(Npower) smart meters

Just had Npower install the new smartmeter, I had a previous one but that was pretty rubbish, working of the wires rather than have new meters to control it all. I have to say, pretty impressed with the guys coming round to do it, polite and knowledgeable and did a quick job too.

The new reader will probably go in a cupboard at some point, but it is accurate and response pretty well, you switch on a device and immediately you know the cost of running something, particularly lights! Now I'll be able to calculate what the biggest culprits are and replace them as and when they need it.

Any other folks on here have them?

I have mine on my desk. I inadvertently glance at it several times a day while using my computer. It helps me to keep in touch with my spending. At the moment I'm averaging £1.10 per day for gas and electric - although that goes up to about £3.00 when the heating is on.

I've had it for about a year now and have saved a small fortune. E.on keep sending me cheques and reducing my monthly payments. I'm now down to £62.00 per month all in.

Wouldn't be without it - but I'd urge you to keep it somewhere highly visible. Out of sight, out of mind.

Also, definitely switch over to energy bulbs. Shop around, they're not all nasty to look at.

Just had Npower install the new smartmeter, I had a previous one but that was pretty rubbish, working of the wires rather than have new meters to control it all. I have to say, pretty impressed with the guys coming round to do it, polite and knowledgeable and did a quick job too.

 

The new reader will probably go in a cupboard at some point, but it is accurate and response pretty well, you switch on a device and immediately you know the cost of running something, particularly lights! Now I'll be able to calculate what the biggest culprits are and replace them as and when they need it.

 

Any other folks on here have them?

I guess that is what they are meant to do, not sure what your old one was. I havnt had one yet, how come you are on your second?

The problem may come if you change suppliers, will it still work. That is why I am not in a rush. The Government know about this issue. We are paying for these metres via our bills, but will they still work.

I am in the process of changing to GB energy.

I have mine on my desk. I inadvertently glance at it several times a day while using my computer. It helps me to keep in touch with my spending. At the moment I'm averaging £1.10 per day for gas and electric - although that goes up to about £3.00 when the heating is on.

 

I've had it for about a year now and have saved a small fortune. E.on keep sending me cheques and reducing my monthly payments. I'm now down to £62.00 per month all in.

 

Wouldn't be without it - but I'd urge you to keep it somewhere highly visible. Out of sight, out of mind.

 

Also, definitely switch over to energy bulbs. Shop around, they're not all nasty to look at.

Thanks, intending to keep it on my desk as well. Just need a spare socket!

Re. lighting, just did a quick check, all the halogen in my kitchen (9 bulbs in total) take 10pph, The LED under cabinet lighting (10 units in total) takes... none. Presumably that means below 1pph. Considerable difference in the long term, so will definitely look at changing the bulbs throughout the house to LED over time. We already have energy bulbs everywhere else, but I didn't expect such a big difference between LED and halogen/energy saving.

I guess that is what they are meant to do, not sure what your old one was. I havnt had one yet, how come you are on your second?

The problem may come if you change suppliers, will it still work. That is why I am not in a rush. The Government know about this issue. We are paying for these metres via our bills, but will they still work.

I am in the process of changing to GB energy.

Npower gave us another unit, which was an add-on to the meter if you like, a few years back, that just worked locally and only on the electric. now they've actually changed the meters themselves incorporating a broadcast unit. It makes a difference so far.

As for changing supplier - As I understand it, you can still do that without issue, the actual reader (ie. the unit you keep in the house to see how much you use) will remain compatible with the meters. The smart-meters themselves are just replacements for the old meters, shouldn't make a difference to the supplier. It might mean they have to send a man around again if we do change, but that is a small consideration.

Tim,

You might find this link interesting.https://www.uswitch.com/energy-saving/guides/energy-monitors/

I'm all for it-if by consulting their energy meter, and as a consequence,the consumer then adjusts their domestic consumption in order to make a saving. It appears very 21st century .

Note. If you read the link and need a simplified explanation of the difference between,"true power and apparent power", I can do that for you (no insult to

your powers of understanding intended).

I will look into the possibility of switching to smart monitoring for my domestic energy consumption.

As for changing supplier - As I understand it, you can still do that without issue, the actual reader (ie. the unit you keep in the house to see how much you use) will remain compatible with the meters. The smart-meters themselves are just replacements for the old meters, shouldn't make a difference to the supplier. It might mean they have to send a man around again if we do change, but that is a small consideration.

I heard a program on radio four that said the opposite. As I dont have one yet, I am not sure, perhaps they meant that the price per minute reading would be wrong under a new supplier with a different tariff, if that sounds right.

