mostly at night but sometimes a couple of hours in the afternoon - and is being phased out so it's really hard to get that if you don't already have it.

Some people have even more complicated ones, with different things being off-peak at different times (or not at all) and have two meters, three or four rates, and all sorts of things.

If what you have now is 'normal' Economy 7 - so 7 hours of cheap rate, all in a row overnight - then it's easy to have this again afterwards, it's sort of the default.

If what you have now is some other style (like the one with the gap for example), sometimes it's hard to get them to set this up again afterwards and they will try to put you on the 'normal' one.

textbook

mBarelySentientAI said:

textbook said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

MP1995 said:

Just imagine you really need a two rate meter and you ignore getting a smart meter that can handle different rates without RTS.....

Then fastforward to just before or when they turn off RTS....do you think you will get an immediate booking for a new smart meter with everyone else in the same boat needing one?

The potential problem is if they have a more complex tariff than Economy 7, chances are the supplier won't set that up because they don't support billing those using smart meter data (which is a choice they've made, it's certainly not impossible).  So if they do have the meter changed, chances are they'll just be put on standard Economy 7 and have to lump it.

Not that members here can help change that.  But they can help OP weigh up the consequences of that happening vs the potential risk of not changing by the time the RTS signal is switched off.

Of course if the OP is on standard Economy 7 already then it's much simpler - although some have E7 off-peak in split blocks overnight, and the smart meters are usually set up to have just one single off-peak block instead so that is a change some have to be aware of.

Sorry but I'm clueless about this.   Is economy 7 the cheap night rate?   I currently have a night rate and day rate.  (I have storage heaters).   So it's important I continue to keep the cheaper rate at night as well as my different day rate.

So for confusion,  I have no intention of changing from British Gas.  Just worried I will lose my cheaper night rate for storage heaters 

Day and night rate (or peak and off-peak rate) come in different styles and there's lots of different names for it. 

Economy 7 means that there are 7 hours of cheap rate.  Most people have this as 7 hours in a row overnight.  Some people have 5 hours, then a gap in the very early morning, then 2 more hours or something like that.

Some people have Economy 10, which (maybe obviously to you now) is 10 hours of cheap rate.  This is mostly at night but sometimes a couple of hours in the afternoon - and is being phased out so it's really hard to get that if you don't already have it.

Some people have even more complicated ones, with different things being off-peak at different times (or not at all) and have two meters, three or four rates, and all sorts of things.

If what you have now is 'normal' Economy 7 - so 7 hours of cheap rate, all in a row overnight - then it's easy to have this again afterwards, it's sort of the default.

If what you have now is some other style (like the one with the gap for example), sometimes it's hard to get them to set this up again afterwards and they will try to put you on the 'normal' one.

Shall I just let them change it?

BarelySentientAI

There is a very high chance that you will be completely fine and everything will work as you need it to.

Plus your meter will need changing anyway, so letting them do it will stop them bugging you.

You'll need to remove the first image from your post though, because an MPAN is personally identifiable information which isn't allowed here.

Swipe

If you agree you need to grill the installer before they begin the work and ensure they are installing a 5 port multi-rate meter for economy 7 and that they are aware you have storage heaters on a switching circuit.

EssexHebridean

I believe that the situation should now be sorted, but just for transparency, BG do have some history of not playing nicely with Smart meters and E7 - we saw a fair number of posts here about people having problems a while back, and indeed, when we were on E7 back in our previous home, it was pone of the reasons why I didn't pro-actively request a smart meter to be fitted, that I was concerned we could get SOLR switched to BG if our supplier failed and I was aware that would give us issues.  As I say - I understand that the problems have been rectified now though. 

Swipe said:

If you agree you need to grill the installer before they begin the work and ensure they are installing a 5 port multi-rate meter for economy 7 and that they are aware you have storage heaters on a switching circuit.

OR a 4 port meter with additional contactor to manage to time-switching, I think? 

