Smart meters. Wish you hadn't?

[Silvanus]

Hondashark said:

Smart meters are designed for stupid people to realise how much electric they have used so they can save money.
The problem is stupid people think it's a conspiracy and won't get them fitted.

I have one, it doesn't tell me anything that I didn't already know but I don't have to do any meter readings anymore.

Stupid people make stupid comments it seems

[FMOB]

21TonyK said:

ARHarh said:

Rough101 said:

21TonyK said:

Do smart meters work if you have solar feeding back as well?

You would be daft to have PV without a smart meter!

Why? What advantage will a smart meter give you?

I ask because my Dad lives abroad most of the year and his house in the UK has PV panels. I have to take manual readings regularly for him so he can "get money back".

Just wondered if this was a reason he was still on an old meter.

The Feed In Tariff system has a separate meter that is completely independent of a smart meter, a smart meter is about the energy you consume and records the power into the property. It does not go backwards when you are putting excess power into the grid or subtract one for the other.

Even with a smart meter you will still need to give manual readings from the meter for the solar panels.

Edited by FMOB on Sunday 15th October 16:21

[monthou]

Hondashark said:

Smart meters are designed for stupid people to realise how much electric they have used so they can save money.
The problem is stupid people think it's a conspiracy and won't get them fitted.

I have one, it doesn't tell me anything that I didn't already know but I don't have to do any meter readings anymore.

It does. Whether you take notice - or care - is something else.

[Hondashark]

monthou said:

It does. Whether you take notice - or care - is something else.

Go on then, enlighten us on the information gleaned from a smart meter given you already know your usage, and pkwh.

Or are you the type that watches the live cost in amazement while turning the 7kw electric hob on and off, completely oblivious before you got one.

[Evanivitch]

monthou said:

Hondashark said:

Smart meters are designed for stupid people to realise how much electric they have used so they can save money.
The problem is stupid people think it's a conspiracy and won't get them fitted.

I have one, it doesn't tell me anything that I didn't already know but I don't have to do any meter readings anymore.

It does. Whether you take notice - or care - is something else.

It's perfectly possible for people to have a current clamp on their supply before they had a smart meter. I'd agree, it doesn't really provide any information that wasn't possible before (except no one practically uses 7kW on their hob at any time).

The benefit of a smart meter is in the tariff choices.

[monthou]

Evanivitch said:

monthou said:

Hondashark said:

Smart meters are designed for stupid people to realise how much electric they have used so they can save money.
The problem is stupid people think it's a conspiracy and won't get them fitted.

I have one, it doesn't tell me anything that I didn't already know but I don't have to do any meter readings anymore.

It does. Whether you take notice - or care - is something else.

It's perfectly possible for people to have a current clamp on their supply before they had a smart meter. I'd agree, it doesn't really provide any information that wasn't possible before (except no one practically uses 7kW on their hob at any time).

The benefit of a smart meter is in the tariff choices.

Sure. Maybe Hondashark will confirm that he had one.
What do you think the chances are?

[Hondashark]

monthou said:

Evanivitch said:

monthou said:

Hondashark said:

Smart meters are designed for stupid people to realise how much electric they have used so they can save money.
The problem is stupid people think it's a conspiracy and won't get them fitted.

I have one, it doesn't tell me anything that I didn't already know but I don't have to do any meter readings anymore.

It does. Whether you take notice - or care - is something else.

It's perfectly possible for people to have a current clamp on their supply before they had a smart meter. I'd agree, it doesn't really provide any information that wasn't possible before (except no one practically uses 7kW on their hob at any time).

The benefit of a smart meter is in the tariff choices.

Sure. Maybe Hondashark will confirm that he had one.
What do you think the chances are?

Had a what? Control of my usage? It's not exactly hard to not be wasteful.

[monthou]

Hondashark said:

Had a what? Control of my usage? It's not exactly hard to not be wasteful.

That's a no then.

[Road2Ruin]

FMOB said:

The Feed In Tariff system has a separate meter that is completely independent of a smart meter, a smart meter is about the energy you consume and records the power into the property. It does not go backwards when you are putting excess power into the grid or subtract one for the other.

Even with a smart meter you will still need to give manual readings from the meter for the solar panels.

Edited by FMOB on Sunday 15th October 16:21

We don't. Our smart meter also reports export.

[Hondashark]

monthou said:

That's a no then.

Literally no idea what you're on about.

[monthou]

Hondashark said:

monthou said:

That's a no then.

