Smart Meter Anxiety

I have a smart meter so I don’t need to move furniture to read it. I have never unpacked the thing which tells you what you’re using, I don’t need that as I’m careful anyway.

We had one fitted when they first came out. I put the monitor away as all it told us was whether our consumption was high, medium or low. As said by others we are just as careful as we can be so have no desire to wear myself out worrying on a daily basis. I have a friend who has acquired one and is doing just that. I find it useful to not to have to send readings but that is all. We have a very occasional visit from a company employed by British Gas who checks it.

Oldnproud

Both actually, I was keeping an eye on the display unit and kept saying ignore it I don't think it's accurate. Then the bill appeared on my account and for the first time ever was actually lower than the D/D put in place nearly 2 years ago when I fixed my tariff. This year is no warmer than the previous 2 and no doubt I'll get a shock when my tariff ends in August but for now I'm happy. Also my heating is rarely on as the house is very well insulated so the gas portion of the bill is predominantly water heating and cooking, usually less than 30 quid a month the rest is electricity.

FlexibleFriend

I had a smart meter fitted on 4th May and have been surprised that my bill has dropped and I've done nothing to reduce my usage as I thought the best thing to do was carry on as normal and see what happened and I would be able to cut back where necessary once I was fully informed. So far I'm really happy with the meter.

Is it the display unit telling you how much you are spending (in £s), or have you had an actual bill based on the exact number of units of energythat you have used over the last month?

If it is the first of those, be careful. I have heard it said that the display unit figures are not always accurate.

If it's the second, that's great.

Though bear in mind that the weather has been getting warmer, and usage does tend to fall at this time of year anyway.

I think some of you are confused with smart meters and monitors. The meters are in your utility cupboard giving readings hourly, daily, weekly, monthly depending which option you chose when they were installed. The monitor which tells you how much it costs for example to put the kettle on for a cuppa (3p in my case) can be plugged in wherever you want (the kitchen in my case). However you don't need to have the monitor on at all it can be left in the cupboard with the meter it isn't a necessity.

I've had a smart meter installed about 18 months ago, it worked for about 2 months and since then, cannot connect to EDF to give gas readings. So all the hype saying they can talk to the energy supplier is nonsense and despite making a formal complaint, EDF have admitted that Gas readings for the North West are not being transmitted so thousands of homes are not able to use their Smart Meters properly. It's now in the corner of my understairs cupboard.

I am with Eon-Next and have had to have a smart meter as part of the fixed rate I agreed with them in December. The engineer who came to install it said that if I changed suppliers, my meter is the Mark 2 version which will be fine with a changeover.

I might add, we just put the display in the cupboard with the meter and never looked at it. We are not extravagent with fuel, and never have been; no lights on everywhere all the time and curtains closed at dusk, tv not on standby etc.

We have never refuse a smart meter and one was installed about 10 years ago, but as we changed supplier six months later, it immediately became an unsmart meter.

Thus it stayed for another 8 years or so. No one asked if we wanted a smarter meter. Then 18 months ago we had an extension built and this required moving the meter. So they came round took out the old smart, turned unsmart meter and replaced it with a standard unsmart meter.

This took us by surprise because as we have never refused a smart meter and accepted one 10 years ago. My feeling now is that the ball is, so to speak, in their court. They have installed an unsmart meter when they could and should have installed a smart meter. Some time they may realise it and want to put a smart meter in, but that is up to them.

Meanwhile I just submit readings when requested.

One of the major expenditures in the house is the kettle, make sure you only boil enough for a cup of tea

I can’t see how much gas I’m using, but I think I might like to. I increased my direct debit for gas in the summer, and got an email today to say I’m on track. As said before, nowt we can do about standing charges, but lights etc don’t cost much, it’s anything which heats up that runs away with electricity, so I suppose the wee monitor can be handy to give you an idea of your usage.

I’m with Shell - not by choice.

I pay £198 pm. Variable flex7. They have offered £183 on another tariff, so I went onto Martin Lewis’s site and had a look at other suppliers to see if I could get a better deal

???? with my detailed it ranges fro £300 up to £450+ . That can’t be right surely?

I just hope it isn’t shades of things to come.

