Is my meter an RTS meter ?

QrizB

I hope that bit of twin-and-earth flex at the top right has enough CSA as it's only protected by the 100A DNO fuse 😬

Edit: or is that "main switch" fused? There isn't enough resolution on the photo to tell.

Gerry1

Burntwalnut said:

...the likes of OVO who have just fitted a smart E10 meter in my neighbours house won't even give me a quote as they don't support my meter set up at present and not may other suppliers are visiting the islands at the moment. I guess it will take many long phone calls when the time come unless by some chance you get to speak to someone who actually knows what they are talking about, where Shetland is etc etc.

OVO publish E9 and E10 rates for Shetland.  If they won't change your meter it might be worth asking a friendlier company such as Octopus.  You'd probably find a suitable tariff, if not you could sign up to the SVT and switch back later to your existing supplier or join EDF.

I'd be inclined to do nothing and see what happens, firstly because it's easier and secondly because there's more that can go wrong if you initiate something yourself.  You might find that someone says on the phone that you can have E10 but then it's installed with only E7 so then you're stuck (or might only get £50 compo if the Ombudsman agrees with you).  If you do nothing then it's harder for your supplier to shunt you onto a bad deal.

Qyburn

QrizB said:

Edit: or is that "main switch" fused? There isn't enough resolution on the photo to tell.

I think it's fused. It looks just like the fused isolator on the feed to our outbuildings.

Burntwalnut

When I put my details in on EDF web site for a quote it comes back as a single rate with no option to select E10 E7 or day / night usage. Different companies seem to hold different meter / account information  even though it is original equipment from when house was built in 2008 with no meter change outs Hence why it will take tedious phone calls. I have been an EDF customer in the past but have not switched for 6yrs or so but remember it always took a phone call to the complex metering equipment but we'll see when I get a definitive answer on meter type

Gerry1

Have a look at the S number on your bill.  If the top left two digits are 01 it thinks your meter is single rate, if it's 02 it thinks it's multi-rate.  Many comparison sites and suppliers' websites will look up your details and default to offering you what matches your Profile Class.

Phones4Chris

Qyburn said:

QrizB said:

Edit: or is that "main switch" fused? There isn't enough resolution on the photo to tell.

I think it's fused. It looks just like the fused isolator on the feed to our outbuildings.

Yes it IS fused, that's a fuse carrier on the LHS of the unit.

Phones4Chris

Gerry1 said:

Burntwalnut said:

Yes Gerry, looking at chart it should have been replaced or recertified in Feb 2019 but I would be happy if I could have it confirmed that meter is just a preprogrammed multi-rate meter so I can continue as is for now and until things settle.

• My first bet is that the Horstmann is an RTS meter.

• My second bet is that it will happily carry on with its existing settings if the R4 Long Wave signal is switched off at the end of June.  Only tariffs such as THTC and Weathercall would be affected.

• My third bet is that the R4 Long Wave signal will carry on until the 'drop dead' date at the end of 2025.  Or even afterwards...

Burntwalnut said:

Online quotes for E10 are impossible at the moment.

Nope !

My best guess is that the Horstmann meter in the picture posted here is one with an RTC (Real Time Clock) built-in. I'm fairly sure If it were one of the range that was an RTS variant, it would say "RADIO TELE-METER" on the meter on the top LHS where the one in the picture mentioned says "MULTI_RATE"

Burntwalnut

These are my thoughts also and why I have some doubt that my suppliers claim that my meter is RTS controlled may not be correct. There is no reference to radio tele meter anywhere on my meter where as the similar RTS controlled  Horstmann meter pictured on the citizens advice web site does indeed say radio tele meter and appear to use the A and B tabs / windows at top of meter where mine are just plastic blanks. The meter does indeed have it's own digital clock that changes on it's own to BST. Without a scientific definate way of checking how my meter swiches between rates 1 and 2 I will probably just wait to see what happens after the RTS switch off. I just thought that someone would be able to tell me how to physically check what controls the switch over between rates on my meter.

Ildhund

Burntwalnut said:

... my suppliers claim that my meter is RTS controlled may not be correct. There is no reference to radio tele meter anywhere on my meter ...
I just thought that someone would be able to tell me how to physically check what controls the switch over between rates on my meter.

The problem is that some RTS-controlled systems use meters with a built in RTS like the Horstmann 'Radio Telemeter', while others have a separate RTS unit, often somewhere else in the house. A photo of the meter, even helpfully supplemented by a photo of the entire backboard, can't prove that this isn't an RTS-controlled system. However, if there were an RTS somewhere else, it would normally have to be connected to the meter in order to be able to alter the tariff switching times. There's no sign of any such connection in the photos. 

You gave the on/off times for your switched circuit, which with any luck will match the tariff switching table in the meter so all usage on the switched circuit is automatically recorded on the offpeak register. Those switching times are the ones agreed between SSEN and your supplier, and may be the same for all suppliers offering Economy 10 plans. The top line of your S panel would be interesting - the three numbers giving the Profile Class (PC), the Meter Timeswitch Class (MTC) and the Line Loss Factor Class (LLFC). You haven't mentioned the history of the house - could it have had an RTS system before 2004 when that admirably neat installation was done? We've seen several cases where RTS systems have been replaced, but because the time pattern was the same as before, the MTC wasn't updated to reflect the fact that there was no longer an RTS controlling the supply. This means the system may still come up on suppliers' dashboards as being RTS-controlled.

As regards the availability of smart metering in Shetland, trials are underway to take advantage of recent improvements in 4G mobile coverage. New types of communications hub can connect to the smart meter network (the WAN) via 4G (also). While the solution may not be fully in place before 30 June, they're doing all they can to deploy it before the next heating season starts on 1 October. It's not easy to find documentation for all this, and you may be better placed than I to unearth it from local sources.  

Scot_39

Gerry1 said

Burntwalnut said:

Online quotes for E10 are impossible at the moment.

Nope !

Just because they publish the price doesn't mean they will give new customers a quote.

Was told by EOn e10 was legacy only when lost rts years ago (I am on my second e10 meter 1st digital - replaced before 10 yr certification -  but now smart but smets1 smart - so lost many years ago long before radio signal cut off dates and under EOn pre EOnNext so certainly more than 5 years ago).

EDF would not quote me when rang around- I tried for 1st 2 years.  Ironically SP did quote me at least one year - but were even more expensive than EOn  

@Rosie1001 was a legacy customer of EDFs.

The people Ovo have been / are fitting e10 smart meters to are likely also own legacy customers - on e10 rts and inherited SSE on old thtc - originally seasonally dynamic rts - in another case I am personally aware of.  But are posts on Ovo forum about dates and plans/ progress .