Smart meters

I’m with octopus and got an email saying our meter was coming to the end of its certification and we needed to have a smart meter. I replied saying I didn’t want one, was there an alternative? They said they are not compulsory but it may malfunction or be a fire hazard. This is all because the gov want everyone to have one I think it’s by 2030. We have two little cupboards easily accessible on the outside wall. Octopus send me a reminder online every month, and I go outside, read the meters and send them the reading. I have never had an estimated bill so I’m sticking with the old ones until I am forced to change.

Notagranny44

They told us some time ago that we "needed" them. When they came to look at our old, thickwalled stone-built house, they couldn't get a phone signal near the meter, so gave up and went away! They haven't bothered us since!

That is what I keep telling our electricity supplier but they say they will send an engineer to check. We can only get a mobile signal upstairs or out in the yard.

Scottish Power are on a campaign at the moment, first I had an email, then a phone call, and now I have been offered a £100 Amazon voucher to get one installed. It's tempting, but I still don't want one.

Anyone changed supplier as I've heard that can be a problem when you've a meter?
Mind you, that was a few years back.

I’m about to get my third smart meter installed 🙄 the first two went “dumb” within weeks of being installed- and installation took ages because of our thick, solid stone, internal walls.
I’m tired of the contortions needed to read them at the moment - they are in different but equally inaccessible cupboards; one under the stairs, one high in the kitchen. Because of the age of the house and said walls I can’t have them moved.
The current provider has finally offered me an acceptable deal on my fuel bills if I let them change them to the newer smart meters , so I’m interested (but not very hopeful )

If I want and need to use my kettle - I will use my kettle - despite being able(or unable) to find out how much it's costing me. Same thing with any gadget
If there's power shortages - they can either switch 'everybody' off - OR THEY CAN INCREASE , TEMPORARILY - the tariff at YOUR end, if you have a 'smartmeter'.
If you don't have one-they cannot do this.

knspol

I haven't got one and don't want one, I ignore emails telling me I need one and no longer seem to get the, too many to mention, phone calls. One thing that really annoyed me about the campaign to install smart meters was the promise that it would make your bills cheaper - what a load of nonsense, I think we all realise that if we turn off the heating, use the tumble dryer less etc etc then our bills go down without the need to be constantly looking to see how much each appliance is costing.

You’ve got it in a nutshell knspol.👏👏
You would have to have been living in a cave for the last 10 years to not know which appliances cost the most to run.

I haven't got one and don't want one, I ignore emails telling me I need one and no longer seem to get the, too many to mention, phone calls. One thing that really annoyed me about the campaign to install smart meters was the promise that it would make your bills cheaper - what a load of nonsense, I think we all realise that if we turn off the heating, use the tumble dryer less etc etc then our bills go down without the need to be constantly looking to see how much each appliance is costing.

I love my smart meter! It helps me keep track of my usage and what appliances are using the most. I am with Utilita and there is no standing charge for the meter either. Price is reasonable for this day and age and it hasn’t gone wrong…yet! Some utility companies are obviously better than others but I do think we have to change with the times and realise that some long standing ways of doing things will eventually become obsolete.

one of the main reasons for my becoming an octopus was annoyance at being constantly nagged by calls and letters to get a smart meter.
that was e-on, or their meter-fitting contractor.
i had told them repeatedly that i didn't want one.
a friend whom i recommended to octopus had to actually wait to get a smart meter fitted by octopus.
amd when they couldn't complete the job on the same day, as one meter was outside and it was raining, they credited her £10.
people who want smart meters, fine.
it's being harassed about them which i object to.

grandtanteJE65
I’m in favour of smart water meters. After installation our water/sewage bill went from £72 pm to £10. Since the recent increase it is now about 1/3 of the pre meter bill and I’m £72+ in credit.
On the other hand, DD received a fuel bill of nearly £500 thanks to her smart meter and is still waiting for it to be sorted out.

but why would anyone resist having a smart meter? No going into inaccessible spaces to get a reading, and you can see exactly what you’re using. Don’t understand why people resist them

I had a smart meter fitted yesterday - hope that is not a horrible mistake! I moved house recently, and the meters are at the back of a little cupboard on the floor - totally inaccessible as far as I am concerned, so I am delighted that I wont have to read the meters myself. I questioned the men who came yesterday quite thoroughly - they said you don't pay any more than you did before. So - hopefully I wont have any problems and if my gas and electricity supplier wanted to fit new meters (the old ones were very old) at their expense, then that is their problem!!

