Smart Energy Meters

Does seem a bit of a waste of time to me too, I shan't bother with one.

As far as I am concerned a complete waste of time and effort. We had a smart meter installed 3 years ago. It was worked for six months, although we never looked at it. We have always been energy aware, I had worked in the industry, so our house was already as energy efficient as possible, and so were we.

Anyway, six months after it was installed we changed energy supplier. Each smart meter is particular to the energy company that fits it. Change your supplier and the smart meter is instantly useless. So after six months our smart meter became useless. The meter reader for our current energy supplier comes round and reads our meter as before and the display unit we were supplied with is at the back of one of the kitchen drawers.

'cunco' I'm with you. I don't see a problem with monitoring our own energy usage and I don't trust the energy companies, their ability to monitor correctly or protect data.

Actually I heard a radio programme recently about massive software problems with different smart meter types and different energy companies: they cause problems switching between suppliers (it may simply be impossible), they can't cope with Victorian or old properties where the meters may be in cellars and they apparently can't cope at all with solar panels.

I gather there have been many problems with accuracy of bills in the USA. Lastly I'm not at all sure about the health or health and safety implications. Again, many people in the US have reported ill health after their installation. So it's no thanks from me! We don't have to have them, they are just an offer. The radio programme claimed that the potential problems were such that they'll probably never be completely rolled out. Good!

Got one and they're great fun when you get them watching what everything costs - and I've finally got DH to turn lights off when he goes out of rooms. I can't really see what the objection is or am I missing something?

Wait and see also

I am with EDF and have asked to go on their list. I cannot read my meters as I have AMD so they used to send a man here every 4- 6 months but then I stupidly asked a friend to do it and I sent that reading off so they have now decided I can read my own meters in future. I would like to have better control of my electricity usage and I think that a smart meter may help me.