Scot_39

textbook said:

British Gas told me I  have to switch over from my current electric meter.  The radio signal meter will stop working and have to go to smart meter.

 Is this true and should I book an engineer to come and do it?

Yes RTS radio signal is ending.

Yes you will need to arrange a time slot.

You dont mention your current tariff or how home hw and heating is powered  - and space heater type or types.

RTS tend to be for all electric homes - traditionally the timing of off peak power feed for hw immersion tank and storage heating.   

But you or previous owner may have changed the heating etc over to another type.

So will assume that is or was your setup.

The Smart Meter will most likely be dual rate and probably a fixed single time block of 7 hours off peak per day overnight on a suppliers standard  e7 tariff.

If you had split times before - 2 on, 2 off 5 on overnight - some suppliers will honour that - others say in T&Cs will not.

Whilst for many the RTS change might be a straight forward rts e7 to smart e7 transition, for others it will not.

E7 meters come in 2 main types - one drives only 1 output - the other uses a seperate output to drive not only a normal 24/7 live feed but also a time restricted feed at off peak rate times to control heating - most simply a 4 port or 5 port with built in load control. 

RTS probably supplies normal and restricted - but a simple way to tell - if HW and heaters dont have seperate timers - you will likely have need of the 5 port. 

But again the fitter should (*) be aware when comes.


But just a friendly warning - as not all RTS operate the same way. My RTS was one of the more complex legacy setups.

If so you might need to be aware that not all RTS systems - operate your home wiring or use same off peak times - as a generic Smart meter install will. 
Some RTS still use legacy tariffs - not say E7 or in my case now E10 - and some use variable off peak timing - some switching seasonally with an afternoon boost, some like SP Weathercall longer times - 5 min upto 12 hrs max iirc - in coldest days. 

[My RTS meter only drove my hot water and NSH circuits - a second normal single rate meter drove the rest of the house supply (sockets, lighting, cooker etc).  I had 3 tariff rates, normal, heating and hw daytime boost, 3 distinct power (wiring) zones and 2 standing charges, 3 fixed off peak time periods before the change.
After  = 2 (more expensive tariff) rates - but off peak rate - now applied to whole house , 2 wiring zones, no hw afternoon boost, 1 mpan , 1 standing charge, fixed timing remained same.
All handled by meter fitter using meter with dual - normal /  restricted time off peak feed control and wiring modified in meter cabinet to feed my 3 effective consumer units.  A loss of boost function for hw, but no major internal wiring mods.

(*) Should not will in my case - given the complex nature of my old RTS install - it took 3 meter visits for an experienced fitter from outside my local center - to know the required steps.  One looked and went away, one looked, spent about 10 mins on phone trying to have it explained.]

Many suppliers though have been delaying the change - telling customers with  the more complex systems still working on solutions with meter suppliers etc.. 

So hopefully yours will be straightforward.

Scot_39

EssexHebridean said:

I believe that the situation should now be sorted, but just for transparency, BG do have some history of not playing nicely with Smart meters and E7 - we saw a fair number of posts here about people having problems a while back, and indeed, when we were on E7 back in our previous home, it was pone of the reasons why I didn't pro-actively request a smart meter to be fitted, that I was concerned we could get SOLR switched to BG if our supplier failed and I was aware that would give us issues.  As I say - I understand that the problems have been rectified now though. 

Swipe said:

If you agree you need to grill the installer before they begin the work and ensure they are installing a 5 port multi-rate meter for economy 7 and that they are aware you have storage heaters on a switching circuit.

OR a 4 port meter with additional contactor to manage to time-switching, I think? 

Yes - alcs control for restricted off peak can be on board with a 5 port meter - or external on a 4 port with the feature - with an auxiliary control wire switching an external contactor block.

Much to my e10 smart meter fitters annoyance - my single block 5 port digital (fitted new in place of twin meter rts just few years earlier) was replaced with EOns choice at time - smart 4 port and external contactor.

The isolator switches and some tails had to be moved / replaced. 10 min job more like 1/2 hr.