Smart meters - Avoid?
Discussion
Ransoman said:
How did economy 7 work all those years ago before Smart Meters where even invented?
You had two meters. One for all the normal household loads, and one for stuff like the immerser and storage heaters. There were timers on the economy 7 circuits (ISTR) so that they only drew a load at some ungodly hours in the early morning. It's 20 years since I lived in a house with economy 7.
Riff Raff said:
Ransoman said:
How did economy 7 work all those years ago before Smart Meters where even invented?
You had two meters. One for all the normal household loads, and one for stuff like the immerser and storage heaters. There were timers on the economy 7 circuits (ISTR) so that they only drew a load at some ungodly hours in the early morning. It's 20 years since I lived in a house with economy 7.
from Ransom 
77th Brigade said:
AyBee said:
77th Brigade said:
Until everyone is charging an EV overnight and the tariff's are inflated/Govt duty added. There is nothing free in this world and smart meters are not offered for your convenience.
Why can they not benefit both sides? Consumers get to see what energy they're using and adjust their habits accordingly to save money and energy suppliers no longer need to rely on you for meter readings, or pay for someone to come around and read your meter and have access to much more reliable data for their ability to buy/sell at the best prices.jet_noise said:
Riff Raff said:
Ransoman said:
How did economy 7 work all those years ago before Smart Meters where even invented?
You had two meters. One for all the normal household loads, and one for stuff like the immerser and storage heaters. There were timers on the economy 7 circuits (ISTR) so that they only drew a load at some ungodly hours in the early morning. It's 20 years since I lived in a house with economy 7. from Ransom We had a dual fuel deal with Igloo. Gas has transferred to E.OnNext and they are pushing a smart meter install. Octopus are taking over the electric supply but are very slow in sorting it.
I am waiting for Octopus to finalise before dipping into a review of supplier.
I assume that Octopus will offering a smart meter change at some time as well.
I also assume that Smets2 meters will mean no problems if/when I look to change supply.
I am considering the E.On meter option as step1.
Other than tariff savings and future options for cheaper rate usage ( think of Economy 7 style) I doubt much saving from watching what we switch on or use as we are pretty savvy with usage anyway.
Potentially we can easily adapt certain things ( washer, dishwasher etc ) to run at cheaper tafiff times as opportunity arises.
I think I am talking myself into smart meters!
I am waiting for Octopus to finalise before dipping into a review of supplier.
I assume that Octopus will offering a smart meter change at some time as well.
I also assume that Smets2 meters will mean no problems if/when I look to change supply.
I am considering the E.On meter option as step1.
Other than tariff savings and future options for cheaper rate usage ( think of Economy 7 style) I doubt much saving from watching what we switch on or use as we are pretty savvy with usage anyway.
Potentially we can easily adapt certain things ( washer, dishwasher etc ) to run at cheaper tafiff times as opportunity arises.
I think I am talking myself into smart meters!
If the power companies can vary the cost per unit by the hour how can you check your bill?
Depend on their technology being correct? I don’t think so
I can foresee increased monthly DD’s based on their algorithms which ensure a surplus of money in their account. I do not give interest free loans to multi national companies. Yes they have to make a profit but not by overcharging the customers.
I cannot think of any other business where you cannot check goods received before agreeing payment.
Depend on their technology being correct? I don’t think so
I can foresee increased monthly DD’s based on their algorithms which ensure a surplus of money in their account. I do not give interest free loans to multi national companies. Yes they have to make a profit but not by overcharging the customers.
I cannot think of any other business where you cannot check goods received before agreeing payment.
Mercdriver said:
Yes they have to make a profit but not by overcharging the customers.
I cannot think of any other business where you cannot check goods received before agreeing payment.
Given 28 or so have gone bust in the last few months, the "overcharging" argument falls a bit flat. I cannot think of any other business where you cannot check goods received before agreeing payment.
When you say "check goods", what do you mean? You can pay on receipt of bill if you prefer, but there are plenty of things you pay up front for by DD. Got a contract mobile phone? You pay a month in advance, not arrears. Ever been to an American petrol station? $50 of gas please. Pay for a TV licence, you pay 12 months up front if you pay in a single payment.
Here, this must be your tin hat....
Here, this must be your tin hat....
No need to be insulting, as I said you can verify what you are getting before paying all the items you mentioned in your post you know what your are paying for not so with power bill. Are cut off points for different rates correct? I do not share your confidence in computers, crap in more crap out.
I do not believe that companies would deliberately fiddle the bills but they do not have the right to make you overpay then refund six months later.
No need to be insulting, as I said you can verify what you are getting before paying all the items you mentioned in your post you know what your are paying for not so with power bill. Are cut off points for different rates correct? I do not share your confidence in computers, crap in more crap out.
