Smart Meters Thread

[Thirsty Relic]

Energy companies put enormous pressure on consumers to have these so-called "Smart" meters fitted, but only because the Government are putting enormous pressure on them to hit targets for installing them.  Letters, adverts in the press and on tele all say they will save money, when clearly all they do is tell you what you are spending, and send mobile phone messages to the suppliers at very regular intervals (typically half-hourly) on your usage - that are paid for by consumers in their bills of course.

 

Of course, anybody from the Supplier company, or anybody else with access to the readings, can easily work out when you are in, your daily habits etc - all of which would be of great interest to potential burglars.  I suspect we will see a spike in burglaries for those with Smart Meters fitted, and an accompanying rise in premiums for those with them when insurance companies are alerted to the trend.

[El Cid]

9 hours ago, Arthur Ritus said:

They can only save money by not having to pay meter reading services to send out their person twice a year to housholds than cannot read their own meter and submit it online ( whom can be then made unemployed and have to be supported on benefit by the taxpayer) which on the scale of things would be a drop in the ever warming ocean.

So are you a Ludite that does not believe technology should be allowed because it will cause unemployment?

We have tech in all aspects of life and unemployment was low, pre-COVID.

[Jim Hardie]

32 minutes ago, El Cid said:

So are you a Ludite that does not believe technology should be allowed because it will cause unemployment?

We have tech in all aspects of life and unemployment was low, pre-COVID.

Didn’t you know? Meter readers are unemployable in any other job.

[forgeman]

I have changed several times and not once have I been pestered to have a smart meter. I said no when I changed to the new supplier and not heard anything since. I read my own meters once a month and send it to them. They seem happy with the result.

If the smart meters send info to the supplier on a regular basis then surely they have to employ someone to download and analise the results.

[alchresearch]

On 11/10/2020 at 01:19, Organgrinder said:

Lots of ads on TV lately telling us how they will save us money.

Pack of lies. The ads should not be allowed to make the claims which they do.

A smart meter will not save you one single penny

Funny.  Mine has saved me plenty.  When I moved in January I monitored the power usage and was able to make changes to things around my home to make savings, starting with the high daily charge from the existing utility provider, which was nicely shown on the Smart meter and not hidden away on some website or in some bill's small print.

[Guest]

13 hours ago, El Cid said:

So are you a Ludite that does not believe technology should be allowed because it will cause unemployment?

We have tech in all aspects of life and unemployment was low, pre-COVID.

His point is that,  It's not about disallowing technology but pointing out that putting people on the dole has costs for society.

It still leaves the fact that the only ones to profit are the power companies, which is what this thread is about.

21 minutes ago, alchresearch said:

Funny.  Mine has saved me plenty.  When I moved in January I monitored the power usage and was able to make changes to things around my home to make savings, starting with the high daily charge from the existing utility provider, which was nicely shown on the Smart meter and not hidden away on some website or in some bill's small print.

You have made the savings yourself  by turning down or turning off appliances.

You could have made those same changes without a having Smart Meter.

It's not hard to find out what your tarriffs are without a meter.

[alchresearch]

2 hours ago, Organgrinder said:

You have made the savings yourself  by turning down or turning off appliances.

 

But how would I know which appliances were using the energy or needed attention, if it weren't for the smart meter?

[the_bloke]

9 minutes ago, alchresearch said:

But how would I know which appliances were using the energy or needed attention, if it weren't for the smart meter?

You can waste your own time and energy by taking an initial reading, switching the appliance off, recording how long it takes for the meter to change the smallest unit of measurement from n to n+1, then repeat with the appliance switched back on and compare the difference.

 

Repeat for all your household items.

 

Those that change to n+1 the quickest when on use the more energy.

 

In the meantime, you've wasted at least a whole evening while everyone else in the house can't turn on or off any appliances and your wife thinks you are a headcase.

[zaci]

The only thing my smart meter saves, is me having to read the meter!!   Well it did until i changed suppliers to get a better deal, my new supplier has just informed me that my smart meter isn't compatible with their system, so its back to taking my own readings and sending them online. Just been  told by my mate that i can find the readings displayed somewhere on my not so smart meter.   At least it means i wont have to go groveling down in the cellar.

[Guest]

41 minutes ago, alchresearch said:

But how would I know which appliances were using the energy or needed attention, if it weren't for the smart meter?

I wouldn't have thought it necessary to spell it out but you don't have to do any meter reading at all.

Simply remember that each appliance has a label on it detailing the number of Watts it potentially uses.

Something which uses 3000 watts such as a shower, Tumble Dryer, toaster or kettle will burn much more than something at 50  to 250 Watts such as a TV, Radio, Computer etc.

Also make allowances for the amount of time this appliance will take to do it's job  i.e. a Kettle will have boiled in 3 minutes whereas a Tumble Dryer may take from 30 minutes to an hour.

Small things can make a difference over time. I you usually leave the TV on all day when no one is watching then turn it off.

It isn't using much power but 12 hours use every day is a waste when no one is watching it.

It's just down to common sense really  but for anyone who doesn't have any, then a Smart Meter would be a good thing.