Smart meters are so silly!

[WasThatWise]

Had smart meters installed last week and have used the gadget that comes with them, thing is one of the main things I want to see is my meter reading not least because I want to see it is recording roughly the same usage as last ones but this dies not seem to be available on the gadget.

 

When I go to look at the meters they are blank most of the time but sometimes start flashing up numbers and text relating to numbers and I couldn't easily determine what the meter reading was on electric or gas in fact it was a bit cold standing there so I gave up.

 

Thought I would go online on my energy company site but even though the meter is transmitting every 30 minutes there is no reading that I can find there later than middle of February.

[Isabelle]

I have smart meters, and the idea seems good. However, mine went faulty and said I was using extortionate amounts of gas , which was funny because I had spent a lot of time away from home. It wasn't a leak, National Grid came and checked it was safe. It took British gas 3 months to replace my meters, despite me telling them repeatedly that the faulty gas meter was switching my gas off. I could get it back on by pressing a button but trekking down to the cellar 4 times just to get a bath was very annoying

Rang British Gas the other day to ask how to get a refund of my money in credit and she asked for a meter reading even though I have the smart meters, so what's the point in them?

[Mikes10]

March 2014 my gas bills began to rise, by August, according to the gas meter I was using £18.00 worth of gas per day.

The meter was an electronic type but not a smart meter.

 

It was clear my energy company did not know I had an electronic meter, nor did they have anyone who could visit me and

verify what I had discovered about the meter. Their meter readers did not know how to determine faults on electronic gas

meters.

 

Eventually the meter was change for a traditional style mechanical meter, I also asked the installer about the electronic

meter display. I can remember his reply as if he had said it a moment ago: "You didn't hear this from me but it probably means...".

Which confirmed what I thought the fault was.

 

The moral of this story is hold on to your traditional gas meter.

[bigsexydoug]

Wow, great idea an electronic gadget that uses more power to tell to you how much power you could save

[I1L2T3]

Everyone should be aware that it isn't compulsory to have a smart meter. If your supplier insists on fitting a new one you can opt for a straight swap for a normal meter. Suppliers may insist on replacing your meter if it is old and potentially unsafe but there is no legal requirement for the new meter to be a smart meter.

 

If your meter is new-ish and your supplier asks to fit a new smart meter (not on safety grounds) then you can refuse.

 

We've just had an appointment sent through for a fitting but we deferred it to give us more time to decide. Rather naughtily the supporting literature does not mention that you have any choice.

 

Just to reiterate if your replacement is for safety reasons you should work with the supplier to do what is right for you but make sure you have your meter inspected at the very least.

Edited March 15, 2015 by I1L2T3

[Isabelle]

My (rented) house already came with them. Other peoples' experiences sound interesting though, I need to get my electric readings checked, I think I should be in more credit. The property has been virtually empty for the past 7 months and the only appliances running on electric should be the fridge, boiler (although it's not running,just the pilot light/display) and energy monitor, and last quarter was about £80.

[I1L2T3]

A bit more research tonight and some interesting info:

 

1. The official rollout of the meters starts next year but some suppliers are going before that. The standards are still not firmed up so there is a possibility that meters going in now might be actually obsolete and need to be replaced again.

 

2. If you switch suppliers after installation of the meter then it might only work in 'dumb' mode with the new supplier, i.e. pretty much how the traditional ones work. You may lose the smart features in that scenario.

 

3. If you are having a gas meter installed and your appliances (e.g. boiler) won't relight afterwards you will most likely be liable for getting your own engineer to come and relight your appliances. The meter engineers are there to change the meter only, not to make sure you have functioning gas appliances afterwards. IMO it is probably a risk having the replacement (unless essential for potential safety reasons as outlined above in other posts) during cold months.

 

4. The meters use a wireless protocol to communicate with each other (if I'm correct they participate in a network with other nearby meters in other properties) and also have a separate wireless protocol for comms within the home, e.g. with whatever gadgets connect to them to monitor usage. There are reports of interference with existing wi-fi. Again the supplier absolves themselves of all responsibility for this, recommending you contact your broadband supplier if you have problems with your router or wireless signal after smart meter installation.

 

Make your own minds up but looks like a messy situation to me.

[Cyclone]

My (rented) house already came with them. Other peoples' experiences sound interesting though, I need to get my electric readings checked, I think I should be in more credit. The property has been virtually empty for the past 7 months and the only appliances running on electric should be the fridge, boiler (although it's not running,just the pilot light/display) and energy monitor, and last quarter was about £80.

 

You've not run the boiler at all through the winter? You're lucky you haven't had a cracked pipe and a flood.

[bigsexydoug]

My (rented) house already came with them. Other peoples' experiences sound interesting though, I need to get my electric readings checked, I think I should be in more credit. The property has been virtually empty for the past 7 months and the only appliances running on electric should be the fridge, boiler (although it's not running,just the pilot light/display) and energy monitor, and last quarter was about £80.

 

You will most likely be getting stung by a daily standing charge, try ibeco if you don't want to pay any daily standing charge.