Smart Meters

[Quickenthetempo]

Can anyone give me their thoughts on Smart Meters now they've been around long enough to judge fairly. They got some bad press when they first came out but has anybody had one a decent length of time to form an opinion one way or the other.

I wanted to wait a while to see the results before I got one and NPower want to fit me one this month.

[Chobulous]

I work at the place that makes them so maybe I'm biased. I think you need to think about what it is you want. IMO the main benefit is to the Utility companies.

[Quickenthetempo]

I work at the place that makes them so maybe I'm biased. I think you need to think about what it is you want. IMO the main benefit is to the Utility companies.

Cheaper bills haha

[LordBob]

I have a smart meter and I find it useful especially if your gas meter is outside it allows you to take a look a things without having to go outside I expect this is particularly helpful if you have a pre-payment meter.

[Chobulous]

Cheaper bills haha

Just more convenient for them. They don't have to enter individual properties for meter readings, they can just drive past. The software installed means that they can gather all sorts of information which can be sold on. Information Services as they are called will be a saleable item for Utility companies because they will have access to all the information your meter is collecting about you. Things like the types of appliance, peak usage times, frequency of use. etc

From your point of view, you can look at how your individual habits affect your usage, eg excessive brewing up, but are you really going to go to all that trouble?

[Devils_Advocate]

Agree that probably the best benefit is felt for PrePay customers who can top up on line without the old Key or Cards. I think the longer term benefits will be the ability to get accurate reads all the time and get them remotely. Utilities spend an awful lot of money managing bad debt and billing disputes caused by estimated reads as well as the obvious cost reduction in not needing to pay for meter readers and these cost savings should get passed on to the customer.

Smart Meters are still developing all the time and whilst there's no harm in getting one now ideally getting one of the new SMETS2 meters would be preferable. These meters are an industry standard meters managed through an industry database and will over the next 12-18 months have to be adopted by all utility companys. This will mean that moving between suppliers will become more streamlined and you will not see any loss or changes to functionality of your Smart meter between different suppliers

With regards the scare stories that's exactly what they are. Its always the exceptional cases that make the news and Smart meters is no difference. Worst case scenario you get a Smart meter, don't use any of its Smart capabilities and you don't notice anything different

[ClaretTony]

Got a letter from EON telling me I HAD to have one, so arranged for it. They didn't bother to explain things on installation, the display they gave me doesn't work so I binned it.

[dsr]

They are usually not transferrable between different companies, and sometimes not even between different tariffs in the same company. But if you're thinking of boiling a kettle, it makes it easier to decide if you can afford it!

The companies are obliged by law to offer them, but you aren't obliged to accept.

[BackoffDave]

Hit and Miss so far

Had them for going on ten years and seemed to be decent. Then I properly looked at my bills online and realised that, even though it all seemed to be working fine (usage tracked online, etc.), Eon had estimated the last twelve months readings. I questioned if the meters were working and the next day they called to say they were and will arrange fitting new ones next week. So now I'm wondering if they've ever been working properly at all?? If they've tracked energy use (nice pretty graph to look at) then why estimate the readings for the bills and have to replace them?

I like the technology but it's not filled me with confidence

[dushanbe]

Utterly pointless.

Its not hard to read your own meter and and send your readings in online. When enough people have them fitted, the ultimate idea is to be able to charge different prices dynamically depending on the period of use. If you are using electricity at peak times, you'll be charged more.

Will stick with my dumb meter.

[Bordeauxclaret]

Has anyone saved a significant amount with them?

[levraiclaret]

According to BBC Money Box, the SMETS1 meters may not communicate with all suppliers so your ability to switch providers could be limited. If you wait until November then you will get the latest meter model the SMETS2 which will be industry wide standard.

[Chester Perry]

Like everything else these days - they are data gathering machines - they will be used to build up profiles and data sold on - deals for everything from new boilers, fridges, gas/electric fires, cookers washing machines and kettles will suddenly be arriving on your doorstep or in you inbox as the utility companies look to make extra money from data mining without passing on any savings to you.

As for the mess of different utility companies requiring different models - that is just plain bonkers and is a probable infringement to your right to freely switch suppliers at your time of choosing if your switch is held up as a result of requiring a new meter.

Just don't do it - take your own meter readings regularly and put them into a spreadsheet - you will learn all you need to and no-one but you profits from the information. - I have been doing this for the last 7 years or so

[Paul Waine]

According to BBC Money Box, the SMETS1 meters may not communicate with all suppliers so your ability to switch providers could be limited. If you wait until November then you will get the latest meter model the SMETS2 which will be industry wide standard.

Agree. This is the first point to keep in mind: version 1 of the meters very often will only work with your existing supplier. So, if/when you switch suppliers you lose the benefit of it submitting readings automatically to your supplier. Version 2 should fix this.


Second point: we are all paying for the smart meters by add-on to our bills - even if we don't have a smart meter installed.


So, not unusually, the govenrment said "fit smart meters and it will save you money" - but it doesn't we are all paying extra.

And, switch energy suppliers to save money - but if we do that the smart meter stops working (but we are still paying for it).

A lack of "smart" thinking in the "green energy" side of government.

Some of the large utilities (the big 6) have been fined because they missed the gov't targets for installation of smart meters - even though it makes sens eto wait until version 2 is proved to work.

