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Original poster

Is there any reason not to get a smart meter?

111 replies

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 01/09/2021 23:24

Just been offered one by our power company, it would be a lot easier than taking meter readings as the current meter is at the back of the garage and I can't get to it at all so I have to get dh to take a reading.

My dad is very anti them, not sure why...Grin

OP posts:
TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 02/09/2021 08:06

I heard that once enough people have smart meters the energy providers will have the facility in place to have 'dynamic tariffs' so at peak times they could charge a lot more with the aim to smooth the peaks. (Of course electricity usage will increase significantly with more and more electric cars).

It will become legal for suppliers to do this (with the 'green view' that it will reduce usage) which is why the Government are subsidising the cost.

GnomeyGnome · 02/09/2021 08:20

We've had our smart meters for around 6 months now and I love it. Installation was fine, the man who did it was lovely and cleaned up after himself. I've found it extremely useful for budgeting and being able to see easily how much we've used for the month. Not having to remember to send readings is great as well. I'd heard so many horror stories online of massively rising bills or botched installations but haven't had any problems at all.

Original poster
MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 02/09/2021 08:23

Do you have exact bills or still spread out over the year?

OP posts:
woodfort · 02/09/2021 08:27

We can’t get them as the cupboard is a bit below ground and surrounded by rock and thick walls (v old house) so no signal. They tried and failed to install one so someone more senior came and failed too. Despite this I get phoned every 3 or 4 months and am told I need to get one and that everyone can get them, not to worry, the previous engineers must have been ill-informed etc. It’s infuriating.

GoodnightGrandma · 02/09/2021 08:29

I won’t have one. I don’t want something plugged in 24 hours a day when I go round unplugging everything I can when I go out/bed.

minimecantrollerskate · 02/09/2021 08:35

I have one as Eon insisted on it, then they didn’t use it and told me I didn’t have one so I had to send them photos to prove they had fitted it!

I left them because of that, moved to EDF no problems. It needs to be a 2nd generation meter to move.

You don’t have to use the indoor display, it’s the meter that should send the readings, he told me the display was optional.

Original poster
MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 02/09/2021 08:46

I'm with Octopus,they are really good so hoping I won't have any of these issues !

OP posts:
LookToTreblesGoingTreblesGone · 02/09/2021 08:47

@woodfort SNAP!
We're also in an old stone cottage and the current meter cupboard is crammed into small space with an ancient lead gas pipe in the way.
Eon have been here twice which included 5 men standing in my dining room scratching their heads before deciding it wasn't possible to change the meter. Funnily enough I didn't even want one in the first place and explained it wouldn't fit or work but they insisted on checking for themselves.
And yes, I still get letters every 3 or 4 months saying they're coming to change it. I even had a vaguely threatening one asking why I was ignoring them! That riled me enough to have a strongly worded conversation on the phone about it!

Snailhaterz2 · 02/09/2021 08:50

I change supplier every year as a way of keeping costs down and I've been reluctant to have a new smart meter because of that - I still have a redundant one somewhere in a drawer because of a change. If its possible to switch supplier and keep the smart meter I'll reconsider, but I'll probably wait until my new energy supplier offers me one.

poolblue · 02/09/2021 08:51

I had one fitted by Bulb and it never worked. They blamed 'compatibility issues' and said it would be sorted. That was four years ago. I switched suppliers last year as Bulb were no longer competitive.

Bitofachinwag · 02/09/2021 08:55

Just more covert real time surveillance.

HaroldMeeker · 02/09/2021 08:55

We can't have one, there's such patchy mobile signal in our village and house that they just can't connect. I'll be mightily pissed off if we're financially hit for not having one. We've had fitters here 3 times and each time they've told Scottish power "nope, can't do it". I'll be kicking up a fuss if I get penalised for that!

BestIsWest · 02/09/2021 08:56

Octopus fitted smart meters for my DM. Only the gas one didn’t work. It took me 5 months to get them to come back to fix it, then they replaced both. I had to resort to Twitter and Facebook in the end as they were ignoring the emails.

