Smart meters - good or bad?

[Allthenameshavegone1972]

What are your opinions on Smart Meters? I read of so many disadvantages that I really don't trust them. I read my meter myself & submit the readings monthly, in time for the bill to be generated.
I've been contacted today by Octopus Energy to change my meter as the RTS is being phased out. If I don't then my supply will be affected. This makes me so effing angry. We're being blackmailed into having a smart meter when we don't want one. 😡

We are also in this boat, having had the same emails from octopus and yesterday I received a phone call from them. They left a voicemail and explaining that we have to change to a smart meter due to the switch off of the RTS.

Not really sure what else we can do but to have one?

I’m just going to say ‘bad’. Although maybe I’ll extend that to ‘bad and also pointless’. We used to live in a Victorian terrace where the meter was in the basement. As far as the gas technician was concerned it wouldn’t have worked because there wasn’t enough signal for it to work, but that it was part of his job to install them anyway. We refused and that was that.

Yes, you should have one. The worst that can happen is that it won’t connect to the supplier and will revert to operating in dumb mode. I’m sure many of the RTS refuseniks will quickly change their tune when they realise their heating and hot water no longer works properly, and then they may have to join a very long queue!

I've just had a phone call from Octopus too. They left a message that they will ring in another couple of days. My E7 metre is on a standard tariff. I've got nothing in my house that works on E7 any more, so its not going to affect my water or heating.
I'm holding out!

Mine have been a pain in the neck. In for 3 months and only one working. Have chased up more times than I can remember. I understand that the energy companies want to get them installed but have little incentive to focus on sorting out the problems. If all goes well you're ok, if not you could be left to deal with it.

Yet more rubbish from Octopus.

I asked them how the "smart" meter gets its information to and from them if there is no mobile phone signal and they cannot/ will not answer. The email mentions a WAN network.

DH, an electronics expert has just sent me a link which says that this area is a blackspot for the WAN network that Octopus has told me they use.

We need E7 due to no mains gas and parts of our property being heated by electric storage heaters.

I have now emailed Moneybox because I am sick of being told crap by electricity companies who cannot answer a simple question.

It’s not rubbish at all. The signal that controls radio teleswitch meters is being switched off this year. Since these meters depend on this signal to work properly, it is perfectly correct to say that they need to be replaced. The majority of Economy 7 meters are not radio teleswitches, so they will not be affected.

but then it depends on how many people have been asked eg 10 people 8 said happy = 4/5

I'm not stupid. I know it's being switched off, and also the reason for this. However, the rubbish in the email is either a repeat of what they emailed previously or a refusal to answer the direct questions that I asked.

So which bit is rubbish? If the smart meter can’t receive a sufficient strong signal (O2 network in the lower half of the UK, dedicated radio network in the upper half) it obviously won’t receive or broadcast any information, and will operate as a dumb meter. There are moves afoot to allow smart meters to access either system, or use a customer’s broadband connection, both of which have not previously been allowed or possible.

I had to have a smart meter for the same reason, I just ignore it much like I did the old meter.

No issue with mine. when they fitted it they found an issue with our main fuse and got it sorted. quite pleased actually.

I've had one for years. I can't see why anyone wouldn't want a smart Meter. You can look on online every day to see what you used the day/week/month/year before and keep track of all your usage. What's not to like?

I don't have much signal but it still works. Unless it is permenantly zero it will be fine.

Everyone expects that functionality for pretty much everything they pay to consume. When it comes to domestic gas and electricity, however, suddenly the whole concept is the work of the devil.

You can look online to see what you have used too.

Ours has been fine too, also with Octopus

So how does it receive the signal to change from one tariff to the other if there is no O2 signal here?

This is the crucial question that nobody can answer.

Several years ago Ovo said it would "have to use my router". Well the router is more than 15m away and there is no signal between the router and the location of the electricity meter.

All I want is for someone to explain how it will work given the issues of no mobile signal/WAN. It sounds like I will have to endure the hassle of having my electricity turned off so someone can fit something that will not work here.

We've been asking this question every time they phone up to bully us. 2 years now and nobody has answered the question yet.

Thank you @thenightsky for actually reading my post and understanding my position.

Are you also being badgered to change meter? Happy to discuss by PM if you prefer.

Billing is done at the supplier’s end, they don’t need to change anything on your meter. All they need is meter readings which, in the absence of connectivity, would need to be submitted manually, as with any traditional meter.

As I understand it, limited trials of using home internet connections, in especially problematic areas (e.g. the Scottish Highlands), have only recently begun. Also, Telefonica, which runs the mobile network, uses a mesh system for smart meters. So, your home may not have O2 coverage, but another property in the area probably does. The smart meter in that property can act as a repeater to nearby smart meters, which can act as repeaters to other smart meters, and so on.

I work for an energy company and if they're offering you one there should be enough WAN coverage in the area for it to work. The company I work for wouldn't attempt to fit a smart meter in a no WAN area and it wouldn't even allow us to book an appointment in that case. Can't speak for every energy company though.

PM'd you.

daft question, why are they even needed whats the purpose ?

Why are smart meters needed? A few reasons:

The whole concept of manually taking readings and submitting them is hopelessly out-dated; not everyone can physically access their meters or understand how to read them and errors are rife.

Without a smart meter, the only way to work out how much energy you’ve used over a given period, and the cost, is to take meter readings and perform calculations. It’s tedious and time-consuming and many people don’t understand how to, or can’t, do it.

Smart meters make time-of-use tariffs (more advanced versions of Economy 7) available to everyone. These encourage householders to use energy when it is actually being generated, meaning we won’t have to burn so much gas to meet demand during peak times.

For prepayment customers, their meter can be topped up online, from anywhere, instead of having to visit a shop.