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Original poster

Why don't we want a smart meter?

149 replies

ChimChimeny · 01/10/2022 07:25

I've seen a lot of comments basically saying posters will never get a smart meter, but I don't know why!

I do monthly meter readings so sending usage automatically doesn't interest me but I'd like the box thing which shows how much we're using because we don't know which appliances are the most costly.

But what are the downsides??

OP posts:
HairyKnobsAndBroomsticks · 01/10/2022 07:59

SilverLiningPlaybook · 01/10/2022 07:56

My daughter had one installed in her flat and her bills shot up. Nothing she could do about it. Fortunately it was a rental so she has moved.

There are also issues with health impacts though I am not clear what they are. I think it’s to do with the wifi. I know there were groups campaigning against them for that reason.

On the little handset it states the unit cost so as long as that is the same as the unit price quoted it should be ok. Maybe I've just been lucky with mine.

FirstAidKitNowPlease · 01/10/2022 08:06

ivykaty44 · 01/10/2022 07:36

If smart meters were so smart then can you get accurate monthly bills from them instead of wildly inaccurate direct debit payments?

Why don't we have actual monthly bills for energy? It's so hard to look at and get an idea of spend.

I also never got the monitors and have asked them to send one many times. Never came.

Thiswayorthatway · 01/10/2022 08:10

Absolute nonsense about health dangers, please. We can still negotiate our own direct debits with Eon. We choose to pay a set amount each month, even though we use more over winter, to spread the cost.

user16480478 · 01/10/2022 08:11

Yirk · 01/10/2022 07:58

Slightly off topic, but interested to know which companies are happy to install upgraded gas and electric meters.
Despite vision and mobility problems Eon flatly refuse to upgrade my electric pre 1980s old fashioned dial meter I cannot read, our area isn't yet compatible for smart meter.

Might be worth going to the MSE energy forum and posting on there as there is a whole section devoted to energy

Thiswayorthatway · 01/10/2022 08:11

FirstAidKitNowPlease · 01/10/2022 08:06

Why don't we have actual monthly bills for energy? It's so hard to look at and get an idea of spend.

I also never got the monitors and have asked them to send one many times. Never came.

Show quote history

A smart meter tells you your monthly/daily/hourly cost.

CleopatrasBeautifulNose · 01/10/2022 08:12

The original smart meters were smet1 and became dumb if you changed providers but all newly installed ones are smet2 and can change with you.

If you forget to read your meter or struggle to access it to do that they're great. So if your meter is high up a wall and you need a ladder but aren't steady on your feet for instance.

The electricity network needs to match supply and demand as closely as possible, so smart meters help them do that cos that as they can see usage nearer to real time, this benefits us all as we work towards more renewable energy to supply....

In turn, to help level out peaks and troughs the energy companies are starting to, and will provide more in future, tariffs which reward off peak usage, so if your lifestyle allows for off peak usage having a smart meter will allow you to benefit from those (currently dumb meter customers can but only on economy 7 which is just a night/ day difference) smart meters can have more options. I. E octopus go tariff gives really cheap energy between 12pm and 4am (aimed at people charging their ev)

The smart meter network which allows the meters to talk to the energy companies is encrypted and protected in law (bit like how radio frequencies for police and air traffic control are). The smart meter does not use your home wifi either to connect to the energy company or to update the in home display. The in home display is updated by the meter using specific radio signal, it is a similar wave length to wifi but different so no clash and no greater risk to health than your wifi. So Internet coverage problems does not indicate you can't have a smart meter.

In much of the country the smart meter transmits to the energy company via sim card on dedicated network (mentioned above) but in rural North it uses radio waves (dedicated wavelength again), in theory 1% of the population aren't covered but we find rural Cumbria (on the radio version) with its deep valleys etc is much higher than that.

We are also finding that if you struggle to keep up with your bills and have a smart meter the energy companies can easily switch you to pre-payment and do more readily than they are supposed to. They are supposed to work with you and give you time to turn things round and consult you, in practice they are to quick to press the button. Then you're on pre-payment and struggling more. 😡

Do it's a mixed picture, for many they're great save you remembering to submit a reading and giving you access to better rates (if your usage suits an difference pattern) but not necessarily a great idea for everyone if you're in a mountainous rural area or at risk of not keeping up with your bills.

HappyPeach · 01/10/2022 08:14

Surge pricing would be enough to put me off. If you want to know what an applicance costs to use, you can get a plug on amazon that you plug your applicance into, enter the cost and it tells you. You can move the plug around the house testing. Once you've done that there's no need to keep repeating it with a smart meter

CleopatrasBeautifulNose · 01/10/2022 08:14

Oh, and of course having clear visibility of your usage minute to mine gives you greater control over your consumption.

But if you have an anxious character seeing your display go red when you put the kettle on could give you something to fret over so that benefit depends on your pov to some extent.

MrsMontyD · 01/10/2022 08:20

I've had two, neither have ever worked, they want to come and look at it again and I've refused. I can enter meter readings on the app.

LetterOfTheLawFella · 01/10/2022 08:20

@CleopatrasBeautifulNose great explanation. Do you work in the sector?

TimBoothseyes · 01/10/2022 08:20

I have a (non- smart), pre-pay meter. Smart metres are of no benefit to me as 1), any price changes are automatically applied when the key is topped up and 2), I can see exactly how much I spend everyday. As for any argument that I could top it up on-line if I had a smart meter, I go past the local Paypoint everyday on my way to/from work so if I need to top up I just go in there.