FlowerArranger · 02/09/2021 08:56

It's a high tech - and thus more likely to misfunction - solution to a problem that doesn't exist...

userlotsanumbers · 02/09/2021 08:59

I think the fact they are unreliable if you change supplier (costs of installing the first gen passed onto the consumers, naturally) and also I believe it gives the suppliers the ability to cut the power supply without having to get court authorisation to enter the dwelling is enough for me to say no thanks. Energy suppliers make too many billing errors for me to be comfortable with that. Could be wrong about the second part, but I have read that somewhere and it's not a point laboured by any reporting of smart meters.

Bitofachinwag · 02/09/2021 09:00

@GnomeyGnome

We've had our smart meters for around 6 months now and I love it. Installation was fine, the man who did it was lovely and cleaned up after himself. I've found it extremely useful for budgeting and being able to see easily how much we've used for the month. Not having to remember to send readings is great as well. I'd heard so many horror stories online of massively rising bills or botched installations but haven't had any problems at all.
But surely you know how much you are using because you switch things on in the first place!

The adverts with Gaz and Leccy that say that you save with a smart meter because you can see on the screen how much you are using are so annoying. As if people aren't aware that they have put the washing machine on or that the lights are on.

poorbuthappy · 02/09/2021 09:02

Our meters are right in the middle of the house - in the pantry under the stairs. We get no mobile anywhere in the house, never mind in the cupboard under the stairs so we know it won't work.
But try to tell them that.... sheesh.
Just because they have a postcode checker which says there's coverage doesn't mean there actually is. Every mobile network provider says there's coverage and there just isn't.

Original poster
MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 02/09/2021 09:02

Octopus fitted smart meters for my DM. Only the gas one didn’t work. It took me 5 months to get them to come back to fix it, then they replaced both. I had to resort to Twitter and Facebook in the end as they were ignoring the emails

Oh bloody hell, That might've swayed my decision!

OP posts:
RobinPenguins · 02/09/2021 09:02

I was up for having one and agreed when the energy company wanted to install one. The fitter they sent out said it wasn’t possible to do for some complicated reason to do with our power supply to the house. The provider are still bugging me to have one installed despite me telling them this more than once.

Horehound · 02/09/2021 09:02

@grisen you do know that you don't need to have the box showing your usage. It's just there to make you aware of what takes up Alot of energy. You can unplug that, it has nothing to do with the smart meter!

SpiderinaWingMirror · 02/09/2021 09:04

The biggest benefit for me is accuracy of the reads. It's nice being up to date.

Horehound · 02/09/2021 09:05

I have an electricity smart meter and it's great. I just got gas and electric ones I stalled to my grandparents as they can barely see the numbers on the meters these days. My granny kept getting estimated gas bills because she didn't even know where her has meter was and I was driving round there monthly to take readings. There's nothing wrong with them, it's just one less chore to do :)

Olympiadreamer · 02/09/2021 09:05

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor

Just been offered one by our power company, it would be a lot easier than taking meter readings as the current meter is at the back of the garage and I can't get to it at all so I have to get dh to take a reading.

My dad is very anti them, not sure why...Grin

Why can your husband get to the meter and you can't? If you lived alone you'd find a way.

I've been offered one too and have said no as I think it stops you swapping between companies. Not 100% sure though.

VexedofVirginiaWater · 02/09/2021 09:06

Years and years and years ago I agreed to have one installed, he came and struggled for ages and said he couldn't do it - didn't say why. Then my parents had that trouble with the meter not being compatible with the new supplier which also put me off.

I know that the newer meters are supposed to be compatible with all suppliers but I am on that Martin Lewis scheme where they automatically switch you to a better tariff each year so don't want to risk it. At the moment I am with Octopus who have offered to install one but aren't pestering, so I'll stick with the meter readings for now.

wonkylegs · 02/09/2021 09:06

The main benefit for smart meters isn't for the consumer it's to allow better planning of the national powergrid. But as reinforced by the past 18mths getting people to do something for the greater good of the majority can be a ridiculously hard sell so they try to sell you on benefits to the individual but these are less of a benefit so are actually quite a hard sell hence conversations like this one.
We have a newer type one and have changed supplier no problem. Ours also has had no problems with the fact we also export (solar panels & battery) which can be an added complication.
Our usage is not only monitored by the smart meter but also our battery / solar panel apps, which are provided by completely different companies and so far it's fairly spot on, although the smart meter has a small lag on data compared with the others.