Page 6 | Why don't we want a smart meter?

ChimChimeny · 2022-10-01T06:25:49+00:00

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??

Tulipomania · 03/10/2022 13:26

RippleQueen · 01/10/2022 16:25

We had to get a smart meter because it is now a legal requirement if you have an electric or plug in hybrid car. At some point they will prevent you from charging your vehicle during am and pm peak demand to protect the national grid

That's not correct. It's not a legal requirement but if you want to benefit from a Time of Use tariff (e.g. cheap charging at certain times of day) then your energy supplier will require it.

BloodyHellKen · 03/10/2022 14:04

We don't have one because I can't see the point. Doing my own reading is a 2 minute job and I fail to see how they could reduce our energy costs. We only use the energy we need to use and no more. Eg If a smart meter showed turning the kettle on caused a spike in usage then we aren't going to suddenly stop drinking tea.

WhileMyGuitarGentlyWeeps · 03/10/2022 17:02

Thiswayorthatway · 03/10/2022 09:52

There are some real dinosaurs on this thread

@Thiswayorthatway

I would rather be a dinosaur than a weak and spineless sheep. Following the herd with no mind of my own, and letting manipulative, pushy, nosey interfering individuals tell me what's best for me, and that my opinion is WRONG.

Anyone trying to bully ME into having a smart meter is wasting their time. I am too assertive and strong willed to be pushed about by manipulative bullies.

TimBoothseyes · 03/10/2022 17:57

Thiswayorthatway · 03/10/2022 09:52

There are some real dinosaurs on this thread

Not a dinosaur, just a person who refuses to get rid of something that works perfectly well for me.

user16480478 · 03/10/2022 19:00

We had a letter today that we are getting a smart water meter in the next few weeks so we can look at our water use and know if we have a leak or something like that. They just change these, there isn't a choice

scrufffy · 03/10/2022 19:15

I'm a dinosaur who's had 7 months at low prices. With a month still to go. I'll take that.

WhileMyGuitarGentlyWeeps · 03/10/2022 19:27

user16480478 · 03/10/2022 19:00

We had a letter today that we are getting a smart water meter in the next few weeks so we can look at our water use and know if we have a leak or something like that. They just change these, there isn't a choice

@user16480478

Of COURSE you have a choice. Having a smart meter - gas, electric, OR water, is not mandatory. Where did you get THAT idea from? If you do NOT want one, and your provider is bullying you into one - do NOT be forced into it. If they have given you a date to install CANCEL IT. Tell them you DO NOT WANT IT. Say you did not request it, and you will NOT be having it.

My energy provider has sent me a number of letters saying YOU ARE DUE A SMART METER-BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT NOW. I ignore them. I don't WANT one. I will not HAVE ONE.

Cancel the appointment if you don't want a smart water meter.

WhileMyGuitarGentlyWeeps · 03/10/2022 19:28

@user16480478

stopsmartmeters.org.uk/official-defra-confirms-smart-water-meters-are-not-compulsory/#:~:text=Official%3A%20DEFRA%20confirms%20%E2%80%98Smart%E2%80%99%20Water%20Meters%20are%20NOT,metering%20should%20%E2%80%9Cbe%20done%20in%20consultation%20with%20customers%E2%80%9D.

cakeorwine · 03/10/2022 20:37

Like I said, I could have been any of the people on this thread a while ago.
Couldn't see the point
I can do readings
I know how energy works and what devices use a lot of power

But I got one as Pure Planet insisted.

And I love it.

user16480478 · 03/10/2022 20:44

That water meter link is for people that haven't got water meters already, we already have one, there are no appointments, they just come and change all the meters, it's out in the street anyway, so doesn't really make any difference

EilonwyWithRedGoldHair · 03/10/2022 23:38

I like my smart meter. I did watch it too much for the first week, but it does encourage you to switch things off.

Now I use it more to regularly monitor usage over a day/week/month using the app, and it means I know, for example, that the pilot light on our boiler was costing us just over £10 a month. I usually check it every couple of months to see how we're doing, unless we've just replaced an appliance, when I'll keep a closer eye to see the impact.

user16480478 · 04/10/2022 06:17

I think if it all works ok then yes they are good to see what is going on with your energy use, unfortunately far too many people have smart meters that don't work properly. My electric smart meter is OK at my end to see on my small monitor to see how much I am using in real time but unfortunately I have no clue what is happening at BG end as I can't see any readings or energy use at all on the app or website so don't know if they are even getting readings properly on it. Also the unit price hasn't updated yet on the in house monitor, so that is out of date.

I checked on the Citizens Advice smart meter check page and it does say it is connected to the DCC and sending readings to BG but I cannot see if it actually is on BG website. smartmetercheck.citizensadvice.org.uk

It is impossible to contact anyone at BG without hours of waiting online or on the phone so I am being left in the dark with it all.

DaSilvaP · 17/12/2022 07:36

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.

The rest is more or less accurate but this part

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....

is pure marketing nonsense. Companies probably would love to siphon all that data, but they certainly do not need it for that purpose.

The production and consumption of electricity must be matched every second of the day and of the year - that is true. And that was already happening even with purely mechanical meters.

The high voltage grid operates at the scale of whole towns - and the grid operators only need to predict patterns of demand at the level of substations at the end of high voltage lines. And they already have that data, starting from decades ago.