I used to be with E-on Next glamma and was ‘threatened’ that the tariff I was on was only available, subject to having agreed to a smart meter. It was finally installed (in the garage, so I don’t have to see it much) after half my drive had to be dug up and Northern Power had to be involved too, because of a safety issue. Anyway, less than 6 months later, I switched to Octopus, but the E-on smart meter is compatible.
It’s the daily standing charges that hike up the cost - sometimes more than the energy I’ve used.

I found that Eon next seems to have all of its fixed rate offers including a requirement to agree to have a smart meter fixed.

So I have stayed on Flex.

In any case I thik that all their fixed rate offers now are much higher than the current rate for Flex, in anticipation of higher prices for Flex from 1 October 2022.

I am on a fixed rate until late August with E-on and have refused requests for them fitting a smart meter for quite a few years,E-on have now changed to E-on Next and I have received requests from them to have the smart meter fitted as part of my fixed rate agreement something that I have never ever agreed to, in the e-mail they came across as quite threatening to be honest,so worried if I don't agree to their request will I get a good rate when renewal is due in late August ?

Keeper1

I am not convinced that Smart Meters are for the consumer’s benefit. I believe they are for the supplier’s benefit they can monitor when peak usage times are and manage their capacity to meet those peak periods however they can also alter the price for those peak periods which I believe is the ultimate aim. Paranoid maybe

People can be regarded as paranoid until something happens and then everybody thinks like they do.

Like always taking my own pen and not using the one on the counter at the bank and not touching the button on a pelican crossing.

We had a smart meter installed earlier this year. I love it as I'm the type who likes to know exactly how I am spending my money. Little things like realising it costs me four times.as mu h to boil a litre of water in my electric kettle as it does to use the gas. I used to use the electric kettle to boil water for cooking. Now it is done on the hob so e.g. potatoes and rice are added to boiling water instead of vice versa. Knowing what is boosting my bills has allowed me to cut down dramatically.

I am not convinced that Smart Meters are for the consumer’s benefit. I believe they are for the supplier’s benefit they can monitor when peak usage times are and manage their capacity to meet those peak periods however they can also alter the price for those peak periods which I believe is the ultimate aim. Paranoid maybe

I would like a smart meter to save me having to send in my own readings to EDF. However, as my gas meter is in my kitchen and my electricity one is in a cupboard on a shared landing, they are too far from each other to work.

So, I have to continue to do my own readings.
I do think people are going to find out that it is not the actual
usage that is going to hike up the bills - it is the standing charge - and that will be need to be paid no matter how cold and dark you are. Should not be too bad this year with the £400 being paid directly off our bills - plus other assistance payments. Future years, none of these will be forthcoming and that is when it is going to bite.

Surely most of know what things eat up electricity, etc without having to be shown it on a little gadget.

EDF.. Attempted to put on in.. Total palaver.
Fine sorted easy for electric but this installer wanted to check my cooker by pulling it out, then as he could not clearly open the front of the boiler (sadly in the kitchen) due to it catching on the top of the overhead plinth he wanted to condemn it. Only had a service that month, not a problem with the "Gasman" who came.
Kitchen replaced 2 years prior and boiler just before that, didn't want that muppet to start wrecking my kitchen.
Told to politely get lost, and disappear.
So meter that was left, thrown in a cupboard, back to the old fashion way, and make sure the lights get turned off.

I had a smart meter fitted on 4th May and have been surprised that my bill has dropped and I've done nothing to reduce my usage as I thought the best thing to do was carry on as normal and see what happened and I would be able to cut back where necessary once I was fully informed. So far I'm really happy with the meter.

I have resisted all the nagging for what seems like years then because my eyesight is poor and reading it was getting a problem even with a torch I succumbed
I had to have a four hour window free so I moved my days around and they booked it about three Saturdays ago They arrived on time and worked for about an hour then got word that their system was down so it would have to be aborted He then had to put his hours work back together again
I ve never heard a peep since
My daughters little portable thingy went straight in a drawer she doesn’t use she said itwas two depressing watching it go round and out of her control

The gn photo gremlin struck again (I yearn for an edit button)
The SMART METER is the middle photo.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202206/medium-801802-20220603-120757.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202206/medium-497303-20220603-120743.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202206/medium-293258-20220603-120757.jpg

There does seem to be a bit of confusion about smart meters.
The first photo is my smart meter for gas.
The second is unnecessary and stays in the box. This display isn't the smart meter, nor is it needed for the setup to work. It has to be plugged in thus using extra electricity! Put it away!

Was advised against having one in spite of supplier's pressure. Very happy to still be without one.