'Smart' Meters

[HeHasRisen 3,411]

14 minutes ago, echo beach said:

My smart meter is very smart because it’s sat on a storeroom shelf somewhere

 

 

echo.

Again, thats not the smart meter. Thats the In House Display (IHD)

 

The smart meter will be, erm, your electricity meter.

[HeHasRisen 3,411]

Unless you mean its in a storeroom somewhere else.

 

In which case thats up to you, I paid 10p a unit on Sunday. How much did you pay?

[pfifes 309]

3 hours ago, echo beach said:

My smart meter is very smart because it’s sat on a storeroom shelf somewhere and, despite being incessantly pestered by my supplier to have it installed, it seems quite content where it is.

I’m still capable of reading a meter every month at their request and inputting the numbers into the supplier’s website. That way I know exactly what I’m using and what I need to pay as well.

The system still works very well. If it’s not broken why change it!

 

 

echo.

I’m quite certain that energy companies haven’t spent £££££££s on pushing smart meters on to customers just to help these customers not have to send meter readings and have a little gizmo in their house so they can see turning on a kettle uses lots of electricity etc.  That’s not going down the conspiracy theory route.  It’s simply in their financial interest.  Vulnerable customers that have got into problems paying their bill can have their energy turned off at the flick of a switch.

[Top4719 142]

55 minutes ago, pfifes said:

I’m quite certain that energy companies haven’t spent £££££££s on pushing smart meters on to customers just to help these customers not have to send meter readings and have a little gizmo in their house so they can see turning on a kettle uses lots of electricity etc.  That’s not going down the conspiracy theory route.  It’s simply in their financial interest.  Vulnerable customers that have got into problems paying their bill can have their energy turned off at the flick of a switch.

I must have had over a hundred phone calls, texts and emails from EDF Energy in the last 6 months alone pushing a smart meter, as you say it certainly isn't for my benefit.

[El Cid 221]

40 minutes ago, Top4719 said:

I must have had over a hundred phone calls, texts and emails from EDF Energy in the last 6 months alone pushing a smart meter, as you say it certainly isn't for my benefit.

This is just for 2022, so the overall cost of people NOT having smart meters is massive!

Energy suppliers British Gas, OVO, Bulb, E.ON, Scottish Power and SSE will pay out a total of £10.8 million after missing smart meter installation targets for 2022.

 

Its just like a tax that will go to the Government, so energy users will pay more.

 

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/energy-suppliers-pay-total-ps108-million-not-meeting-smart-meter-installation-targets-2022

[peak4 283]

There is of course another problem looming over the next few years
Why 7 million UK smart meters will stop working and what it will mean New Scientist
Household smart meters give a live summary of energy usage and its cost – but the planned switch-off of 2G and 3G mobile networks means that some 7 million devices in England, Wales and Scotland will stop working, warns a government committee.

[El Cid 221]

7 hours ago, peak4 said:

There is of course another problem looming over the next few years
Why 7 million UK smart meters will stop working and what it will mean New Scientist
Household smart meters give a live summary of energy usage and its cost – but the planned switch-off of 2G and 3G mobile networks means that some 7 million devices in England, Wales and Scotland will stop working, warns a government committee.

But they have got 9 years to replace all the old smart meters, no problem.

[El Cid 221]

Or even just upgraded. Good story though, New Scientist too 

[pfifes 309]

1 minute ago, El Cid said:

Or even just upgraded. Good story though, New Scientist too 

But these meters only work for a few years before conking out!!  Flipping heck, we shouldn’t need to be ‘upgrading’ to a new meter every few years like a mobile phone!!  Will the upgraded meters take super resolution photos and have durable colour infused glass on their display 😂😂

The battery life on a gas meter is about 10 years apparently.  Mine didn’t even last that long.  Apart from anything else we ought to consider the environmental impact of replacing meters on a relatively short cycle in this day and age.  Not very sustainable IMO.

[HeHasRisen 3,411]

11 hours ago, pfifes said:

I’m quite certain that energy companies haven’t spent £££££££s on pushing smart meters on to customers just to help these customers not have to send meter readings and have a little gizmo in their house so they can see turning on a kettle uses lots of electricity etc.  That’s not going down the conspiracy theory route.  It’s simply in their financial interest.  Vulnerable customers that have got into problems paying their bill can have their energy turned off at the flick of a switch.

Is that preferable to the embarrassment of bailiffs breaking the door down and force fitting a prepayment meter? 

[El Cid 221]

3 hours ago, pfifes said:

But these meters only work for a few years before conking out!!  Flipping heck, we shouldn’t need to be ‘upgrading’ to a new meter every few years like a mobile phone!!  Will the upgraded meters take super resolution photos and have durable colour infused glass on their display 😂😂

The battery life on a gas meter is about 10 years apparently.  Mine didn’t even last that long.  Apart from anything else we ought to consider the environmental impact of replacing meters on a relatively short cycle in this day and age.  Not very sustainable IMO.

You could compare a battery being replaced every 10 years to a bloke in a van coming to read your meter twice per year, every year!

[pfifes 309]

7 hours ago, HeHasRisen said:

Is that preferable to the embarrassment of bailiffs breaking the door down and force fitting a prepayment meter? 

Fortunately I am not in that position personally.  For those that are, I would think having time to sort out arrangements or possibly errors with billing/payments that come with time lag before they get to the point where bailiffs are knocking on the door than having their energy supply removed at the flick of a switch.