Reply With QuoteThat explains a lot. My smart meter keeps switching the TV to show that spaghetti farm piece from Panorama.
"I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that."
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2019/04/smart-meter-rollout-halted-as-meters-become--too-smart-for-their/
That explains a lot. My smart meter keeps switching the TV to show that spaghetti farm piece from Panorama.
On any other day....
Quite.Originally Posted by trident-7
Very funny, thanks for sharing
Made me smile.
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The problem is that if they leave that page up you just know the tin foil hatters are going to link to it as evidence of why they'll never have a smart meter.
We had to produce advertorials for this nonsense and everyone we spoke to said they were useless, wouldn't work with their wi-fi, couldn't be installed in their house, couldn't be transferred between suppliers, etc. A total car crash of an idea.
Is that the ones who simply point out that smart meters are all about increased peak-period variable tariffs?
Doesn't sound tinfoily to me...
Bugger, there wasI happy until I realised today’s date, I’ll just have continue resisting those that insist I must have one with the time honoured- no thanks now f*ck off- until it actually happens, although some folk believe me when I tell them I don’t have internet connection.
No. it's the ones who insist that the 'radio signals' cause all manner of health issues & that the companies will use the OTA update feature to secretly change the calibration of the meters so customers are charged more.
You could also say that smart meters will enable lower off-peak tariffs but I guess that might not suit your agenda quite as well.
Thanks.
No, I'm more concerned about their plans for charging more than the present tariffs. I always saw that if people move to electric cars then the electric companies will find a way of hammering charging times - overnight mostly.
OK, I did a little more research. I'm with Bulb (highly recommended by the way, PM me if anyone interested is moving to them) & this is their Smart Tariff page:
https://bulb.co.uk/smart/
Standard rate is 13.5p/kWh (roughly, depending on location).
Smart tariff:
11pm to 7am: 7.59p/kWh
7am to 4pm: 11.27p/kWh
4pm to 7pm: 41.44p/kWh
7pm to 11pm: 11.27p/kWh
So if you can avoid putting the immersion on etc between 4pm & 7pm you can significantly reduce your bills: 80% of people who went on the trial did so. It's about having the information to change your usage patterns & putting the washing machine on overnight for instance.
I'm not saying there aren't issues - I'd be wary about getting disconnected by accident for instance - but it's not all bad.
That's now, but the beauty (for suppliers) is being able to tune price to demand periods in future.
I honestly think people need their heads looking at if they even consider smart meters!
It's not taking control, its giving away control!
personally i dont have a smart meter and i dont want one , they are of no use to the end user whatsoever (unless you are a low income pensioner and you want to watch how much debt you are getting into or whether you want to eat or freeze to death in the winter)
most people dont realise that they are not a legal requirement (you dont have to get one fitted) - regardless of what the supplier says.
I’m led to believe when you get one installed it’s not actually free ,your tariff price goes up?
No, everyones tariff has already gone up to pay for them, whether you get one or not.
Great... I’m even now paying for something I refuse to have
I'm still getting chased by my old supplier to fit one - they've farmed it out to a third party to harass me now!
Still a better deal than actually installing one of the insidious things...
I had the hard sell to have one fitted last night. Their arguments in favour got a bit thin with lots of pauses
Rep It will help you monitor your usage
Me My usage is static over the year. I have already worked out if I sit in the dark without the TV on then my consumption will go down. Plus having a smart meter adds to my consumption
Rep It will let you know if you are on our best tariff
Me I use the internet for that
Rep But you wouldn't have to check
Me Does it tell me if your best tariff is less than a competitor like the internet
Rep It tells you our best price
Me So that would be a no then
Rep Its a second generation meter so even if you changed supplier some of the functions will still work
Me If you can demonstrate how installing this will cover the costs of me not working for a morning whilst you install it. I might think about it
Rep Thank you for you time.
