British Gas smart meter reviewer feedback thread. Non testers: Share your thoughts on creating a greener environment for your DCs to be in with a chance of winning £100 worth of John Lewis vouchers NOW CLOSED

[KatieBMumsnet]

This thread is for the 3 Mumsnetters and 2 Mumsnet Bloggers who are testing the British Gas smart meters in their home.

Non testers: Share your thoughts on creating a greener environment for the next generation  how important or not, do you think it is to educated younger generations on energy waste and carbon emissions? Do you think its something children should be taught about at school? Is it a topic that you discuss with your DCs or not?

Everyone who adds a comment to this thread by 18th October will be in with a chance of winning £100 worth of John Lewis vouchers

Testers: We'd like you to post at least 3 sets of feedback on this thread - once a month for 3 months.

Below are a few questions for you to answer but please also add any other comments you may have to the thread. You may want to answer some questions now and some at the end of the trial period.

General questions

• How did you find the installation of the smart meters? Was it any more or less complicated than you were expecting?
• What are your first impressions of being upgraded to smart meters and having a smart energy monitor?
• Has the smart energy monitor that comes with smart meters helped you keep track of your energy consumption?
• Has the smart energy monitor helped your children to understand/be more interested in energy? If so how?
• If it came up in conversation, would you recommend getting a smart meter upgrade with British Gas to your family/friends? If so why? If not why not?

Month 1: Finding the activities that use the most energy
This task is all about educating the future generations about the cost of energy wastage to both the environment and your household bills.
This month we'd like testers to try to discover which activities in your home use the most energy:

• Have each member of the family write down the 3 activities they think use the most energy in the home. What were these?
• Ask your children to guess how much gas or electricity they think each activity involves - please let us know what they said.
• Ask your children to turn on various domestic appliances in turn and record how much electricity is consumed and how much it actually costs by looking at the smart energy monitor. You can do the same for gas appliances, but it takes a bit longer (30 minutes - due to the way gas volume is measured and translated into kWh) for the figures to be displayed on the smart energy monitor.
• Which activity used the most energy? Did this surprise you? Will you and your family change how you use gas or electricity appliances in the future or not? If so, how? If not why not?

Thanks and good luck,

Katie @ MNHQ

[HappydaysArehere]

Had smart meter fitted. Initial problem as had a gas leak but this was soon remedied. However, a week or so later we had an extremely loud piercing alarm sound which continued for a few minutes. It stopped but we rang Gas Board who told us it must have been caused by some testing. They said if it happened again we should press the green button on the box. Without a torch the button was not apparent but when lit was obvious. No trouble since so cross fingers. Looked at monitor to begin with which gave a general guide but then there didn't seem any point. Might as well save the electricity the monitor uses!

[jamesleesaunders]

Aside from the education about environmental benefits, having Smart Meters could also get kids interested in mathematics and statistics. For me (as a computer geek) I find stats more interesting than the environmental benefits (that's not to say it's not important!!). Learning about graphs and comparison techniques could also be a benefit to kids at school while learning about smarter energy.

If anyone is interested... I have also written a small article on our experience getting British Gas Smart Meters installed, as you will read, it was not plain sailing for me:

www.smartofthehome.com/2013/09/british-gas-smart-meters-part-1/

www.smartofthehome.com/2013/09/british-gas-smart-meters-part-2/

Please feel free to post your comments and on this post too, I would be very interested to hear your experiences.

Jim

[jamesleesaunders]

Aside from the education about environmental benefits, having Smart Meters could also get kids interested in mathematics and statistics. For me (as a computer geek) I find stats more interesting than the environmental benefits (that's not to say it's not important!!). Learning about graphs and comparison techniques could also be a benefit to kids at school while learning about smarter energy.

If anyone is interested... I have also written a small article on our experience getting British Gas Smart Meters installed, as you will read, it was not plain sailing for me:

www.smartofthehome.com/2013/09/british-gas-smart-meters-part-1/

www.smartofthehome.com/2013/09/british-gas-smart-meters-part-2/

Please feel free to post your comments and on this post too, I would be very interested to hear your experiences.

Jim

[Jofsat]

I do thing smart meters and green energy should be on the school agenda like recycling is.

[fanny6]

Educating Adults & children about conservation

[candish63]

It is great to teach the younger generation not to waste energy

[lmcontrary]

non tester
its very important to get the kids educated and involved in enviromental causes, clearing rivers, using smart meters, recycling, using the car less etc. They are the generation that will benefit from any reductions in waste and global warming we can make. I think a smart meter is a good visual aid for this and one of the things available to parents.

[Charliebobz]

Very important that we pass on the message to our kids about not wasting energy and make it second nature to switch off standbys etc.

