AIBU for considering returning my smart meter?

[HampshireSun]

I've had a smart meter for about 6 months now but I spent yesterday watching the monitor of my energy use go from green to red regularly. when I'm simply just sitting here on my phone or laptop (neither are plugged in). I wasn't using any electricity. And then I saw an article in The Telegraph that energy companies will be given readings every 30-mins from the smart meter which will enable them to charge you more at your peak hours! I feel like the whole thing is a scam!

AIBU and just overthinking the whole thing?

You can't return it once it's in its in

Do you not have a flat rate? Unless it's economy 7 or whatever its called now I thought it was all the same or x amount for the first x units then y amount for the rest

Following!

I feel the same although I'm not sure you can return them?

I came downstairs at the weekend before the heating had come on and my budget had already been exceeded before any electrical item had even been used!!

Yes there is the potential to introduce higher rates to control energy demand at peak times. They could even interrupt your supply. It hasn't happened yet but you can't return to an old meter and you can still control your use of energy.

@Theunamedcat

You can't return it once it's in its in

Do you not have a flat rate? Unless it's economy 7 or whatever its called now I thought it was all the same or x amount for the first x units then y amount for the rest

I'm on a fixed rate. But my bills are definitely the highest they've been and the monitor suggests I'm using it electricity when I'm not! That what worries me.

@WhatIsThisPlease Something is definitely not right with these smart meters!!

Tell them your meter is malfunctioning?

Can you shut everything off see if it still jumps

Fridge will be on constantly. Things that are on standby will use energy
Lights

@Theunamedcat Yes, I think I'll try this.

@Danikm151 I know the fridge is on but that doesn't use enough to make the monitor go to red. I wasn't using lights at the time, it was during the day.

Is the usage not coming from things like your fridge / freezer, internet router, any appliances on standby? It’s illegal for energy suppliers to change your tariff (eg to a tariff that charges more at peak times) without your consent.

You are forgetting that your fridge/freezer, router, echo devices, screens on standby, microwave, alarm clocks, oven with clocks, gas boiler, stereo etc on stanby, DVD/bluray, games console and more will be using energy whilst the switch is on.

I'm not forgetting that there are appliances switched on that use electricity all the time such as a fridge/freezer, alarm clock etc. But what would cause the meter to suddenly be recording my electricity use in the red (ie high cost) for a period of time when I'm just sitting there doing nothing??
I have ALWAYS turned off unnecessary things at the switch so I don't have lots on standby. I'm trying to understand how one moment the usage is green and suddenly in the red when I haven't changed anything in that time

That is strange and needs looking into. Our only jumps when a device is in use.

Because the fridge doesn't draw power evenly, it kicks on and off depending on a whole bunch of things.

Depending on the age of the boiler, it may have a keep warm function for hot water meaning that there is an increase in electricity use when the pumps switch on.

If your overall electricity usage has increased without you changing anything it is definitely worth raising with your energy supplier.

That is in addition to the fridge freezer as PP has mentioned

Ours has a display which you can cycle through showing the actual amount in kWh you are currently using, the amount you’ve used in various periods and the amount you’ve spent in those periods. How much does it actually say you are using? ‘Red’ is meaningless.

You're talking about surge pricing. That can only be done with your consent, you'd need to be on a tariff that allows it, which your current one does not.

And, from what I've read, people who choose that tariff style can benefit from cheaper energy too, at times when the grid is less busy. It would be like an economy 7 but through the day and it would keep you on your toes. Some people would benefit and others would stick with a traditional tariff.

Is there a chance something electric is malfunctioning?

We had something similar and traced it to a lamp that was faulty. It was drawing far too much electricity and tripping the fuses.

It seems you've been reading some scary stories on smart meters - they're there to help you understand your consumption better. Of course if it's faulty you should get it checked but it doesn't Increase your energy usage, it just monitors it.

@Valdes Thanks for that suggestion

We haven’t got one as I don’t want to be constantly reminded about how much money I’m spending.

@NYnewstart

We haven’t got one as I don’t want to be constantly reminded about how much money I’m spending.

There are days when I turn the display to the wall. 😁 Full denial.

@NYnewstart you don’t need to have the display plugged in for it to work, it’s a separate device to the actual meter and they just communicate via WiFi I think. So you can benefit from a smart reader (ie pay accurate bills without needing to send in readings) without having the display.

Is this regular occurrence or just recent. I had a couple of scary moment with smart meter. Once the display unit had me using £16000 worth of gas in one hour.
Another time I came in just after midnight and the unit had spent an days worth of gas in 10 mind. Pulled the plug on the display then restarted . Seemed to clear the problem.

Maybe tried resetting the display