Smart meters - yay or nay?

[RavingAnnie]

I've had the email offering us a smart meter.

I very much like the idea of automated meter readings; I have ADHD so as much life admin that can be automated the better!

However have heard lots of negatives mainly that they don't work very well (which sounds like that could cause an administrative nightmare) and it reduces the provided you can go to?

What's the current thinking? Have any of these issues improved? Do you like or hate your smart meter 😊?

www.which.co.uk/news/2019/03/who-is-saving-energy-with-their-smart-meter/

flipper.community/posts/smart-meters-everything-you-need-to-know

'One of the big, long term benefits of all homes having Smart meters is it will enable the energy networks to monitor supply and demand much more accurately and in much more detail. This data will enable us all to use the energy produced by renewable sources most efficiently.'

yep. That means demand pricing. The UK is getting dangerously dependent on wind power which has an obvious problem. More low carbon nuclear stations would be good but half-arsed thinking prevents that.

@janinlondon

Is this a smart meter for water? If so it is not an offer, its compulsory....

It’s really not compulsory

You know that wind power comes in about a quarter of the cost of nuclear, right?

Smart meters enable time of use tariffs, i.e. electricity is cheaper at times when demand is low, usually overnight. That is ideal for EV charging, but with appropriate timers can also be used for some high demand appliances. If you do this, then you will save money compared to a flat tariff. You also help balance the grid and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced. Peak demand means turning up power stations which burn fossil fuels, shifting demand away from the peak means not as much of that is needed.

However, one of the most important things you can do to cut your fuel bills is to make sure your house is well insulated switch all your light bulbs for LED ones. A smart meter will also enable you to investigate how much your various devices and appliances are using, which can bring further savings if you change your behaviour as a result.

@Tulipomania

I work in the energy industry and yes, you definitely should.

Just make sure it's a 2nd generation meter - also known as SMETS 2 - as these are interchangeable between suppliers.

You will have more accurate bills, no more need for a physical meter read, and it gives the energy companies useful information about energy usage which helps bring down bills.

Thanks for posting.

Couple of questions:

How does it make my bills more accurate? We currently supply a reading roughly monthly so can't see how it can be more accurate than it is.

In what way does it help energy companies bring down the cost of bills?

Lots of people are saying it will enable time of use tariffs but haven't these been around for years with economy 7 tariffs?

Time if use tariffs is NOT a selling point to me. As someone with ADHD I have no internal clock and find managing life admin and timings very challenging. I will not be able to cope with remembering and having the impetus to use electricity within certain times of the day. I have to do things as and when I think of them and when I have the motivation to do so, usually at the last minute!! Sounds like yet another ADHD tax to me!

That sounds like a real negative to smart meters if it will enable that. It's likely to work out cheaper for me to have pricing averaged throughout the day as otherwise I am likely to end up using it at peak times far too often.

OP, read a couple of the links I posted above.

By enabling us to use renewable energy more efficiently that helps bring down energy costs, because renewables are cheaper. Also previous energy companies had to send someone out to read a meter at least once a year, don't need to do that any more.

Time of use tariffs will be optional. You won't have to use them. Much more nuanced than Economy 7, e.g. if the weather is particularly windy, your energy costs will fall. Useful for, say, EV drivers (which we will all be in the future) and by helping balance the grid efficiently, also contributes to costs falling.

If you are already supplying monthly meter readings, then yes, probably not going to make much difference to the accuracy of your bills. Many of us don't though!

We get gas and electricity from one provider and they keep sending me texts saying that their contractor WILL be contacting me to make an appointment to fit my meter.

Seems a bit odd to assume that I want one and that I’m fine with some random person calling me say they are going to fit a meter.

Lots of people are saying it will enable time of use tariffs but haven't these been around for years with economy 7 tariffs?

Time if use tariffs is NOT a selling point to me. As someone with ADHD I have no internal clock and find managing life admin and timings very challenging.

As someone currently undergoing assessment for ADHD, I hear you. The thing with time of use tariffs is that they offer ultimate flexibility, but you don’t have to have them just because they exist.

My house had an Economy 7 meter until recently. It was of little use because the house doesn’t have storage heaters (never did), and although I recently bought an EV I can’t charge it overnight (long story, not relevant) so couldn’t make use of the lower rate, except to put the washing machine and dishwasher on overnight. And I was paying the price of a higher daytime rate.

Now got smart meters and switched to Octopus Go. That gives me 4 hours per night at 5p (compared to 10.7p for 7 hours on Economy 7) and the rest of the day at 13.45p (compared to 17.1p on Economy 7).

I use the timers to put the dishwasher and washing machine on during the 4 hour window, save money the rest of the day, job done.

They also enable the occasional hyper focus on “what appliances are using a lot of electricity and what can I do to change that.” So that’s fun - but entirely optional, because nothing bad happens if you stop looking.