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Original poster

Regretting getting a smart meter already...

134 replies

CinnamonSwirl82 · 10/12/2022 20:36

Has gas and electric really gone up this much? ☹️ Just moved house and got a smart meter installed, lost my fixed tariff as I couldn't bring it with me and nowhere offers fixed anymore.

We've been out most of the day, no heating on and all plugs are switched off bar the fridge freezer, oven, sky box and router. Currently it's sat at £10.30. Bloke had to install new meters as our old ones were prehistoric.

£300+ a month for barely using any gas or electric? Is this right and has it really gone up this much?! I only used to pay £100 a month and I'd not be minimising any of my useage. I'm hoping it's faulty meters because I'm never gonna be able to afford to put heating on and I'm on a pretty good salary!

I hate this smart meter already.

OP posts:
cakeorwine · 11/12/2022 13:27

@CinnamonSwirl82

So have you taken a look at your display today?
Any high electricity usage?
How is your gas doing?

Pterrydactyl · 11/12/2022 13:29

Notanotherwindow · 11/12/2022 13:24

There's got to be an immersion switched on to use that much gas.

Most old houses have them but not all will be connected and functioning. I think ours still works but it costs so much to run, we've never tried it.

Don’t immersion heaters usually use electric rather than gas?

cakeorwine · 11/12/2022 13:29

The only way to know how much gas you have used - if you don't trust the display - is to take readings from the Gas Meter, convert them to kWH (from cubic metres) and that will let you know.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Cost of living
GratefulCheddar · 11/12/2022 13:34

@chickencuddles Do you have double height ceilings at all? I grew up in a Victorian house like that, also had absolutely huge windows.It was a really beautiful house I mean gorgeous to look at but so hard to heat. You have my sympathies.

chickencuddles · 11/12/2022 13:47

GratefulCheddar · 11/12/2022 13:34

@chickencuddles Do you have double height ceilings at all? I grew up in a Victorian house like that, also had absolutely huge windows.It was a really beautiful house I mean gorgeous to look at but so hard to heat. You have my sympathies.

They're about 3 metres in some of the rooms. With massive single glazed windows. I'm starting to put up secondary glazing, and getting thermal curtains etc but all of that is costly. And the single brick walls feel like fridges to the touch. Today we are all in one room with an electric radiator to heat us as we don't have radiators in here yet. It's pretty grim and not what I thought life would be like in 2022! We have a decent income as well and I am panicking about energy costs. I really feel for those on lower incomes. It just feels so wrong.

Original poster
CinnamonSwirl82 · 11/12/2022 13:49

We put the gas on for about two and a half hours cause the house was at 13 degrees and we couldn't take it any longer. The bedrooms heat up quickly so DH is currently sat upstairs.

We were on about £4.50 when I looked about an hour ago.

Checked our usage this morning and something was using 34p electric about 1-1.30pm yesterday... Whilst we were out. For context having the TV on & DH playing on PC for 4 hours in the evening cost 60p.

OP posts:
Ginmonkeyagain · 11/12/2022 13:57

@CinnamonSwirl82 does your energy supplier offer an app so you can look in more detail at your spend?

We are with EDF and therr is an online toop where I can see a daily breakdown of my gas and electricity costs. That is quite good as you can look to see if there is a pattern for high spend days.

BiteyShark · 11/12/2022 13:58

We recently had smart meters installed but they stuffed up the gas one so only the electric sends readings.

However I really don't care as I tend to send a reading every month so I can make sure I am not building massive arrears. Fortunately the company I am with alters my DD down as well as up by reasonable amounts so I know I am on target to pay for what I am using.

My DH used to get a bit obsessive about the electricity reading on the smart meter when we first had it but now he tends to accept we need to be sensible but not daft about saving energy given that we are fortunate to be able to stomach the increased costs. I think in total our costs have doubled from last year.

Cynderella · 11/12/2022 14:06

While it's true that fridges and freezers don't cost that much to run for an hour, the fact that they are on all the time can make a huge difference to annual usage. Our daily consumption dropped noticeably when we replaced or elderly fridge freezer with a new one.

Gasmyarse · 11/12/2022 14:10

I actually like My smart Meter display.. although it did piss me of at first . It allows me to see what I'm using and I can make a payment every few days. So it does not hurt as much and there's no big bill at the end of the month.

cakeorwine · 11/12/2022 14:15

Cynderella · 11/12/2022 14:06

While it's true that fridges and freezers don't cost that much to run for an hour, the fact that they are on all the time can make a huge difference to annual usage. Our daily consumption dropped noticeably when we replaced or elderly fridge freezer with a new one.

