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Original poster

Smart meter - yay or nay?

106 replies

FuckingHateRats · 12/08/2022 13:06

We're with Bulb.

Currently pay £229 DD every month (four bed semi with shit windows). Sitting with £475 credit at the min.

Bulb are keen to install a smart meter.

Those who have one, would you recommend it? Will it make my payments go up or down?

OP posts:
SirenSays · 12/08/2022 13:07

Neither. It will just make you more aware of your usage

sleighbellsjiggling · 12/08/2022 13:09

I love ours and was part of our fixed rate deal although that was a while ago. It's handy to see when we're using loads and shows our daily usage.

Dontfuckingsaycheese · 12/08/2022 13:11

Well it won’t make them go down! The bonus is you won’t get estimated readings. I get a monthly online statement so I can keep tabs on my finances. I can be a bit head in the sand but now I really can’t afford to be. I love my smart meter. It has made me more mindful. But now more than ever I can use it to monitor my usage. I am already being more frugal but come the winter I think it will be invaluable eg electric throw vs heating on etc. Unless you have money to burn I’d recommend it 😉

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Cost of living
Dontfuckingsaycheese · 12/08/2022 13:12

Bugger. I mean up!! But quite likely to go down!

dolphinsarentcommon · 12/08/2022 13:13

I naively thought it would mean we pay for what we use instead of one of their plucked from the sky estimates. It hasn't.

BeechFairy · 12/08/2022 13:21

I'm happy with mine. I always forget to do readings and now I don't have to.
You get a little monitor in the house so you can see exactly how much you are using. Certainly helps focus if you want to reduce consumption.

It's been mooted that energy companies might charge different rates to people on smart meters. So cheaper in the night and more expensive at peak times. No idea if it will ever happen.

HarrietSchulenberg · 12/08/2022 13:25

My parents' smart meter was calibrated incorrectly and they overpaid by about £2k before it was sorted out, which took a couple of years as Scottish Power refused to admit that their meter was faulty. I can't afford to lose that, even temporarily, so I've declined Bulb's repeated and insistent "offers" and asked them not to contact me about it again.
I am borderline religious about sending monthly meter readings, though.

godmum56 · 12/08/2022 13:26

it won't help you reduce usage if you already know what you have switched on and running. I get that if you have a family of folk who leave lights on, game, leave chargers running and so on it might help as its easier to see what's going on but I live alone, if something is in use its because I want it in use and I know its in use.
cons are that they are not yet common among all suppliers and if you change supplier you may need to change meter which is not the case with non smart meters. I have also seen anecdotally that bill problems can be a result and they never seem to be to the benefit of the customer.
I have no problems reading my meters monthly so see no benefit to me. I will probabaly have to have one eventually and have no problem with that but I am in no hurry

Elphame · 12/08/2022 13:27

No. Some companies are already charging more at peak times with cheap offpeak electricity.

It's the slippery slope to this becoming the norm to the detriment of young working families who can't cook/run appliances at unusual times.

It benefits only the electricity providers.

Changedmynamefor · 12/08/2022 13:28

DH works for a utility company and says we’ll get one over his dead body.

lillieD · 12/08/2022 13:41

It's been mooted that energy companies might charge different rates to people on smart meters. So cheaper in the night and more expensive at peak times. No idea if it will ever happen.

If you advance search previous threads, you'll find posters or their DHs who are in the industry and this is the reason they give for why they'd never have one installed.

Hugasauras · 12/08/2022 13:44

Ours is worth just for not having to submit readings any more. Our bills are all based on usage anyway (Octopus).

Hugasauras · 12/08/2022 13:46

Elphame · 12/08/2022 13:27

No. Some companies are already charging more at peak times with cheap offpeak electricity.

It's the slippery slope to this becoming the norm to the detriment of young working families who can't cook/run appliances at unusual times.

It benefits only the electricity providers.

Who, out of interest? Economy 7 tariffs have been around a very long time and are actually pretty rare now, more of a legacy tariff. There are some electric vehicle tariffs that have reduced rates between midnight and 4.30am, but they are specific to having an electric vehicle and charging port.

Would be keen to know as cheaper off-peak electricity would be great for us!

woodhill · 12/08/2022 13:48

Changedmynamefor · 12/08/2022 13:28

DH works for a utility company and says we’ll get one over his dead body.

Yes I don't want one

hotfroth · 12/08/2022 13:51

It is honestly the most useless thing. I unplugged ours and threw it in the understairs cupboard, where it remains.