I do not believe that companies would deliberately fiddle the bills but they do not have the right to make you overpay then refund six months later.
Mercdriver said:
Here, this must be your tin hat....
No need to be insulting, as I said you can verify what you are getting before paying all the items you mentioned in your post you know what your are paying for not so with power bill. Are cut off points for different rates correct? I do not share your confidence in computers, crap in more crap out.
I do not believe that companies would deliberately fiddle the bills but they do not have the right to make you overpay then refund six months later.
With Octopus for instance, you get a fully itemised bill - down to each half hour period (or at least you do on Agile).No need to be insulting, as I said you can verify what you are getting before paying all the items you mentioned in your post you know what your are paying for not so with power bill. Are cut off points for different rates correct? I do not share your confidence in computers, crap in more crap out.
I do not believe that companies would deliberately fiddle the bills but they do not have the right to make you overpay then refund six months later.
You can see in the graphs when you put the oven on, or have a shower (easy to spot large loads).
On 'Go' it is clear that you never pay 'more', you only ever pay less during the discounted period.
It is no less accurate than a non-smart meter.
I can look at our readings and it is pretty obvious that it passes the 'reasonableness test'.
If I was worried, I could put a clamp meter around the tails and do a gross 'calibration check' with the meter readings.
People seem to be fighting against being offered a discount.
No ideas for a name said:
With Octopus for instance, you get a fully itemised bill - down to each half hour period (or at least you do on Agile).
Same with their default tariff. I can download usage statistics for both gas and electricity for every half hour period since my smart meter was installed, although I can't imagine what I'd do with it!I wouldn't want to go back to a non-smart meter now, not because there's any particularly huge advantage in having a smart one (at least on a tariff like ours) but because there's a few small advantages and I really haven't found even the smallest downside. For me it's worth having one just for the convenience of not having to read the meters anymore.
Edited by kambites on Monday 31st January 20:42
I was an early adopter with a smets 1 meter so when I moved into a new build it was installed with a smets 2. From the day we moved in (June 2020) it's never given a reading to either the In home display or the metering centre so once a month I have to do manual read, not the end of the world but I'd prefer it to be smart again!
77th Brigade said:
People use what they need. They don't need a device that can be used to bump their tariffs during peak times when Govt policy is shown to be completely deficient.
You’re quite the optimist if you believe that not having a smart meter will mean your tariff will be cheaper than one with, if / when they start to do demand based charging. Odds are you’ll be on the highest rate at all times.AyBee said:
77th Brigade said:
Until everyone is charging an EV overnight and the tariff's are inflated/Govt duty added. There is nothing free in this world and smart meters are not offered for your convenience.
Why can they not benefit both sides? Consumers get to see what energy they're using and adjust their habits accordingly to save money and energy suppliers no longer need to rely on you for meter readings, or pay for someone to come around and read your meter and have access to much more reliable data for their ability to buy/sell at the best prices.Before there can be any benefit to the consumer thought, the industry needs to recover the £11bn cost of the smart meter roll out.
They are not going to spend that much money to somehow reduce the customers bill.
At some point we will all be forced into them, either by law or by punitive pricing for non smart meters, but until that time comes I am staying out if it.
sospan said:
Gas has transferred to E.OnNext and they are pushing a smart meter install.
We switched to EOn Next last year and they wanted smart meters. I don’t actually have an issue with them so they came and installedThe elec smart meter worked for a month and then stopped being smart (not communicating either with the in house display or with EOn). I now have to email the reading to them after manually reading the meter in the cupboard.
Jaguar99 said:
sospan said:
Gas has transferred to E.OnNext and they are pushing a smart meter install.
We switched to EOn Next last year and they wanted smart meters. I don’t actually have an issue with them so they came and installedThe elec smart meter worked for a month and then stopped being smart (not communicating either with the in house display or with EOn). I now have to email the reading to them after manually reading the meter in the cupboard.
rxe said:
LocoBlade said:
A cheaper tariff for starters 
If you can see what you're using when, it seems pretty logical that you could use that information to adjust your usage or identify inefficient appliances etc and save a bit on the bills.
It’s utterly daft though. When you turn something electric on, it costs you money. The hotter and/or noisier it gets, the more money it costs. Are there really sufficient morons in the country who don’t realist that turning the oven on costs money?If you can see what you're using when, it seems pretty logical that you could use that information to adjust your usage or identify inefficient appliances etc and save a bit on the bills.
55palfers said:
Well I'm shocked, I never thought this would happen 
cb31 said:
55palfers said:
Well I'm shocked, I never thought this would happen Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff