Smart Meters

I'm with first utility, read the meters every month, not a hassle. Someone kept ringing and asking to speak to me 're meters (bill is my name,) when I finally spoke to salesman I said no and he was fine
As someone has already said if you change suppliers you'd have to get a new meter, why didn't Ofgem insist that the meters were compatible?

I've refused installation. I don't see how it advantages me at all.

Hi - I received a letter telling me that I was going to get a Smarty-Arse meter (whether I want it or not) due to my current meter being made obsolete.

I was informed that this was FREE! And then on BBC Radio 4's Moneybox programme a rep from NPower owned up that one reason for increasing energy prices was being installing a Smart Meter was costing approx. £400.00p per household....well, fancy that!

I was just told that a smart meter was going to be fitted and since I didn't have any strong feelings one way or another I let them get on with it.

However I find it quite ridiculous that when we have a competitive energy market where consumers can change suppliers at frequent intervals that it never occurred to either the energy suppliers or the government that all smart meters should be compatible.

As thing stand at the moment, by 2020, or whatever the date the government set for every home in the country to have a smart meter, that could happen, but the majority of the meters will have no more functionality than meters they replaced because the majority of us will no longer be buying our energy from the company that fitted the meter.

In other words, across the country the energy companies will have spent hundreds of millions of pounds, all paid by us in our fuel bills, to fit meters that only work if you stay with the same supplier.

I had a smart meter fitted for my electricity last year, no problems as far as I'm concerned, bills are no longer estimated which is brilliant. My indoor meter sits in my Lounge but I rarely look at it, it does warn me if I've used a lot of electric that day, usually when I've used my washer/dryer & oven, normally I'm well below estimated usage.

I cannot have a gas one fitted yet as my gas meter is "in the ground" rather than wall mounted. It is easy for me to read so it's not a problem.

Am I right in thinking that these studies have been done in America as they mention cell phone not mobile phone, if this is the case I would be very sceptical. I have not personally come across any reports warning of dangers

Also I did not have to pay for my smart meter, I am with SSE

If you don't wanna smart meter, don't havva smart meter, but don't get paranoid about them.

They can't send reports of what appliances you have and when you are at home using them, they only measure how much power you have used. You can choose how often your smart meter sends data to your gas and electricity supplier (monthly is minimum, daily or half-hourly are optional)

GCHQ has ensured that smart meters have adequate security after criticising the original system.

"Your smart meter records information about how much gas and electricity you’ve used, but doesn’t store other personal information that could identify you, such as your name, address or bank account. Your Energy Supplier will continue to hold your personal details on your account." and they have those details whether you have a smart meter or a dumb one.
www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/what-data-is-my-smart-meter-allowed-to-collect

Public Health England provides advice and information on the health implications of smart meters. If they have any vested interest at all, it is in keeping you healthy, not making you ill.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/smart-meters-radio-waves-and-health/smart-meters-radio-waves-and-health

chenes Apart from this, all the information which smart meters collect is then transmitted freely, and this can be intercepted by ANYONE. All your very private life information can be used by anyone who cares to log into it.
Could you please clarify what you mean by this. You seem to be suggesting that the smart meter somehow absorbs information from other devices and is then accessible to other people. How does that work?
We had one installed on Monday. I find it very interesting to see how much energy we're using on different days and how much difference it makes if I don't cook or use the dishwasher or washing machine.
I'm looking forward to next week when DD will be here as we will be able to tell just how much her habit of leaving all the lights on all the time costs us

We have a smart meter, sits in the corner of the room, quietly, I look at it when I'm passing, it has not stopped us using anything. Ours was fitted by British Gas. There was no pressure to have one, the engineer asked when he was here servicing the boiler etc if we wanted one, at that time it was said they would be compulsory by 2020 but I think that ideas gone into the ether. We've got it and not bothered by it.

I don't think there's anything of particular interest in this little cog's life that big bro doesn't already know.

He did such a hard sell that I did speculate afterwards that the engineers might get some sort of bonus(may be being unfair there though).

Smart meters. Big Brother is watching you...

I have recently been offered one, but turned it down.
Don't see the point of them.
Apparently you dont have to have one.