[soo999]

First one broke after a while and BG sent another when asked. However it was a different model and took some getting used to. Overall, I think the Smart Meter is V. Useful, though.

[KatieBMumsnet]

Thanks for all your comments. The winner of the prize draw is...

maxmissie

Congratulations, I'll PM you for your details.

[fluffylaw]

I desperately want a smart meter as our gas use has rocketed out of control. We'd actively like to save energy and reduce our bills. Unfortunately it is too hard to get one at the moment. We contacted British Gas and asked to convert to them, if we could get a smart meter, but they couldn't commit to getting us a smart meter in less than a year unless we signed up to a special tariff which would cost us about £1800 more.... We were happy to go on a tarif which cost us negligibly more, but the guranteed smart meter one is ridiculous - so we had to stay with our much cheaper current provider who doesn't yet offer smart meters. Smart => dumb!

[katiewalters]

I think it's important our dcs learn about a greener environment. My son is 4, he's already learned about it at school and we have been to a science museum, where there wS a section on recycling which you could part in. I explain to him about energy saving! Turning things off when not using them, etc so he will grow up to do the same.

[InkleWinkle]

2. change the time you use appliances:
   
   Really hard to do because we're in at the same times (dictated by school / work / clubs) do that's when we use them.
   Have tried using washing machine later in evening after kids baths rather than in the morning. Same with dishwasher. Am loathe to do overnight due to fire safety concerns.
   To be honest, like most families, the times we want to use appliances will be the most expensive times because the fuel companies know when we're around & charge accordingly.
   
   
3. Smart Meter more or less since you got it?
   
   Just the same, always check to see what we're using. Check it at times like 1st thing in the morning to check the reading is along same lines as always & nothing untoward has happened

[InkleWinkle]

Tester Challenge 2

Question 1) when do you & your family consume most energy?
Answer) probably same as majority of families - after 4pm weekdays and after 1pm at weekends.

[WowOoo]

Non tester

It's so important that the next generation will be more clued up and proactive than we are.
It should be spoken about in school as well as at home. Mine get told about saving energy and recycling very often. I don't talk with my eldest about the saving money aspect of it - I don't want to burden him with that just yet.
Any opportunity to discuss green issues is a great chance for learning and debate.

[sassymay]

Our school fundraising for solar panels. They all did sponsored cycle on the Pedal-A-Watt bike. One mum suggested ditching the solar panels idea and just setting up a pedalling rota for the children! Not as crazy as it sounds: healthy children and a low carbon footprint

[HootyMcOwlface]

Non tester.
I think its important to talk to your kids about living a greener life in a relaxed fashion, by dropping in ideas in everyday conversation and following through on them,. E.g. switching off lights, using more energy efficient bulbs, not wasting water etc..
Children learn these things at school but they'll get practical ideas and pick up habits for the future from the way their family lives.

[Babycarmen]

I think it is extremely important to teach children about the environment. My DD is 6 and she already knows why we need to turn lights off when they are not needed, and to recycle.. And she finds it all interesting! I think schools should do more from a younger age to encourage this though.

[Everhopeful]

Non-tester

It's vital that this is covered, probably in PSHE lessons, though perhaps as a topic in language classes. Our children also hold their future in their own hands: we can only help them. DD has reached the age where she's more likely to listen to people at school than me, teachers or pupils and really hasn't cottoned on properly at all. Most people reckon we live in a fridge compared to them, but me and DH believe in sticking on another jumper (though DH has a weak spot about turning lights off) and both DH and DD reckon I'm a recycling obsessive. We try to set a good example, but deeper exploration is better done in class where everyone has to listen to the teacher and then explore the concepts more themselves. If I try the same thing, it's evident to me I'm just preaching to someone who wants to go and do something else: it's a dead loss.

[mumsbe]

Hi i think children and parents should be taught about recycling and carbon foot print. We discuss this topic however there is probably a lot more i should know. My daughter always walks when we can and we recycle all that we can

[elizaco]

I'm a non-tester.

I definitely think the younger a child is introduced to green issues the better. By being led by example at home (walking rather than using car, recycling, using less electricity etc..) and by being taught at school.

[nickyh173]

We use extra clothes and blankets to keep ourselves warmer, as the bills go up the extra layers go on!

[lisej]

This is something that I've just realized that I don't think about enough, especially in regards to educating my son about the impact on the environment. I need to find out more and talk about it more at home.

[tinypumpkin]

It is so important that children are aware of environmental issues. even our two year old knows to recycle things (not always correctly!) This is our future and it is important that children understand why energy saving and recycling are so important. I do think that this is something that should be focused on in school as well as at home of course. We are all responsible.

[supermariossister]

Its really important and we have spoken about it and why it is important. i think they should incorporate more to do with energy saving into school curriculum as it all helps to build a bigger picture on why its important.