Smart meters. Wish you hadn't?

[lancslad58]

mcdjl said:

Griffith4ever said:

Road2Ruin said:

They have saved me money. I haven't calculated it, but probably more than £1k already. I HTH.

I'd love to know how.

My electricity is a flat rate, and when I need to use it I need to use it. I fail to see how a meter that tells me how much I'm using is going to stop me using it. I don't think I spend "£1k" a year on electricity - what on earth are you doing to "save £1k" ? running a business?

I've never understood how they save money. I know that having electric consuming devices on uses electric and costs me money. I don't need an electronic display telling me that.... And choosing me money to do so

Im that case don't use it, you don't need the user display for a smart meter to work,

[lancslad58]

OutInTheShed said:

monthou said:

They(energy suppliers) can't just stop the kettle boiling, they could in theory disconnect the supply.
They can't just cut you off because they feel like it though - there are very limited circumstrances in which it can happen.
No politician will sign off on them being able to cut people off in the situation described.

It's pure tinfoil hattery.

I suspect one othose 'circumstances' might be where the supplier says you owe them thousands of pounds, because their meter software is a pile of poo.

The problem is, we seem to have committed to asystem which has no chance of working in 100% of homes.
On top of the we have the UK software industry's endemic incompetence.

[Maxym]

I’ve stumbled across this thread a bit late… Why do you need a smart meter if you have an EV?

[Ian Geary]

Maxym said:

I’ve stumbled across this thread a bit late… Why do you need a smart meter if you have an EV?

Are there not preferential tariffs for EVs, that power companies will only provide you if you have a meter?

(Don't know though - I'm a newcomer too)

My parents have economy seven - they've been repeatedly told it will be turned off "soon" as the radio transmitter that switches it over apparently has one spare valve left in the world?

Your tariff being linked to your physical meter type is not a new concept, but there would be nothing stopping an EV owner charging their car on a "normal" meter afaik.

[Condi]

Maxym said:

I’ve stumbled across this thread a bit late… Why do you need a smart meter if you have an EV?

You don't, but a smart meter allows access to much cheaper overnight and time based tariffs, so instead of paying 25p/kwh you maybe pay 7p/kwh overnight and 30p during the day. Charge the car at night and its considerably cheaper to run.

[NDA]

Ian Geary said:

My parents have economy seven - they've been repeatedly told it will be turned off "soon" as the radio transmitter that switches it over apparently has one spare valve left in the world?

I have economy seven and have received letters that have said 'we will come and change your meter' 'your meter is probably broken' 'the transmitter is being turned off' etc etc They are desperate for me to have a 'smart' meter.

Smart meters are smart for the provider, particularly as surge pricing is on their agenda. The ability to withdraw (cut off) supply can be done remotely without access to the property is also attractive to them.

[Condi]

NDA said:

The ability to withdraw (cut off) supply can be done remotely without access to the property is also attractive to them.

If you don't pay your bill you'll be cut off whatever meter you have. Smart meters offer suppliers no more rights than they already have.

[James6112]

Maxym said:

I’ve stumbled across this thread a bit late… Why do you need a smart meter if you have an EV?

Tried Google ?

[swisstoni]

Maxym said:

I’ve stumbled across this thread a bit late… Why do you need a smart meter if you have an EV?

You don’t.

[Actual]

NDA said:

Smart meters are smart for the provider, particularly as surge pricing is on their agenda.

When price surging happens those without smart meters will pay a flat rate per unit of electricity at a high price and those with smart meters will be able to use cheaper electricity at the off peak non surge pricing times and so the smart meter will save them money.

[AyBee]

Thought I'd go through my own bills for the last 6 months (over winter) to see what having a smart meter and being on a variable tariff has saved me. I'm probably not your average person since I have an EV and I engage with it enough to look up when the best time to put the washing machine and dishwasher on is, but this is my summary:

Total energy: 2,361kWh
Weighted average unit rate (my bills): 13.29p
Weighted average unit rate (best monthly flat rate from my supplier): 27.19p

So that's a total saving of £328 over the last 6 months

[Maxym]

Condi said:

Maxym said:

I’ve stumbled across this thread a bit late… Why do you need a smart meter if you have an EV?

You don't, but a smart meter allows access to much cheaper overnight and time based tariffs, so instead of paying 25p/kwh you maybe pay 7p/kwh overnight and 30p during the day. Charge the car at night and its considerably cheaper to run.

Thanks.

