Smart meters cause soaring bills True or False

[Vortigern]

Do smart meters cause soaring bills due to inrush currents recorded digitally? Low power factor equipment may cause this???? What is the hive mind conclusion?

 

[buzzlightyear]

Do smart meters cause soaring bills due to inrush currents recorded digitally? Low power factor equipment may cause this???? What is the hive mind conclusion?

Not had any problems since the pass.

 

[freddo]

Do smart meters cause soaring bills due to inrush currents recorded digitally? Low power factor equipment may cause this???? What is the hive mind conclusion?

Higher smart meter bills are almost certainly due to the variable tariff the energy suppliers provide as the standard recommended option. That's why they try to get you to agree to 1/2 hour meter readings. The half hour readings option was helpfully bordered in green in all the annoying letters I get from my supplier. Fark you SSE.

I can guarantee that everyone who has a smart meter in their home didn't read the terms and conditions before agreeing to have one installed. If they did they wouldn't have agreed to it. I spent a lot of time reading the ones from my supplier (it was time consuming as information was spread across a number of links and I had to keep switching back and forth between web pages to find all the information). It was clear they were trying to make the information as difficult to find as possible.

 

[brianmoooore]

Sounds like yet another false rumour on social media.

 

[Spoon]

That's why they try to get you to agree to 1/2 hour meter readings.

Please excuse my ignorance but what difference would it make as to if its a half hour reading or 1 a day reading? At the end of the day you have still used the same amount of electricity. Or have I miss-read something?

 

[littlespark]

What is the hive mind conclusion?

"Resistance is futile!"

 

[brianmoooore]

The bill produced from a smart meter will be exactly the same as the bill produced from any other type of meter, if on the same tariff.
In time, I expect there will be multiple tariffs over the day with smart meters, depending on demand, talking to smart equipment that draws current to take advantage of the cheaper rates. A bit like storage heaters on E7, but much more sophisticated.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

We moved 2 weeks back and currently do not have a smart meter, we stayed with Octopus as I refer so many of my EV charger customers, at £50 a go it is quite lucrative, I referred a commercial customer who has 3 meters/mpans for her BandB/Farm so got £300 as business signups net £100.
We havent actually 'paid' for gas and electric for several months...
So cant really say if I noticed a difference. Our direct debit is a nominal £10 a month.
If anybody does wish to join octopus and we both get £50just ask for the referral code.!!
The main issue is tariffs, our smart meters go in on 9th December, at our last place we would charge car overnight between 12:30-4:30 at 5Pence per kwh.
We also scheduled washing machine, dishwasher etc for overnight, tumble dryer in separate garage aswell. - has multi sensor alarm above!
All my tool battery chargers are on timer plugs to start at 12:30. literally everything we can do overnight we do.
too many tariffs with the 30min meter reads allows them to easily get people to sign up for flexi tariffs that are market reactive so that in the end the customer gets stung.

 

[freddo]

Please excuse my ignorance but what difference would it make as to if its a half hour reading or 1 a day reading? At the end of the day you have still used the same amount of electricity. Or have I miss-read something?

Yes the half hour readings allow the supplier to work out when you use most electricity, morning shower, evening cooking etc. the variable tariff allows them to set the high usage times to a peak rate and the low use times such as at night or when you are at work to a low rate.

 

[James]

I keep getting reminders that my smart meter is ready to be installed at my convenience, Their is no advantage that I can see for the householder so i use the reminders to light my log burner.

 

[Spoon]

Yes the half hour readings allow the supplier to work out when you use most electricity, morning shower, evening cooking etc. the variable tariff allows them to set the high usage times to a peak rate and the low use times such as at night or when you are at work to a low rate.

Ok, from a variable tariff point of view I understand that, but they already know when the usage of electricity goes up for households and they wouldn't be able to do individual tariffs per household as that would be discrimination.

 

[freddo]

they wouldn't be able to do individual tariffs per household as that would be discrimination.

But by agreeing to have a smart meter you accept the smart meter terms and conditions which clearly stats this type of per household adjustable tariff. One of the reasons I don't have a smart meter!

 

[7029 dave]

The only advantage to the user is controlling the amount of energy used with the aid of the IHD, when folk see it plunging into the red they think wow lets knock the usage down, also it does away with estimated billing.
The advantage to the energy supplier no need for meter readers.

 

[brianmoooore]

The only advantage to the user is controlling the amount of energy used with the aid of the IHD, when folk see it plunging into the red they think wow lets knock the usage down, also it does away with estimated billing.
The advantage to the energy supplier no need for meter readers.

At the moment, yes, but ultimately it will become a much more sophisticated version of Economy 7, with multiple tariffs, and hopefully smart appliances will detect these tariffs, and things that can, will use power when it is cheapest.
Advantage to the supplier is that it will smooth out peaks and troughs in demand, or more likely, match the demand to when there is available renewable energy.

 

[Aaron b]

Annoyingly these meters have a contactor in them that if it wasn't behind a password we could turn off the supply, I assume the energy companies could just deactivate it remotely also. E-on and so energy managed to cock my readings up even though I had a smart meter.

 

[Vortigern]

£10 a month.

wHATTTTT! How? I pay 130 pm and 250 when with British gas. I want some of what you are doing. Oh btw I am with octopus. Feel a bit guilty as I have been known to eat a little here and there.

 

[Vortigern]

Anyway what about the wifi radiation from it? Yes I buy a lot of baco foil.

 

[Spoon]

But by agreeing to have a smart meter you accept the smart meter terms and conditions which clearly stats this type of per household adjustable tariff. One of the reasons I don't have a smart meter!

Not wanting a smart meter I have never looked into the T&C and I didn't know about the adjustable tariff.

 

[freddo]

Not wanting a smart meter I have never looked into the T&C and I didn't know about the adjustable tariff.

I didn't really know much about the things. I was quite shocked by some of the conditions listed. I forget what the other concerning things were, it was several months ago I read them.

If I did ever end up with a smart meter I'd want to see what would happen on the IHD when really heavy current is drawn. I've drawn over 130A for short durations during 'educational experiments' here.

 

[telectrix]

costs money to fit a smart meter. suppliers ain't gonna dip into their own funds so who pays the cost?

obviously joe mug the customer, me and you. one way or another they'll get it off us.