The usage patterns of one individual household are of no use for that purpose - grid operators only need to know the aggregate demand from several thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of households [and businesses] supplied from the same substation.

You really think the regional distribution hub for Tesco or Sainsbury couldn't function without having detailed statistics of what every single customer is buying?

medianewbie · 17/12/2022 22:02

.

medianewbie · 17/12/2022 22:12

I've been told by Scottish Gas that I can't have a Smartmeter. My gas meter is in a basement down a winding stair. My electric meter is pre 1999 & is at ceiling height (2 floors up). It's really dangerous for me to read them (I'm disabled). Does anyone know if I can make them change them? They're so old I worry they're not accurate (my bills are huge... but they'd slow down with age not speed up, wouldn't they?)

user2859453 · 18/12/2022 02:46

medianewbie · 17/12/2022 22:12

I've been told by Scottish Gas that I can't have a Smartmeter. My gas meter is in a basement down a winding stair. My electric meter is pre 1999 & is at ceiling height (2 floors up). It's really dangerous for me to read them (I'm disabled). Does anyone know if I can make them change them? They're so old I worry they're not accurate (my bills are huge... but they'd slow down with age not speed up, wouldn't they?)

What is the reason for not being able to have an electric one? You wouldn't be able to have a gas one because gas ones have to connect up to the electric one to work so have to be within a certain distance from each other but I would push for an electric one.

We haven't had our gas one changed yet, it is from the 1980s, its one of the old Parkinson Cowan ones, We get no data from our electric one from BG so don't really want the same to happen with our gas meter, also our gas meter is not next to our electric meter but probably just within distance

Definitely push for an electric one though and find out why you can't have one.

ivykaty44 · 18/12/2022 14:55

Since October 1st U.K. government has been tracking storing and processing smart meter data

This is despite assurance over many years that households would be able to decide whether that data was shared

so lied to

at least TikTok and Amazon etc you know there tracking you

byt more government lies

cakeorwine · 18/12/2022 15:13

ivykaty44 · 18/12/2022 14:55

Since October 1st U.K. government has been tracking storing and processing smart meter data

This is despite assurance over many years that households would be able to decide whether that data was shared

so lied to

at least TikTok and Amazon etc you know there tracking you

byt more government lies

Actually, it's been processing data from all meters - both smart and traditional.

To do with preventing fraud under the Energy price guarantee

Whether you believe the stored data is safe from hackers...

But there are probably easier ways to determine if someone is in a house or not than use meter data

MGre · 24/12/2022 08:15

If your existing meter is faulty or has expired, your supplier can fit a Smart Meter with or without your permission. This was introduced in June 2019.
See "New and Replacement Obligation" on https://www.smartme.co.uk/roll-out.html.

pigsinoodies · 24/12/2022 08:36

MGre · 24/12/2022 08:15

If your existing meter is faulty or has expired, your supplier can fit a Smart Meter with or without your permission. This was introduced in June 2019.
See "New and Replacement Obligation" on https://www.smartme.co.uk/roll-out.html.

From your own link, under 'Post 2022 Rollout':

"The scheme allows customers to refuse a Smart Meter when offered."

They can insist on you having a new meter but they can't insist on it operating as a smart meter.

EllieQ · 24/12/2022 08:49

SilverGlitterBaubles · 01/10/2022 07:52

Because experience tells us that lots of tech we are told is 'smart' or will make our lives easier quite often it does the opposite. It doesn't always work, it causes stress, you loose the ability to do something and hand the control to yet another big corporation who can gather data on your life and use it to make money.

Agree with this. The combination of new technology and the general uselessness and unreliability of energy companies means that I am very reluctant to switch to a smart meter. I’ll stick with taking monthly readings to send to the supplier!

user2859453 · 24/12/2022 10:08

If BG weren't so difficult to get in touch with and if their website and app weren't as useless I would have had a gas smart meter but as they have such bad customer service I will keep my old gas meter and send readings to them

species5618 · 24/12/2022 12:19

We changed elec suppliers in 2021 to one offering better rates, but it was part of the contract that you had to have a smart meter.
Interestingly, we enquired about a water meter this year, but the water supplier, after checking out our property, decided we couldn't have one as it was too awkward to fit. They did however give £45 yearly discount on our water bill. 😊

Sandinyourshoes · 24/12/2022 13:18

Not everyone who has a smart meter has it through choice. We held out against getting one for years, but then had to move house and the property we moved to already had one installed, the outdated variety with an obsolete in house display which doesn’t work for current tariffs and cannot be reset to update. Eon email us with the advantages of being able to track our energy usage but its simply not the case when the display doesn’t work. We’re encouraged to take part in diverting our energy usage to non peak times, but without the help of a working display. It so happens a lot of my usage is outside the evening peak already (I think, but cannot check) so to trim it further would need the display. The gas meter is outside so not handy for taking readings, especially in the recent freezing weather.
And eon are not interested in providing or even selling us a working display. They do not lift a finger to help with problems, just send a snippy reply. Can’t for the life of me figure out why a working display is so unobtainable in this era of advanced technology.
So the upshot is, smart meters are a pain and an annoyance and they do seem to be there for the convenience of suppliers and not customers. Which we kind of knew already.