Smart meters again ?.

[samboy]

Hi gang.

             I have 2 of these fitted for gas and electric and whilst i have had no trouble with them i have received another text on my mobi

             to read the meters and send the readings. Surely the whole point of these meters is that they can be automatically read.

             They say it is to stop me getting an estimated bill. Any thoughts on this ?.

                                                                                                                           Thanks all.

[harrycatcat1]

2 minutes ago, samboy said:

Hi gang.

             I have 2 of these fitted for gas and electric and whilst i have had no trouble with them i have received another text on my mobi

             to read the meters and send the readings. Surely the whole point of these meters is that they can be automatically read.

             They say it is to stop me getting an estimated bill. Any thoughts on this ?.

                                                                                                                           Thanks all.

Seems to defeat the object of them, doesn't it 🤔 I haven’t got any. 

[smokingdragon]

do you have a plug in display unit that displays the readings? Does that show any stats?

 

[Peter Harris]

My Neighbor has had Smart Meters fitted and his bills have soared!

Now I have Eon telling me I HAVE to have Smart meters fitted ? No thank you.

[samboy]

1 hour ago, smokingdragon said:

do you have a plug in display unit that displays the readings? Does that show any stats?

 

I do have a plug in thing but never use it but i will plug it in and have a look.

[.357shooter]

only smart thing about these is how much more the companies make from them.

[Windswept]

I'm not an expert but have been sorting out problems for someone else.

Firstly, bills rising is more likely to be down to the general rise in energy costs. If anything the smart meter should reduce bills.

The smart meter should be able to send automatic readings. But, you can opt out of this so have you opted out? Secondly some areas don't have great mobile coverage and as the smart meter uses a similar network then it may not be picking up automatic readings. You provider can fit an aerial to it to improve matters. Smart meters can also go wrong, even power cuts can affect them and stop them sending signals.

The solution is to call your provider and ask why they want a reading. If the meter isn't sending readings and you want it to ask them to fix it asap and if they refuse log a complaint.

[amateur]

I started to have to send in readings from my smart meter display when I changed supplier.

"Not one of our meters" was their explanation, then the correct electricity reading appeared prefilled on the meter reading request, but not the gas, so I surmise that they COULD read the meter, but chose to do only half the job.

I've now signed up for a deal whereby my electricity bill is halved for a period of time in the week, but that is dependent upon their fitting a smart meter. This is good news. I can fill up the EV for less and not have to send in readings.

 

[JohnfromUK]

2 hours ago, samboy said:

I have 2 of these fitted for gas and electric and whilst i have had no trouble with them i have received another text on my mobi

             to read the meters and send the readings. Surely the whole point of these meters is that they can be automatically read.

             They say it is to stop me getting an estimated bill. Any thoughts on this ?.

It's much the same for me;   Electricity meter is 'smart' and works some of the time, but not other times.  No idea why.

They came to fit the (smart) gas meter in 2021, but the man who arrived said he wasn't qualified to remove my old meter (unusual M16 type).  Despite many chases, nothing further has happened and I still have the old gas meter and send in readings monthly.  Utter waste of time and money.

39 minutes ago, Windswept said:

Firstly, bills rising is more likely to be down to the general rise in energy costs.

/\  This.

40 minutes ago, Windswept said:

The solution is to call your provider and ask why they want a reading.

If you have the patience to sit in a call queuing system for half an hour, then get told what needs to happen (see my 1st comment re gas meters above) and in practice nothing ever actually happens - and next time you ring - same stores all over again.  I've given up wasting my time.  It's easier just to send in readings monthly.

[Surfer]

Solution to this is tell them to send someone to read the meters as you don’t work for them .

[Westward]

We had smart meters installed last November when we were with Shell Energy. We then switched to Octopus which had the huge advantage that the phone is actually answered and - even better than that - it's by someone who has English as their 1st language. They also have an excellent website.

Our bills have gone down significantly, particularly now as we've switched to their Agile tariff for which you have to have modern smart meters. I can check my electricity pricing every day and pick when to run the washing machine or dishwasher etc because it displays the exact rate in half hour slots up till late at night.