We had a meter installed but it only reads the electricity usage when it feels like it and can't manage the gas at all as the meters are too far apart.

I've had one years
It saves me getting to the floor and crawling under the stairs to read the meter
I also find it useful because I can see how much I'm using

I fully understand that you objected to the way you were contacted and the person's insistance, but honestly a smart meter is a boon.

I know longer have to be in on three seperate occasions when someone from the electricity company, the district heating plant, and the water works need access to the house to read our meters.

As these were all, and still are, installed in a very small cellar, the announcement of the first person's arrival usually necessitated tidying up in the cellar. Now I can do so when it suits me, rather than when someone needs access.

I can and do still keep an eye on how much water, heat and electricity I use, either by reading the meters, or by accessing the relevant company's home-page, where the details are listed day-by-day.

I am all for any kind of technology that makes life easier - and smart meters certainly do.

When I got my house about 3 years ago it had a meter and a smart meter. I read the meter and send monthly readings in and have never bothered to plug in the smart meter.

NO NO NO - another invasion of our privacy! What next ? No way

I've been with Octopus for years (early adopter). I've had a smart meter for about four years and have found it helps me control my energy usage.
However, the script given to Mollygo's caller was poorly conceived.

The same happened to us twice.

I’ve had no problems with the smart meters in our current house nor the previous property.
I had them put in this house as both meters are in quite a difficult place to get at and require getting on my hands and knees with a torch to read the meters. The only advantage for me is that I don’t need to submit readings - I can’t see how they help to save money as they advertise - my DH says if you need the heating etc on you need it…….I rarely look at the smart meter anyway.
My brother whose an electrician kept going on about how he’s never have a smart meter (so I kept quiet about ours) that was until he saw a good offer which he couldn’t take up unless he had one installed. Now he raves on about how good they are and how he can’t understand why everyone doesn’t get one.😆

Quizzy

Mollygo you were wonderful! Got what you wanted. On the other hand, years ago I had smart meters installed as part of planning for old age forgetfulness mobility problems, etc. All went well for a few years now the gas meter has gone dumb and edf wont mend it though they keep bothering my neighbour to have one. And they had the cheek to suggest I get a neighbour to read the now stupid meter for me.

The smart meter for our electricity supply did fail, but it is obvious when this has happened because you get an estimated bill. The company replaced it very quickly and I was not charged for the electricity used since the meter stopped working.

winterwhite

Last time we had a phone call and was told ours 'needed replacing' I asked why, saying I'd lived in houses with meters far older than our current ones, and never heard of one being declared 'obsolete'. Of course if they break down you'd be in their hands, but has anyone come across a well-functioning meter in an ordinary house really being obsolete.

When I asked whether it was compulsory and he said no but they were "mandated offer them".

I think that utility companies often replace the meters when they've reached a certain age, this has happened to us a few times over the years.

The only way they save you money is by showing you how much it’s costing to have various appliances on.

When I get up, I usually have the kettle boiling to make my coffee, the toaster on to make my toast, and the microwave cooking my porridge.

All on at the same time for however long it takes. No idea what it costs.

So what good would a smart meter do by telling me?

“Well, I’ll not have a coffee, won’t bother with toast, can do without porridge today”.

Primrose53

I haven’t met a person yet who has aSmart meter and is happy with it.

I'm happy with mine. I don't use the consumer display as it doesn't tell me anything I need to know, but smart meters send regular readings to your supplier so you never get estimated bills. If the price changes you know that you will be charged the correct amount as they have exact readings for the day of the change.
Obviously there will be some properties where insufficient signal is available to send a meter reading so there is no point in having one there.
Last year there were experimental schemes with some suppliers which gave you bonus points to reduce your bill if you used less power during specified peak periods. Hardly any reduction for us, but I'm assuming that this aspect will eventually be expanded. I don't mind making an effort to use less power in peak periods, at our last house we had a night/day type of meter (once called Economy 7) and saved a decent amount of money by using appliances with a high power demand at night (dishwashers and washering machines for example).
I don't know why some tariffs are only available with smart meters, but in general having a smart meter doesn't actually cost you any more.