BlueBelle, thanks for your post re. daughter having problems with her meter clicking. I've obviously had a narrow escape, since I cannot tolerate such sounds. B.Gas engineer came recently to fix boiler and hassled talked us into making an appointment to have one fitted. So glad now that I cancelled a few days later. I've never had a problem reading meter regularly and entering on-line (in fact I quite enjoy it).

Evidence-based medicine is based on research and data - that is what the name means.

Of course, if you don't trust anyone to tell you the truth, then you won't allow any electric or electronic aplliances into your house. You would worry that the electricity is leaking out of all those sockets and lying around until there is enough of ot to electrocute you.

How about the screen you are posting from?

A theory needs to be supported by empirical evidence. If it isn't then it's not valid.

But you had only mentioned one article chenes!

It all depends on whether you believe what those with a vested interest tell you (i.e. the manufacturers of these devices and the energy companies). I prefer to do my own thorough research.

Something that hasn't been mentioned is the fact that it's introducing yet more radiation into our homes. On its own, it's probably within safety limits, but we are becoming awash with electromagnetic radiation all around us all the time. Do we really need to add smart meters to the mix?

i've had smart meters fitted and have a gadget in the kitchen which tells me how much energy i've used during the day. i've not modified my energy use behaviour in the slightest and have no intentions of doing so.
i've never heard anything about radiation from the meters and, as both meters are outside the house, it doesn't bother me. the little monitoring gadget lives on top of my microwave and i use it mainly to tell the time!!
one thing that i love about the smart meters is that i don't have to read the meters every month and submit the readings
to british gas.
as i've no intention of changing suppliers i will stay with mine and their smart meters until the end.

Ummm - "TRUTH: RF emitted by smart meters is well below the limits set by Federal Communications Commission and it is below levels produced by other common household devices like cell phones, baby monitors, satellite TVs, and microwaves. In fact, you would have to be exposed to the RF from a smart meter for 375 years to get a dose equivalent to that of one year of 15-minutes-per-day cell phone use."
The truth about smart meters

And - science-based medicine.com

I have no interest in smart technology. I have my own smart brain to tell me what to do.

I merely enquired because I do not react to alarmist messages until that sender has justified the case for their alarm.

As my smart meter is not operational and only measures gas consumption, and does not transmit it to anyone, which is why I have to read the figures and send them to the supplier, very few of these concerns will affect me.

Being practical the health of DH and I, indeed especially myself, has been remarkably good, over the last five years we have had this meter, compared with the five years previous to that.

Who needs a piece of equipment that costs you money to use it to tell you how extravagant you are.
As a pensioner living alone I am careful to the point of ng miserley
Look around every room and work out for myself how to cut back on electric I do not have gas.ok I live alone so my costs are bound to be lower than a family of two or four.
I have not used my tumble dryer for two years.I wait until the weather is ok for hanging washing out before loading my w.machine using a low temp /economy.Shower never bath.
I have already sold my dish washer
I wash up once a day.
Have a one day a week to make cakes, pies casseroles anything I can freeze and most things can be warmed up in the microwave
I have compared my meter readings from last year and I can see I am using less although we have had some very cold days.

Microwave radiation from a smart meter operates on a wavelength of around a foot and the meter only transmits data for around 2 secs. You have a much higher radiation exposure with your mobile phone.

MOnica - there are very valid problems with the constant microwave radiation given off by "smart meters". Please go on to the link for the "stopsmartmeters,org" website - when you read all that is known about massive microwave radiation, you will be very alarmed. It is like having multiple Mobile Phone Repeater Masts in your house, which are operating 24/7 at a very damaging rate, and there are VERY serious health problems now diagnosed in occupants of houses with smart meters. You wouldn't stand inside an X-Ray machine 24 hours a day would you? Well, this is practically what you are doing if you allow a huge, incessant dose of Microwave Radiation to penetrate your body from a smart meter. Apart from this, all the information which smart meters collect is then transmitted freely, and this can be intercepted by ANYONE. All your very private life information can be used by anyone who cares to log into it. Would you let anyone spy on you willy-nilly? That is what you are doing if you have a smart meter.
But there are just some people who can't be helped - I have tried!!