Had my Npower smart meters coming up for 2 years in September. I reckon they've helped me knock £20 a month off my bill saving approx £500 so far. Very pleased with the result.

Tim,

 

You might find this link interesting.https://www.uswitch.com/energy-saving/guides/energy-monitors/

 

 

 

I'm all for it-if by consulting their energy meter, and as a consequence,the consumer then adjusts their domestic consumption in order to make a saving. It appears very 21st century .

 

Note. If you read the link and need a simplified explanation of the difference between,"true power and apparent power", I can do that for you (no insult to

your powers of understanding intended).

 

I will look into the possibility of switching to smart monitoring for my domestic energy consumption.

I heard a program on radio four that said the opposite. As I dont have one yet, I am not sure, perhaps they meant that the price per minute reading would be wrong under a new supplier with a different tariff, if that sounds right.

I discussed the way it works in quite a lot of detail with one of the Npower guys. I read up some more and will try to explain how it works:

The actual meters (gas and electricity, at the main-source for the house) have been replaced with digital meters, they are connected to a sort of computer (think mobile phone rather than PC) that sends a signal to Npower. This is a standardised protocol that is compatible with other suppliers (but not British Gas for some unclear reason).

This computer also sends the signal on to the device in the house (which is called a smart meter but is actually just a digital receiver). Npower receives the signal and sends it on to a central (government run) hub where all the data is collected of all smart meters. The purpose of this is so that there is a centralised actual usage overview. That way they can decide how much they then need to produce/deliver.

Effectively it is a big-data project based on the Internet of Things, right up my street! The accompanying leaflet also explains that if you change supplier than it is up to them to replace whatever is needed to keep it working. I admit this is pretty vague and I think the truth there is: They haven't really worked that side out yet.

Had my Npower smart meters coming up for 2 years in September. I reckon they've helped me knock £20 a month off my bill saving approx £500 so far. Very pleased with the result.

Nice!

I do wonder why the energy companies are pushing the installation of smart meters so much at the moment.

What's in it for them?

Perhaps I'm paranoid, but wouldn't it allow them to monitor when you use energy at different times of the day and enable them to charge more for energy use at high demand times?

As for monitoring what I use, I already know what uses most energy in my house, and use them accordingly. I've already changed to low energy light bulbs etc.

How would it benefit me to have one installed?

I do wonder why the energy companies are pushing the installation of smart meters so much at the moment.

 

What's in it for them?

 

Perhaps I'm paranoid, but wouldn't it allow them to monitor when you use energy at different times of the day and enable them to charge more for energy use at high demand times?

 

As for monitoring what I use, I already know what uses most energy in my house, and use them accordingly. I've already changed to low energy light bulbs etc.

 

How would it benefit me to have one installed?

They were told to push it by the government. They get paid until (out of memory) 2019 to install them and any households where they aren't installed by then they will have to pay for the installation and this has to be complete by 2021. Not sure about the dates, but sure that this is how the system works.

The government wants this because if all households (and presumably businesses) are on smart meters it can accurately estimate when more energy is needed and when less. This will help them plan better when to put what plants online and at what capacity. Currently a lot of energy is wasted by not having detailed insight into the use.

Is it still the case that there is no standard smart meter so if you switch suppliers frequently,which seems to be advisable at the moment,a smart meter soon becomes redundant.

Is it still the case that there is no standard smart meter so if you switch suppliers frequently,which seems to be advisable at the moment,a smart meter soon becomes redundant.

Yeah, that's what I was told by the guy who came round to install a smart meter at Area 51 and a Half™ as he was leaving.

He also said that I had no phone signal in my cellar (where the meters are) after mucking about down there for a while … I told him that he could get a perfectly good 4G signal if he came up the steps and was quite welcome to use my phone if his was a rubbish one (it was).

He explained that the meter needs a signal, along the lines of the 2G signal for a rubbish mobile, hence his rubbish 'test phone'.

I postulated my newly formed idea that these new 'smart meters' were 'a bit rubbish then?' and used old tech, which he totally agreed with saying they were a total waste of time, also pointing out that if the meter reader couldn't get a meter signal from outside when they came to read the meter, it'd come up on their computer as a 'fault', resulting in many visits by engineers to come and sort out the unsortable problem, at great inconvenience to the customer concerned.

He ended by advising me very strongly to decline the offer of a 'smart meter' until they were standardised between different power suppliers, and to wait for new tech, meaning everyone who already has a rubbish old tech 2G one will be inconvenienced to have it changed for a better one. Apparently, you're under no obligation to have one fitted in the first place (which wasn't made clear to me).

Nice bloke and very friendly.

To surmise, they're rubbish, don't bother having one.