Jeffrey Shaw Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 Basic question: does anyone with a so-called Smart Meter actually reduce energy usage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apelike Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 The offer of the free smart meter.. Trouble is they are not exactly free as the consumer is paying for the cost of them in their bills as someone has to pay for the £11 billion cost of the rollout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Cid Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 Trouble is they are not exactly free as the consumer is paying for the cost of them in their bills as someone has to pay for the £11 billion cost of the rollout. Which will be offset be people using less energy and lower costs of reading the meters. An academic study based on existing trials showed that homeowners' electricity consumption on average is reduced by approximately 3-5%. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_meter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apelike Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 Which will be offset be people using less energy and lower costs of reading the meters. An academic study based on existing trials showed that homeowners' electricity consumption on average is reduced by approximately 3-5%. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_meter Here is also good report on it: 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 And another: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35894922 Both reports are doubtful about savings and none take into account the added cost to the consumer of the rollout. People are still getting estimated bills for example, some meters are not transferable to other companies and to benefit you need to have both electricity and gas supplies from the same company. The latter then ties you into just one supplier and makes any future change difficult. They also do not take into account any standing charges that may apply, so not that smart. I have saved more money by just changing my light bulbs to LED's and dont need a smart meter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgksheff Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 Which will be offset be people using less energy and lower costs of reading the meters. An academic study based on existing trials showed that homeowners' electricity consumption on average is reduced by approximately 3-5%. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_meter The offset goes the other way. I have been reducing consumption over the years, without any smartmeter. The bloodsuckers always offset this by increasing prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANGELFIRE1 Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 " A new report published by Smart Energy GB, looking at how customers change their energy behavior before and after upgrading to a smart meter, identifies how those who have a detailed understanding of smart meters or who already have a smart meter are taking more steps on average to save energy. Activities include 1) turning the heating down or off when it is not required 2) installing a smart thermostat 3) purchasing an appliance which is more energy efficient 4) changing the time at which appliances are used 5) switching to energy efficient lighting " 1) I don't need a smart meter to tell me to turn my heating down, or off. 2) My ordinary stat is brilliant, set it and it turns the heating on and off, magic. 3) I don't want a kettle that takes 20 mins to boil, life is too short for that. 4) My energy is the same night or day, no need to get up at two in the morning to iron a shirt. 5) I thought due to the EU we already have cheap lighting, with bulbs that are dim as candles, well almost. Let's hope smart metres, for those who have them are better than smart motorways. Angel1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puggie Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 Basic question: does anyone with a so-called Smart Meter actually reduce energy usage? No, a smart meter is still just a meter. It's a bean counter which measures your energy consumption for billing purposes. The cost of your energy consumption is dictated by your tariff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Cid Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 No, a smart meter is still just a meter. It's a bean counter which measures your energy consumption for billing purposes. The cost of your energy consumption is dictated by your tariff. And if your monthly bill is really high, you might look into why that is so. With a smart meter, you might look into daily/weekly fluctuations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phili Buster Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 Basic question: does anyone with a so-called Smart Meter actually reduce energy usage? If you supply a monthly reading then there should be no difference. The reason for high bills is where estimates of usage are used. Mostly the estimates will be higher than actual usage unless there is a change to your previous regular usage i.e. retirement so you are at home more during the day so heating is used more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apelike Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 (edited) If you supply a monthly reading then there should be no difference. One of the main reasons for having a smart meter is that it is meant to automatically take the readings for you and send that information on. If the consumer still has to give readings then the meter is not very smart. Many people with smart meters are still getting estimated bills because of problems with the smart meter connecting up to the network and being unreliable. Edited August 31, 2017 by apelike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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