But they are not 'on' all the time.

Like your heating - they only are 'on' when they need to get to the temperature.

Then they are off.

A fridge freezer will use between 300 - 400 kWh a year.

You haven't been reading the Daily Express have you?

cakeorwine · 11/12/2022 14:18

CinnamonSwirl82 · 11/12/2022 13:49

We put the gas on for about two and a half hours cause the house was at 13 degrees and we couldn't take it any longer. The bedrooms heat up quickly so DH is currently sat upstairs.

We were on about £4.50 when I looked about an hour ago.

Checked our usage this morning and something was using 34p electric about 1-1.30pm yesterday... Whilst we were out. For context having the TV on & DH playing on PC for 4 hours in the evening cost 60p.

So that's 2000 watts running for 1/2 hr - so 1 kWh of usage.

The equivalent of a kettle running for 1/2 hr

That could be an immersion heater.

Have you take a look yet?

PastMyBestBeforeDate · 11/12/2022 14:19

No we are being charged correctly. I was guessing at the figures Smile It's just this odd thing where they add in a reduction.

Wiluli · 11/12/2022 14:23

Bless you . We have really old meters around here ( rural ) and people that’s changed are all saying the same . I’m glad I always refused a change and I will as much as I can as my neighbor who is out if the house a lot more than me pays almost double what I do .

SarahShorty · 11/12/2022 14:30

Problem is you don't have a choice because they're not going to offer decent tariffs to people without a smart meter. I think the other trouble is that you're noticing it more. And yes, that's how much energy has gone up because of Net Zero.

Notanotherwindow · 11/12/2022 14:32

@Pterrydactyl I'm not sure to be honest. Mum mum always complains about how much gas it used to use but possible she's just misremembering. We haven't touched it in 30 years so entirely possible.

TheWomanTheyCallJayne · 11/12/2022 14:40

Shesasuperfreak · 10/12/2022 21:16

I hate it when people come on to the thread to correct others 😒. The 3 of you need to get a life.

Whereas I hate it when people call the plug in monitors a smart meter.
We’re often told you pay for what you use. And smart meters are a good way to do that. They don’t cost any more to have.
But when people get it wrong they confuse the issue and often put other people off smart meters when there is nothing wrong with them.

Ginmonkeyagain · 11/12/2022 15:17

Also having a smart meter doesn't mean your energy costs more, you are just seeing what you are using and therefore spending in real time. This time of year it is going to be a lot more.

Ginmonkeyagain · 11/12/2022 15:18

Also the gas only updates every half hour, which can account for alarming sudden jumps in cost on the display.

Original poster
CinnamonSwirl82 · 11/12/2022 16:12

Okay so I've had a look and can't find an immersion heater HOWEVER there are two fused switches in the cupboard that I've no idea what they're for. DH and I have switched them off, nothings happened, so put them back on just in case...

Is it normal to have one with a combi boiler? Dr Google suggests they go alongside water tanks.

OP posts:
SarahShorty · 11/12/2022 17:03

That fusebox will likely be from when the property had a cylinder/immersion heater. They often don't bother removing them because it's more than it's worth. If it's not supply power to anything, then you can switch it off.

SarahShorty · 11/12/2022 17:04

more hassle*

cakeorwine · 11/12/2022 17:05

CinnamonSwirl82 · 11/12/2022 16:12

Okay so I've had a look and can't find an immersion heater HOWEVER there are two fused switches in the cupboard that I've no idea what they're for. DH and I have switched them off, nothings happened, so put them back on just in case...

Is it normal to have one with a combi boiler? Dr Google suggests they go alongside water tanks.

How do you get hot water?

Do you have a hot water cylinder at all?

greenacrylicpaint · 11/12/2022 17:12

CinnamonSwirl82 · 11/12/2022 16:12

Okay so I've had a look and can't find an immersion heater HOWEVER there are two fused switches in the cupboard that I've no idea what they're for. DH and I have switched them off, nothings happened, so put them back on just in case...

Is it normal to have one with a combi boiler? Dr Google suggests they go alongside water tanks.

we had something like this.
it was the switch for the immersion heater. not in ise anymore. tank was in the loft.
even though heating was gch.

TheWomanTheyCallJayne · 11/12/2022 17:25

Our last house had a switch that hadn’t been removed when the immersion had. I think it’s quite common to leave them as it’s more effort than it’s worth.