Literally no idea what you're on about.

That's okay, don't worry about it.

[Hondashark]

monthou said:

Hondashark said:

monthou said:

That's a no then.

Literally no idea what you're on about.

That's okay, don't worry about it.

You sound like an old person confused about smart meters now.

Or are you on about tariffs? I'm on Octopus Tracker which requires the smart meter. Literally the only benefit of it alongs side the automatic meter reads given it doesn't display the correct rates anymore.

[monthou]

Hondashark said:

You sound like an old person confused about smart meters now.

Or are you on about tariffs? I'm on Octopus Tracker which requires the smart meter. Literally the only benefit of it alongs side the automatic meter reads given it doesn't display the correct rates anymore.

A traditional meter will tell you how much energy you have used.
A smart meter will tell you that, and will organise it in terms of time periods and cost.
But it will also give you power usage in real time. You didn't have that before.

[Hondashark]

monthou said:

A traditional meter will tell you how much energy you have used.
A smart meter will tell you that, and will organise it in terms of time periods and cost.
But it will also give you power usage in real time. You didn't have that before.

Only a stupid person couldn't do that before, roughly. Back to my original comment.

[Merry]

Hondashark said:

You sound like an old person confused about smart meters now.

Or are you on about tariffs? I'm on Octopus Tracker which requires the smart meter. Literally the only benefit of it alongs side the automatic meter reads given it doesn't display the correct rates anymore.

You do realise the smart meter isnt the display bit, it's the actual meter itself don't you?

Cause that and you're earlier statement implies you dont.

Either way it sounds like you've benefited from having one.

[monthou]

Hondashark said:

monthou said:

A traditional meter will tell you how much energy you have used.
A smart meter will tell you that, and will organise it in terms of time periods and cost.
But it will also give you power usage in real time. You didn't have that before.

Only a stupid person couldn't do that before, roughly. Back to my original comment.

Really?
I can look at my IHD and see how many watts I'm using. I can make a change and see the effects instantly.
You could do that with an old-school meter, could you? bks you could.

Silvanus said:

Stupid people make stupid comments it seems

That.

[Hugo Stiglitz]

Silvanus said:

We have one and have actually managed to reduce our energy consumption slightly, it makes you think twice regards certain electrical items, it's amazing how power hungry some appliances are.

Which ones?

Dishwasher, dryer?

[Hondashark]

Merry said:

You do realise the smart meter isnt the display bit, it's the actual meter itself don't you?

Cause that and you're earlier statement implies you dont.

Either way it sounds like you've benefited from having one.

I didnt say I didn't benefit, I got one as I couldn't be arsed to send meter readings and I'm not stupid enough to think that the "government" will turn my power off if I have one fitted.

I have now also benefitted by much cheaper rates as that was already in place.

The display adds nothing that you couldn't work out before unless you're a moron that can't make the connection between their power usage and the bill at the end of the month.

[Hondashark]

monthou said:

Hondashark said:

monthou said:

A traditional meter will tell you how much energy you have used.
A smart meter will tell you that, and will organise it in terms of time periods and cost.
But it will also give you power usage in real time. You didn't have that before.

Only a stupid person couldn't do that before, roughly. Back to my original comment.

Really?
I can look at my IHD and see how many watts I'm using. I can make a change and see the effects instantly.
You could do that with an old-school meter, could you? bks you could.
.

So you're one of those that needs too as you don't know what consumes power.

"Hmm I've used £2.50 of electric today, I know I've cooked tea and had the tumble dryer running but it might be the mrs watering the plants that's used it"

[Evanivitch]

Road2Ruin said:

FMOB said:

The Feed In Tariff system has a separate meter that is completely independent of a smart meter, a smart meter is about the energy you consume and records the power into the property. It does not go backwards when you are putting excess power into the grid or subtract one for the other.

Even with a smart meter you will still need to give manual readings from the meter for the solar panels.

Edited by FMOB on Sunday 15th October 16:21

We don't. Our smart meter also reports export.

Yeah FMOB is wrong in a way.

Earlier FiT installations used a generation meter to measure generation. 50% of that was assumed to be exported because dumb meters only went forward, not backwards.

Later installations where a smart meter already existed, and even older installations which now have a smart meter are being switched over at the demand of the FiT owner, this means that the smart meter records the imports and exports seperately and so real export FiT is provided to the property owner, not assumed 50%. Better deal for some, worse for others.