Phili Buster Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 NPower installed a smart meter in my house about 6 months ago and my dual fuel bill has literally halved in cost so it is not always a bad thing. It has been reported that the smart (?) meters can incorrectly report low, as well as high, readings. Have you changed your power usage since the installation of the smart meter to account for a halving in cost or have you changed tariff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feilnoster Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 It has been reported that the smart (?) meters can incorrectly report low, as well as high, readings. Have you changed your power usage since the installation of the smart meter to account for a halving in cost or have you changed tariff? No, just assumed it was down to providing accurate meter readings now rather than estimates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apelike Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 NPower installed a smart meter in my house about 6 months ago and my dual fuel bill has literally halved in cost so it is not always a bad thing. But, was it the smart-meter that saved you the money or you? I certainly don't want one as I can and do manage my use very well. I also notice this quote from e-on on my letter today about increases in my charges: "a number of costs that we don't control have gone up. These include such things as government environmental and social schemes, which support renewable energy and help insulate homes as well as network costs.." The inherent problem here is that consumers themselves are paying for all this in higher costs. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/energy-bills/11975065/Smart-meters-will-cost-11bn-but-youll-be-lucky-if-yours-saves-you-30.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phili Buster Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 No, just assumed it was down to providing accurate meter readings now rather than estimates. Ah, right, I had assumed you had been taking readings yourself on the old meter. Sorry for my assumption and causing confusion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feilnoster Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 But, was it the smart-meter that saved you the money or you? I certainly don't want one as I can and do manage my use very well. I also notice this quote from e-on on my letter today about increases in my charges: "a number of costs that we don't control have gone up. These include such things as government environmental and social schemes, which support renewable energy and help insulate homes as well as network costs.." The inherent problem here is that consumers themselves are paying for all this in higher costs. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/energy-bills/11975065/Smart-meters-will-cost-11bn-but-youll-be-lucky-if-yours-saves-you-30.html It must have been the smart meter and not me because nothing has change. The smart meter is in a cupboard and I never look at it. Usage remains the same, if anything usage will have increased over the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 No, just assumed it was down to providing accurate meter readings now rather than estimates. The old analogue meters didn't report estimates... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bloke Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 NPower installed a smart meter in my house about 6 months ago and my dual fuel bill has literally halved in cost so it is not always a bad thing. Hmmm... ... excuse my ignorance then, but how does a smart meter reduce your fuel bills? Surely it only tells you how much energy you're using? But if you're the sort of person who's daft enough to need a little gizmo to remind you that you've left lights on or appliances switched on when they're not required, then I suspect you're also more than likely to soon forget to keep checking your smart meter as well, and so your fuel bills will be unaffected? Or am I missing something here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apelike Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 (edited) It must have been the smart meter and not me because nothing has change. The smart meter is in a cupboard and I never look at it. Usage remains the same, if anything usage will have increased over the winter. Basically what you seem to imply is that the usage is the same and yet you are saving money. That's probably because as you have stated already you are now getting a live reading. When you get an estimated bill you should always phone Npower (whatever provider it is) and given them an up to date reading as its easy to do and costs nothing. Edited March 8, 2017 by apelike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feilnoster Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 Hmmm... ... excuse my ignorance then, but how does a smart meter reduce your fuel bills? Surely it only tells you how much energy you're using? But if you're the sort of person who's daft enough to need a little gizmo to remind you that you've left lights on or appliances switched on when they're not required, then I suspect you're also more than likely to soon forget to keep checking your smart meter as well, and so your fuel bills will be unaffected? Or am I missing something here? Yes you are, estimate readings vs live readings hence the smart meter is saving me money due to accurate billing. It is not, I repeat not turning off my lights for me. ---------- Post added 08-03-2017 at 15:28 ---------- Basically what you seem to imply is that the usage is the same and yet you are saving money. That's probably because as you have stated already you are now getting a live reading. When you get an estimated bill you should always phone Npower (whatever provider it is) and given them an up to date reading as its easy to do and costs nothing. Agreed, I should have been doing this all along but I wasn't. Thanks to the miracle of modern technology I now don't need to. ---------- Post added 08-03-2017 at 15:29 ---------- The old analogue meters didn't report estimates... Correct, they didn't report anything by themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobster Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 Had my Smart Meter for 2 years , NPower still come round and read the Meter bit pointless . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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