A few weeks ago over that windy weekend, I was contacted by Octopus as they were running what they call plunge pricing at certain times on both days. This meant that we were getting negative pricing during those times, in other words the grid was paying us to use electricity. On the Sunday we had negative pricing from 10am till 4pm so a lot of baking and washing was done that day.

Pick the right energy supplier and smart meters are a real benefit.

[samboy]

15 minutes ago, Surfer said:

Solution to this is tell them to send someone to read the meters as you don’t work for them .

A chap did come round to read the meters a couple of months ago. He said if the company don't get any replies from you they send me round.

Well they can send him round all the time then. Because as said i don't work for them.

[JohnfromUK]

34 minutes ago, Westward said:

We then switched to Octopus which had the huge advantage that the phone is actually answered and - even better than that - it's by someone who has English as their 1st language. They also have an excellent website.

I am also with Octopus - and I entirely agree with the above ........... until you have a 'non standard' matter to deal with - in which case you get referred to another desk - which rings and rings and eventually says "Goodbye".

I did look at the 'agile' tariff - and stayed on the standard for two reasons;

1. My overall usage of electricity is quite low (around 8 KWh per day) - about 5 of which are 'background' things mainly fridges, freezers, kettle, lighting.  The other 3 are more 'discretionary' - being washing machine, dishwasher, cooker, vacuum cleaner etc.  These I could (at least to a degree) be flexible on ......... but ....
2. The problem with being flexible is that I tend mainly to want to cook morning/evening for a meal - so not that flexible - and I only run the washing machine, tumbler drier, dishwasher when I'm up and about. 

Looking at it in practical terms, the washing machine and tumbler drier use around 0.5 and 0.75 KWh (each respectively) for a 4 kg load of washing and the dishwasher uses 0.75 KWh per load, so there are 2 'units' of electricity I could use at a cheap time.  But 2 units of electricity cost around 70p, so pretty minimal saving.  Then the 'agile' tariff is more expensive at other times, so my view was that any savings would be small.  IF I was charging an electric car several nights a week, or had some form of energy storage (heatstore, heat storing AgA cooker) it might be a different story.

[Centrepin]

I too am with Octopus, involuntary change when Bulb went pop. I don't have smart meters yet every month I receive a bill stating read by smart meter.  Every month I send in my readings and ask for the revised bill.

I pay by direct debit a set amount, if the bill is over I pay it immediately so I'm always on top of my bills.

[Westward]

19 hours ago, samboy said:

A chap did come round to read the meters a couple of months ago. He said if the company don't get any replies from you they send me round.

Well they can send him round all the time then. Because as said i don't work for them.

Prior to smart meters I always sent in the readings because the on line paperless tariff was cheaper.

[Westward]

Just to explain a bit more, wholesale rates are going very low today between 1pm and 4pm with the best half hour slot at 1.30 to 2.00 when my price will be 0.03p/KWh.

I understand the reluctance about smart meters and I certainly dithered for ages, but with the right supplier - and Octopus isn't the only one - the savings can be significant if you can be flexible about when you use the big devices.

[JohnfromUK]

56 minutes ago, Westward said:

between 1pm and 4pm with the best half hour slot at 1.30 to 2.00 when my price will be 0.03p/KWh.

I'm currently paying 29.6 pence per KWh (Octopus standard tariff), so would save 26.6 pence per KWh.  If I did my washing and drying in that period (which takes actually about 3-4 hours running in total and uses 1.3 KWh) I would save around 36p - assuming I was able to time it to get 3p rate - which isn't a great help.

If I had a electric car sitting flat battery waiting to be charged - it would be very worthwhile (roughly say 50 KWh for a full charge would save £25) - and IF I had something with which I could make that sort of saving I would certainly be looking into the smart time based variable tariff.

[oowee]

23 hours ago, Westward said:

We had smart meters installed last November when we were with Shell Energy. We then switched to Octopus which had the huge advantage that the phone is actually answered and - even better than that - it's by someone who has English as their 1st language. They also have an excellent website.