All you have to do is be frugal with your usage. A smart meter isn't going to remind you to switch the landing light off when you come downstairs, you have to remember to do it yourself. Switch things off at the wall when they're not in use. It is hardly rocket science.

PineappleWilson · 12/08/2022 13:51

We asked for one when we moved to Octopus (Avro wouldn't role them out) and we love ours. You can see how much things like the shower costs to run and make tweaks - more cold, lower pressure etc. to see how it changes the amount being used. Our meters are a nuisance to get to, so not having to read meters is a god-send.

belimoo · 12/08/2022 13:58

HarrietSchulenberg · 12/08/2022 13:25

My parents' smart meter was calibrated incorrectly and they overpaid by about £2k before it was sorted out, which took a couple of years as Scottish Power refused to admit that their meter was faulty. I can't afford to lose that, even temporarily, so I've declined Bulb's repeated and insistent "offers" and asked them not to contact me about it again.
I am borderline religious about sending monthly meter readings, though.

Similar here! Scottish Power and their terrible smart meter experience has left me with so much bitterness that I have refused Bulb's repeated offerings!

gotelltheoldmandowntheroad · 12/08/2022 14:21

dolphinsarentcommon · 12/08/2022 13:13

I naively thought it would mean we pay for what we use instead of one of their plucked from the sky estimates. It hasn't.

How does that work? I thought they detected exactly what you used and showed it on screen? that was the smart element. Is that not how they work??

dolphinsarentcommon · 12/08/2022 14:24

@gotelltheoldmandowntheroad it's not how ours works. We've had British Gas and Octopus.

If it did I'd love it. As it is it's just pointless

gotelltheoldmandowntheroad · 12/08/2022 14:30

dolphinsarentcommon · 12/08/2022 14:24

@gotelltheoldmandowntheroad it's not how ours works. We've had British Gas and Octopus.

If it did I'd love it. As it is it's just pointless

So is yours faulty or what?

I did hear a woman say once her smart metre said she owed thousands she did not owe but the energy company came back with 'it can't be wrong, it's smart' and she had no choice but to pay it.

That put me off having one. No thank you, that would be just my luck! I don't want a smart home or smart anything to be honest. I wish I was older and on my way out sometimes.

The internet of things and internet of bodies is not for me at all.

Hugasauras · 12/08/2022 14:34

I think there are two separate issues here.

If you pay by DD, you most likely pay a fixed sum every month. That sum is fixed to give a stable amount every month. The amount you use is not. In winter, we use more than double what we do in summer, so instead of paying £50, £50, £50 then having to pay £100, £100, £100, we pay £75 a month year round and the idea is you build credit in summer that then gets used in winter. This is just how DDs work, and is unrelated to smart meters.

A smart meter sends usage continually, so any bills (which are what they use to fix on a DD sum as above) are accurate and never use estimated readings.

Unless you pay on receipt of bills, not DD, it's unlikely you are ever paying what you use on a monthly basis.

Hugasauras · 12/08/2022 14:34

(Figures obviously made up for example, I wish we paid £75 a month ...)

gotelltheoldmandowntheroad · 12/08/2022 14:44

Hugasauras · 12/08/2022 14:34

I think there are two separate issues here.

If you pay by DD, you most likely pay a fixed sum every month. That sum is fixed to give a stable amount every month. The amount you use is not. In winter, we use more than double what we do in summer, so instead of paying £50, £50, £50 then having to pay £100, £100, £100, we pay £75 a month year round and the idea is you build credit in summer that then gets used in winter. This is just how DDs work, and is unrelated to smart meters.

A smart meter sends usage continually, so any bills (which are what they use to fix on a DD sum as above) are accurate and never use estimated readings.

Unless you pay on receipt of bills, not DD, it's unlikely you are ever paying what you use on a monthly basis.

How do you know it's accurate?

Allthegoodnamesarechosen · 12/08/2022 14:47

The less any corporate knows about me and my household, the better as far as I am concerned,

MarmiteCoriander · 12/08/2022 14:48

I recently moved. Previous house was still on economy 7 and Bulb's smart meters cant be fitted to those apparently- despite constant emails about installing one!

New place we are renovating. I was religious about monthly readings previously, but I can see daily what has been used and what is on at the moment. I always turn lights off etc, but its opened by eyes to daily appliances and what they use. Microwave and kettle use FAR more when on that I ever expected.

I also see the amount shoot up when the workmen have their cement mixer on and then charge their tools on our electric! 😡

I was initially against getting one. Someone advised that in time- we will likely ALL need to get one, and best to get in now whilst free. Each to their own though.