Smart Meter (from Octopus)?

Qyburn

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82051387#Comment_82051387

To be fair you probably have to work at rescheduling your heavy use, or have a battery system, to get that result.

t0rt0ise

I've saved money on Octopus Agile and don't have solar, EV or anything. I don't use much electricity in the expensive 4 till 7 period naturally and I don't make much effort otherwise.

Scot_39

The bottom line is you wont have the choice - when your old meter reaches end of life.

Last year Ofgem stats showed 97% of homes were on SVT (2/3rds) or fixes (nearly 1/3rd) - in reality if your not going to play the TOU or tracker game - there used to be little normal benefit .

But you can still often get demand response type payments (for shifting power use when demand creeps too high - or with Octopus when renewables generation is high) - others offer some half price for 4-5 hrs at weekends etc. Even my sister now has half price electric for 8 hours a week - and iirc they are now allowing users to choose the timings within limits.

Octopus say their users benefited by millions from their saver scheme - Octoplus - giving c£3.6m in free energy (over normal consumption in the timeslots - so timeshifting - when renewables output high - but youd need to know and be able to take advantage (eg do a washing at 3pm on a high solar day - rather than normal time etc.) But that of course needs a smart meter and half hourly data. And users actively participating.

Have you checked your T&Cs

Many fixes at other suppliers actually had conditions added that you had to have or agree to have smart fitted - not because it was needed to bill a simple fix - surprised Octopus haven't followed the trend. There have actually been rare reports of people being taken off the tariffs for then refusing smart.

Beware direction elsewhere

I note that you say havent yet been offered a big smart switch bonus - you might hope you might in future.

But in other nations the tide has gone the other way. Germany has now started its mandatory roll out to higher demand homes - and in at least one other charges now in place - in France some now face around €50 euros annual fee - it may already have increased again in 2026 (it has once already).

Getting bit off topic - French billing is structured differently

But to be fair their big suppliers like EDF - also traditionally a big nuclear generator - offer standing charges by banded kVA (peak power flow to home across grid / distribution network - not total energy use) and the meters the only real way of policing that.

I suppose the alternative to French no smart fee - would be to put every one refusing on the highest kVA band standing charge - around €180 more than base in examples in link below.

In these EDF examples - SC ranges from 3kVA - one fast boil UK 3kW kettle above base would take you over - perhaps why lower power kettles still common on continent - to 15/18kVA depending on tariff - in link below for SR / E7 type deals.

The curious thing is the fine is or was only around €50 euros - but the standing charges differ by €180 in these examples

https://www.french-property.com/guides/france/utilities/electricity/tariff

The pseudo E7 example for those with old electric heating (storage) is very telling - vs UK pricing - as the off peak much closer to flat rate than in UK.

And the comment about them moving some of the off peak - upto 3 hrs of 8 - into afternoons (well 11am to 5pm) likewise - due to solar. And with future plans to make that more seasonal.

Given UKs issues with solar - the Octoplus type slots - and low rate in afternoons - at least in summer - might feature increasingly here.

EssexHebridean

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82051712#Comment_82051712

Yes - my savings are also without solar etc. We are pretty good at loadshifting, having had E7 for years previously, but certainly can't make the gains that some folk do with their batteries etc. And of course it REALLY isn't for everyone - there is a degree of geekery required!

Heedtheadvice

"Are there any really compelling reasons to get one?"

Only you can decide what you find compelling! But you do mention cost saving and quite clearly that is possible.

Also I would add that that eventually there will not be a choice either when the old meter meets it's end of life or the rules change and customers are no longer given the choice as there come a time when supporting manual readings are not supported on cost grounds.

You can also a reason to support a better management of the countries energy either through the flexible tariffs where it might be too expensive to use a lot of power in peak periods causing Standard Variable tariffs to rise ( at the moment a smart meter can be seen as a benefit but it could be not having a TOU ability sees the price rise..... carrot or stick....)

Further your view on Solar or batteries might change ( if you have the ability to have them ) and you then need a smart meter to best benefit. Currently changing to smart has not direct cist to individuals ( we all pay collectively ) and if that changes it could cist hundreds of pounds with individuals billed.

It is not an impossibility as many now find not being 'digital' can cost and be infuriating. Think cheapness, convenience using Direct Debits/chip and pin/ ATMs rather than having to go into a bank or use a cheque.......maybe not the best example!

Ildhund

@Heedtheadvice mentioned:

… support a better management of the countries energy … 

One of the most important aspects of smart electricity metering is the possibility of accounting more accurately for generators selling and suppliers buying electricity. This is still largely based on an archaic system of estimating consumers' usage by referring to unbelievably general profiles. Every so often, there is a 'balancing' exercise that compares the results of these estimates with actual usage. Half-hourly measurement of electricity consumed makes it now possible to predict how much a supplier needs to buy to cover its likely demand and to account for actual consumption within days rather than months. The new system - called Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement, MHHS - is gradually being introduced thanks to the millions of smart meters now installed and measuring usage every half hour every day. This should bring enormous savings for us all once it's in place. Here's a brief explanation of what MHHS means:

Smart meter data and the Market-Wide Half-Hourly Settlement explained | HIVE

MoneyMon555

Thanks all, I appreciate the comments.

EssexHebridean

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82053694#Comment_82053694

Have you reached any conclusions?