I seem to recall the energy companies are behind on their targets to install these = fines so expect more cold calls
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EON are chasing me to get one installed. Here are the weasel words in the letter they sent me:
"We have a legal obligation under the Gas Act 1986 to ensure your meter is operating safely and is measuring gas accurately. The gas meter at your property has been identified within safety criteria for replacement."
i take it they have tested your old meter and found its not working correctly?
if so just tell them to fit an old type meter , if they say they dont fit those anymore then tell them you want the smart meter fitted in 'dumb' mode so it simply shows readings and does not send any data at all to them.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/co...ter-installed/
I'm guessing you have to give an app permission to access your WiFi for it to work. Refusing to do this or changing your password after install should turn it dumb ?
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No, the latest SMETS 2 meters don't use your network or the phone network.
https://www.smartme.co.uk/technical.html
They haven't tested it as far as I'm aware.
Where do smart gas meters get their power from?
They are battery powered, although it would be more fun if there were a little gas turbine generator inside. I've yet to find out what happens when the battery runs out.
Thanks for that - shows I shouldn't be lazy and make assumptions
Still don't want one though !!!
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Smart meters don’t work with WiFi because they are not designed to work with WiFi.
Not picking on you specifically but this is probably the least informed thread I’ve ever seen on this forum.
By phone network I assume you mean landline rather than mobile?
That article you linked is more informed than most but still gets a number of things wrong.
Is there an independent site you can recommend to do more research please
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The official site is here https://www.smartenergygb.org/en however it doesn't go into much technical detail.
The best i can offer really is that i'd be happy to answer any questions anyone has about smart meters (where i can) and hopefully lay a few myths to rest.
from my point of view unless you are an interested engineer theres no reason for knowing how they work , the only thing people need to know is that at the moment its not a legal requirement that you have to get one - energy suppliers are simply crapping themselves over fines for failing to meet govenment targets and so are using heavier wording in their letters regarding them - much like TVL does regarding TV liciences.
My question would be why wouldn’t you get one? What’s the big scary thing that would make you refuse?
Having to be at home and not get paid whilst they fit. Plus if you go onto Scottish Power Facebook, its not exactly full of satisfied customers with the installation process.
They are trying to get my girlfriend to have one fitted as it’s a condition of her tarif, but they do not have a free slot to do that on a weekend and she will likely move to a new provider before they can. At least it was a version 2 meter they would fit.
At my property I’m on economy 7 so I’m very aware of usage and economic use of the electricity overnight. I would happily have a meter fitted as it saves me getting mud on my shoes when I go to the riser cupboard to do a reading every month. But I have had no request to do so.
Simple. Variable tariffs that charge more when YOU need to use electricity. If everyone goes electric vehicle, what will happen? You'll be financially raped for charging your car over night. Full renewable supplies?? Unstable grid and low energy availabilty would create massive costs or remote disconnections.
When they advertise the so-called 'benefits' of something that is costly and complicated, it's not to help the end user.
personally i dont like the way its being pushed out (that its a moneysaver to the end user when its not) , as i said before - why should i get one as its of no benefit to me whatsoever , it simply for the supplier to be able to make more money by being able to change tariffs on the fly and not having to pay to send someone out to read it etc , theres also some concern around what data these devices are actually collecting and sending to the supplier.
Tarrifs are applied to smart meters by energy suppliers. The meters only do what the supplier tells them to do. Suppliers would seek to maximise profits from consumers whether we have smart meters or not.
Ev's are interesting. I suspect what will happen is that consumers will move towards domestic storage solutions (batteries) which will be used to charge EV's with the batteries themselves being able to be re-charged on cheaper tariffs or even better via solar / wind generation.
Smartgrids are next and are intended to solve the stability and generation / availability issues you mention.
The true benefits of smart metering can only be achieved once Smartgrid is implemented.
Suppliers are only able to change tarriffs if you allow them to e.g you sign up to a variable tarriff. Move onto a fixed tarrif and use your smart meter and IHD to reduce consumption and your bill will be cheaper. I agree though that the true business case for smart meters is built on suppliers not having to manually read meters, despite government pronouncements to the contrary.
Smart Meters (in fact any utility meters) essentially do one primary thing, measure consumption. This is data that is available to your supplier anyway. They also monitor your supply side feed and send alerts relating to that to Network operators.
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