[Devils_Advocate]

Utility companies cannot do anything with your data without your explicit consent and even have to get consent around how regularly they can call the meter to capture readings. Also the long term solution is for the Head End System where all the information is sent to and stored will be owned and managed by the Govt (DECC) so the Utilities will only get the readings they need to bill the customer

The reason different companies use different models is because the govt put the cost and effort into the individual hands of the suppliers to develop and trial the technology so they could just step in with the industry enduring solution once all the effort and pain was over. The different models dont impact the customer switching it just means that if the new supplier cannot support that version of Smart meter it just operates as a normal Dumb meter so absolutely no impact on a customer not interested in the Smart element of the meter

Unfortunately a lot of people dont bother to take and submit readings and dont give access to meter readers and there is a massive industry cost to this that is passed on to everyone of us. I have no interest in Smart meters to help me manage my usage or save money off my bill or anything else personal to me however the long term savings this will make to the cost to serve is where we will all benefit

[Dougall]

Except we won't benefit, will we?
There's no way the savings accrued by firing off all the meter-reading staff will actually return to the customer, as the utilities hike their prices based on factors other than actual operating costs (such as wholesale energy price movements, taxation etc.)
Any salary savings will bolster shareholder returns or possibly top executive bonuses (and this isn't in any way a comment on the rights or wrongs of the bonus system for top executives - merely an observation).
For more than 20 years now, government initiative after government initiative has been justified by telling us that it will save money, when in fact it's a whimsy dreamt up by some bright young thing in Whitehall and suggested to a Minister as a 'cracking good wheeze' that will make a name for him/her. Said minister convinces colleagues that it's a 'cracking good wheeze' that will make a name for THEM (or that will make a fortune for someone who will be looking for non-exec directors in due course) and the whimsy finds its way into legislation.
And we're stuck with it !!

[gawthorpe_view]

If they were truly smart, they would look a your last three months' consumption and automatically charge you based on the cheapest tariff available.
But we all know that isn't going to happen.
Huge waste of money, if you're cold in winter, you're going to put the heating on.

[JohnMac]

My Gas and Electric meters are on different sides of my property, one front, one back. The 'Smart Meter is no more than 5 meters from either but it can't read the Gas Meter. This means the tariff I signed up for, free electricity on Sunday until 5pm and requiring a Smart Meter, is not available to me.

I even had a personal case officer assigned to resolve the issue but 18 months later, it's still crap.

[IanMcL]

Advantage to customer is to see how much you are using for all your appliances. If you need to make a cuppa, no change, just an indication of how much.

It's when you are not doing anything and still using. Then you may have the inclination to isolate what is running in the background, that you can do without.

[Millertime v1.7]

Listen, got a smart meter in February, was expecting one of those little display things you see in the adverts. All I got was a new meter fitted in the cupboard with a display thing I haven't looked at once. Waste of time. I'm not gonna stop using leccy because of a few digits on a meter in my Hall cupboard. Where the thing from the adds that sits on your kitchen worktop? Had to get the morning off too for the guy to come and fit it. Total scam by Scottish Power to try cut down the admin staff that do the estimated bills.

[claret59]

Smart meters are a massive 'con trick.' They do not save you a single penny of themselves. Only the consumer can do this by cutting back on energy use and you do not need a smart meter to do this, It is not that long ago that one of the big energy providers justified their increase in in charges by , in part, blaming the rising costs of fitting so-called smart meters.
How can anything be free that has the cost of manufacture and providing the meters, fitting of them, training of fitters to meet?
They have also proved dangerous in a significant number of cases especially by catching fire and being the source of gas leaks.

[Claret n Blues Balls]

So smart mine stayed on 0 units used

[tim_noone]

Smart meters are a massive 'con trick.' They do not save you a single penny of themselves. Only the consumer can do this by cutting back on energy use and you do not need a smart meter to do this, It is not that long ago that one of the big energy providers justified their increase in in charges by , in part, blaming the rising costs of fitting so-called smart meters.
How can anything be free that has the cost of manufacture and providing the meters, fitting of them, training of fitters to meet?
They have also proved dangerous in a significant number of cases especially by catching fire and being the source of gas leaks.

Like when the government /councils gave free energy efficient lightbulbs to all households in the country....replacing the the ones that lasted ten year plus!!! When free and government/councils are mentioned in the same breath you just know...........

[deanothedino]

Still found mine useful even after switching suppliers and it no longer sending the readings in because one of my meters is in a dark cupboard and now I don't need a torch to read it

[turfytopper]

They are usually not transferrable between different companies, and sometimes not even between different tariffs in the same company. But if you're thinking of boiling a kettle, it makes it easier to decide if you can afford it!

The companies are obliged by law to offer them, but you aren't obliged to accept.

Really good point. I was annoyed to hear when i had mine installed that it was only 'smart' whilst i stayed with my current supplier. The installer said a new generation of smart meters would be rolled out that would be able to switch. Not heard anything more about that.

[Hendrickxz]

I won't have one because I have heard of several cases where they have gone in, turned off the gas and refused to re-light a boiler that hasn't been services or is obsolete. They use it as a lever to flog you a new one....

[Blackrod]

Waste of time don't bother.

[Sausage]

A couple of years ago SSE started sending me letters, pestering me to get a smart meter. I ignored them but they gradually got more and more blunt, eventually claiming my meters were obsolete and dangerous (which is absolute horses**t as I had the gas meter replaced a year previous and an electrician declare my entire installation to be spot on). In the end, though, I succumbed and arranged for a smart meter to be fitted. I took a day's leave as the useless bellends couldn't be more specific than "sometime between 8am and 6pm" for installation. When the engineer (lol) arrived, he spent two minutes checking for 4G signal, told me it wasn't strong enough and that it would be pointless to fit a smart meter as it wouldn't be able to communicate with their drive-past vans. And then he left, never to return. Hence, I'm stuck with my 'obsolete and dangerous' gas and electricity meters.

As others have pointed out, it's just nonsense.

[Quickenthetempo]

It sounds like I really need one of these in my life haha.

Thanks for the input guys.