Our bills have gone down significantly, particularly now as we've switched to their Agile tariff for which you have to have modern smart meters. I can check my electricity pricing every day and pick when to run the washing machine or dishwasher etc because it displays the exact rate in half hour slots up till late at night.

A few weeks ago over that windy weekend, I was contacted by Octopus as they were running what they call plunge pricing at certain times on both days. This meant that we were getting negative pricing during those times, in other words the grid was paying us to use electricity. On the Sunday we had negative pricing from 10am till 4pm so a lot of baking and washing was done that day.

Pick the right energy supplier and smart meters are a real benefit.

That's the sort of stuff that should get more common and the reason they are being introduced. It should soon be able to alter fridge and a freezer use around pricing and manage car charging etc too.

Octopus also have a wholesale tracker tarriff. Should be cheaper in summer and you can opt for winter. Although you can't go straight back in again. 

[Minky]

I had someone call me about how marvelous it would be to have a smart meter,,  I politely replied that I was more than capable of reading my meter.  The dishwasher and washing machine run on economy seven overnight.  Simple,  control. 

[JohnfromUK]

I  agreed to have smart meters (gas and electricity) around 2 years ago:

• The electricity was fitted fairly quickly and easily.
• The gas could not be fitted at the time because the man who came 'wasn't qualified' to work on my meter type
• Another man came for the gas a few months later; he couldn't fit the meter either because it was the 'wrong type'
• Further chasing was simply a waste of time
• About a year in the electricity meter smart display became intermittent.  Since i had found the display wholly useless in that it only ever told me what I knew (e.g. if you turn on the kettle it uses an extra 2500W) it didn't really bother me.
• Now (as of about a month ago) it has stopped working altogether.
• They say it is because the meter and the display are too far apart to get a radio signal.  They are about 1 foot apart now and still no connection.
• Because gas was never fitted I have always sent my own readings in monthly (easy enough to do)

So after all, the Gov't have made us spend (via surcharges etc.) a large sum of money on meters that plainly aren't fit for purpose.  I will quite happily continue to send in my readings manually.

[Pushkin]

Sick and tired of being mailed about do I want one fitted. Lost count of the amout of negative replies I have e-mailed them.  Recent communication from them was:_ Why not get a smart meter fitted and we can set yuou up a standing order for your gas supply.  (I tried to do that a year ago when we'd had gas installed for a year;  But they could'nt do that because I didn't have a full years gas usage???? A year is a year in my book but obviously not theirs.  They aslo offered to cut £130:00 a year of my estimated gas usage £2500.  no thanks but I'll take £130:00 off my £70 or £80 a month gas bill.  I sent in a complaint asking that they contact me in person so I could discuss the overuse of e-mails to my account - I told them it would save them money - did the even respond - did they heck.  All they want is more and more money from us all.  I'll stop now, time I was in my bed

Pushkin

Edited October 9, 2023 by Pushkin
Spelling errors and mistakes.

[Rim Fire]

Got British Gas phoning me all the time to change to a smart meter i nearly gave in last time but after reading some of the reports on here i think i will wait 

[JohnfromUK]

40 minutes ago, Rim Fire said:

but after reading some of the reports on here i think i will wait 

To be fair, I have never had any interruptions to supply, billing issues or other problems. 

• Gas has remained an old style 'non smart meter' because once on site, they can't seem to supply/fit a suitable 'smart'.
• Electricity is a meter.  It should be 'smart' with a display in the house and showing power usage.  That part simply doesn't work reliably.  The actual metering shows I am using pretty much exactly the same amount of electricity (around 8 - 10 KHh per day) as the old non smart meter shows.  The meter readings are all accurate as far as I can tell.

My gripe is that ALL of us - whether you have accepted a smart meter or not - have subsidised the rollout of a massive programme that is hopelessly unreliable.  Ring any bells about Gov't IT related schemes?

[Stimo22]

Scottish power fitted both of mine back in February, the display in house stopped working few weeks ago. They say that there is no longer a network connection on area so the meter not sending readings. Don’t know what will happen when reading due

 

[old man]

The latest from here, an email saying they are coming to fit on a certain day?

Emails refusing this don't get delivered?

Interesting times when they show up?