Megifer · 01/10/2022 08:21

I'll hold out as long as possible - they will literally have to get a court order- because I know DP will become a nightmare monitoring usage and I don't want me or the kids to have to live like that.

I've heard that a lot from friends, that it makes them go a bit crazy....no thanks

cakeorwine · 01/10/2022 08:25

People say that they can charge you more at peak time. Which is true if they give 1/2 hr readings.

At the same time, they can charge you less at off peak time. So you could alter your habits as electricity is cheaper to produce at different times of the day

Original poster
ChimChimeny · 01/10/2022 08:26

Megifer · 01/10/2022 08:21

I'll hold out as long as possible - they will literally have to get a court order- because I know DP will become a nightmare monitoring usage and I don't want me or the kids to have to live like that.

I've heard that a lot from friends, that it makes them go a bit crazy....no thanks

I can see me heading that way, the current energy prices home has made me quite anxious

OP posts:
cakeorwine · 01/10/2022 08:28

CleopatrasBeautifulNose · 01/10/2022 08:14

Oh, and of course having clear visibility of your usage minute to mine gives you greater control over your consumption.

But if you have an anxious character seeing your display go red when you put the kettle on could give you something to fret over so that benefit depends on your pov to some extent.

That's the thing.

Going red isn't an issue as long as it's not in the red for long
At the same time, being green can be an issue if it's green for a long time as a 500 watt device may appear green but it uses 1 kilowatt hour after 2 hours. Which adds up

Thiswayorthatway · 01/10/2022 08:31

cakeorwine · 01/10/2022 08:25

People say that they can charge you more at peak time. Which is true if they give 1/2 hr readings.

At the same time, they can charge you less at off peak time. So you could alter your habits as electricity is cheaper to produce at different times of the day

You don’t get charged more if you have a smart meter, you can just see in more detail what you are charged and when.

user16480478 · 01/10/2022 08:33

Also remember it is the government that want the energy companies to fit smart meters not the energy companies, that is why if they don't work that well there is no interest in fixing them and also why if you already have an old dumb one they won't replace it with a new smart one. So remember it is the government that wants this and has set targets for energy companies to meet.

cakeorwine · 01/10/2022 08:35

Thiswayorthatway · 01/10/2022 08:31

You don’t get charged more if you have a smart meter, you can just see in more detail what you are charged and when.

Show quote history

That's not what I said.

If you have a Smart Meter, then some companies offer differential pricing.
They take 1/2 hr ly readings - and they have a different price for energy used at peak vs off peak times.

Handy if you have an electric car.

It's like Economy 7. But Smarter.

cakeorwine · 01/10/2022 08:37

user16480478 · 01/10/2022 08:33

Also remember it is the government that want the energy companies to fit smart meters not the energy companies, that is why if they don't work that well there is no interest in fixing them and also why if you already have an old dumb one they won't replace it with a new smart one. So remember it is the government that wants this and has set targets for energy companies to meet.

Understanding how people use power and when is useful for energy companies and energy 'generators' as well.

user16480478 · 01/10/2022 08:40

cakeorwine · 01/10/2022 08:37

Understanding how people use power and when is useful for energy companies and energy 'generators' as well.

Show quote history

Obviously not useful enough to change my old Smets1 meter that only started working again a couple of weeks ago after at least 4 years of not working and I couldn't get a replacement

Quveas · 01/10/2022 08:42

belimoo · 01/10/2022 07:28

Mine didn't work and I lost the ability to enter meter readings online too so ended up with no idea of actual usage and ended up in significant debt following the energy company's suggested payment plan.

Also, not sure if it's changed but some only worked for the energy provider who installed it. So if you move providers then you have a 'dumb meter'.

I also have a dumb meter. They have been promising to upgrade the software for at least six years now. Wish I'd never had it put in. It is of no help to me at all.

DontCallMeBaby · 01/10/2022 08:45

If people like the sound of not having to read the meter etc but think knowing minute by minute energy consumption will drive them mad - put the monitor away. Ours is in a drawer somewhere. I know what takes a lot of power to run, I don’t need a constant reminder.

Plus the battery life is shit so it was permanently plugged in - the only place it could sensibly go was right next to the kettle, which wasn’t great …

Meklk · 01/10/2022 08:48

By giving meter readings online - you are "safe" when s*it happens. I had unexpected massive bill from dentist that month, so simply gave smaller numbers for gas and electricity and paid less. Of course next month paid all the amount. But with smart meter you MUST pay the full amount when bill comes.

user16480478 · 01/10/2022 08:51

@Quveas My smart 'dumb' meter was an Eon one which worked until I changed provider 4-6 years ago, I can't exactly remember when, it started working again with BG, 2 weeks ago, it was when I came off the fixed rate and I only realised when I couldn't submit a reading so I resurrected the monitor, lucky I hadn't thrown it out Grin. So they must be upgrading some now, they didn't bother to let me know though but it does seem to be working.

cakeorwine · 01/10/2022 08:51

Meklk · 01/10/2022 08:48

By giving meter readings online - you are "safe" when s*it happens. I had unexpected massive bill from dentist that month, so simply gave smaller numbers for gas and electricity and paid less. Of course next month paid all the amount. But with smart meter you MUST pay the full amount when bill comes.

Unless you pay by DD

And if a meter reader turns up and finds your meter reading is different.