[Maxym]

James6112 said:

Maxym said:

I’ve stumbled across this thread a bit late… Why do you need a smart meter if you have an EV?

Tried Google ?

Feel better now?

[Road2Ruin]

Actual said:

NDA said:

Smart meters are smart for the provider, particularly as surge pricing is on their agenda.

When price surging happens those without smart meters will pay a flat rate per unit of electricity at a high price and those with smart meters will be able to use cheaper electricity at the off peak non surge pricing times and so the smart meter will save them money.

Try not to baffle them with good news, smart meters are bad, the Internet says so...they don't want to hear why they might actually be good. I average about 8p pkwh for ALL of my electric, because I can charge my car, my battery and run pretty much everything off of cheap rate.

[turbobloke]

Road2Ruin said:

Actual said:

NDA said:

Smart meters are smart for the provider, particularly as surge pricing is on their agenda.

When price surging happens those without smart meters will pay a flat rate per unit of electricity at a high price and those with smart meters will be able to use cheaper electricity at the off peak non surge pricing times and so the smart meter will save them money.

Try not to baffle them with good news, smart meters are bad, the Internet says so...they don't want to hear why they might actually be good. I average about 8p pkwh for ALL of my electric, because I can charge my car, my battery and run pretty much everything off of cheap rate.

Fabulous irony on the baffle comment; you get cheaper leccy partly due to subsidies from other taxpayers, directly or indirectly, which inter alia encourage juice use at times of low demand. This is to stop the grid from revealing itself at other times as being incapable of coping with actual demand within the normal daily cycle due to being inflexible (renewables intermittency) and unreliable (renewables intermittency). Renewables are inevitably unreliables. Lights would have been going out already without fossil fuels. Old king coal was used at increased expense to keep the lights on during the Glasgow carbonfest COP climate boondoggle. More fabulous irony.

Energy security is dire. This is not a good thing to encourage. The UK is failing on both energy security and the reason for it aka Not Zero.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/feliciajackson/2024/0...

[Road2Ruin]

turbobloke said:

Road2Ruin said:

Actual said:

NDA said:

Smart meters are smart for the provider, particularly as surge pricing is on their agenda.

When price surging happens those without smart meters will pay a flat rate per unit of electricity at a high price and those with smart meters will be able to use cheaper electricity at the off peak non surge pricing times and so the smart meter will save them money.

Try not to baffle them with good news, smart meters are bad, the Internet says so...they don't want to hear why they might actually be good. I average about 8p pkwh for ALL of my electric, because I can charge my car, my battery and run pretty much everything off of cheap rate.

Fabulous irony on the baffle comment; you get cheaper leccy partly due to subsidies from other taxpayers, directly or indirectly, which inter alia encourage juice use at times of low demand. This is to stop the grid from revealing itself at other times as being incapable of coping with actual demand within the normal daily cycle due to being inflexible (renewables intermittency) and unreliable (renewables intermittency). Renewables are inevitably unreliables. Lights would have been going out already without fossil fuels. Old king coal was used at increased expense to keep the lights on during the Glasgow carbonfest COP climate boondoggle. More fabulous irony.

Energy security is dire. This is not a good thing to encourage. The UK is failing on both energy security and the reason for it aka Not Zero.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/feliciajackson/2024/0...

Yeah, but I get cheap leccy and don't stress myself out about it. Try it some time.

[turbobloke]

This recent article may be of some help to the millions of people whose smartie meter has turned out to be an annoying dumby. Some such people might even be on PH.

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/smart-meters/artic...

[NDA]

Condi said:

NDA said:

The ability to withdraw (cut off) supply can be done remotely without access to the property is also attractive to them.

If you don't pay your bill you'll be cut off whatever meter you have. Smart meters offer suppliers no more rights than they already have.

No more rights perhaps, but more abilities - suppliers do make mistakes.

I'm no tin-foil-hatter, but I'd rather not have a meter that can be controlled remotely. I can see no benefit at all.

[silentbrown]

The strange thing here is the seemingly perfect intersection between the set of people who see no benefit in smart meters, and those who insist on paying monthly for the exact amount they've used, rather than a fixed direct debit...

[NDA]

silentbrown said:

The strange thing here is the seemingly perfect intersection between the set of people who see no benefit in smart meters, and those who insist on paying monthly for the exact amount they've used, rather than a fixed direct debit...

I pay quarterly for what I've actually used - always have done. I''ve never had pre-payment arrangement or ended up with the supplier holding my money. Seems mad to me.