Smart Meters
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Hi, A friend of mine has been told by the water company (we're in the Yorkshire Water area) that she has to make an appointment to have a smart meter fitted for her water bills. I've heard that there were issues about energy companies writing to customers implying that they have to have one fitted (when in fact they did not) and wondered if this was similar with the water companies.
The reasons why she doesn't want one are quite complex, but one of the reasons is the cupboard where the meter is housed contains what she believes to be brown asbestos (it's an ongoing situation that is not yet resolved with the property agent) but she doesn't want the area dismantled for health reasons).
Has anyone else been told they need to have a water meter? Are they compulsory? Regardless of what the reason is, does my friend have a right to refuse one? Does it make any difference that she is renting (i.e. do the landlords have the final say)?
Apologies for the list of questions, but am struggling to find any conclusive information on the matter.0 -
I originally came to this thread as I had a question I wanted to ask, but as it might have been answered already I started reading from the beginning. About page 9 I forgot what the question was by page 12 I'd almost lost the will to live. Maybe this isn't the forum for my type of question.
Anyway just remembered. Do smart meters work with dual phase? we have 2 meters on the one supply. How far from the meters will the IHD work? The straight line distance between the kitchen and the meters is about 200m passing through 5 thick rubble stone walls (my guess is not bloomin likely). Can a wired link or wireless relays be installed? I'm also guessing that if it was possible it would be at my expense. Mobile signal at the meters is poor and being in a remote location there is nobody else's meter within range.
I have not been offered a smart meter; don't want one but as we will all probably be forced to have one eventually I want to have an idea of what is possible.
Reason for not wanting one:
1. Every electrical appliance has it's own electrical signature: I don't want my electricity supplier to know what I have and be able to sell on that data.
2. I'm suspicious of the reliability of smart meters. A neighbour had a new electronic meter (admittedly not smart) installed that "leaked". It took a good while for their supplier to admit there was a problem and replace it.
3. Dislike the additional control that it gives the electricity company. If you're in dispute with a supplier it's much easier/cheaper for them to press a button in an office than to physically gain entry. If something is easier & cheaper to do it'll be done more quickly; hell it ould even be automated to remove the human element of discretion " computer says no".
4. Although there is truth in saying "if you don't measure it you can't manage it" if I was that bothered I could take manual readings or install my own measuring equipment. I don't believe the cost saving claims well not for me personally anyway.
5. My mechanical ones serve me just fine. We pay the whole ammount quarterly by DD, & the meters are read manually approx every 2 years, by a manny.
Phew, anyway the telly is now more interesting, so I'm off.0 -
Hi... How far from the meters will the IHD work? The straight line distance between the kitchen and the meters is about 200m passing through 5 thick rubble stone walls (my guess is not bloomin likely) ...
200m ... :rotfl::rotfl:!
I take it that the meters are in an outbuilding? ... some people are reporting IHD comms problems at 20feet!
Z"We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit. " ...... Aristotle
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To this day I'm still baffled as to why smart meters can't use home wifi as an alternative to a mobile signal.1
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Maybe you haven't been offered one because they know it wouldn't work. No that can't be right as it would show a degree of competence.0
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To this day I'm still baffled as to why smart meters can't use home wifi as an alternative to a mobile signal.
Simply because it does not meet the necessary security standards. WiFi was cracked many years ago and is basically a soft encryption that is easily defeated by anyone with access to the net.0 -
Wifi on it's own can have security holes, and the industry fear presumably is that the consumer can modify their own router to do an equivalent of 'bypassing the meter'. However it's fairly trivial for the smart meters firmware to VPN to phone home. That'll equal or exceed any GSM/GPRS security. Truth must be that the industry just doesn't want to make the appropriate investment in security.1
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To this day I'm still baffled as to why smart meters can't use home wifi as an alternative to a mobile signal.
The Govt has invested £Ms into smart meter security. A mass hack that takes out 100s of meters in a given area could cause catastrophic damage to the Grid. Moreover, it is unlikely that any firmware fix could be rolled out quickly as smart meters are only designed to send out small bursts of data to protect battery life. As you can see from this link, the Government has involved GCHQ in the security process:
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/articles/smart-security-behind-gb-smart-metering-system0
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