I'm with EOn you get a a monitor see what and how much you use.
Any other feedback?
Would you reccomend the smart meter upgrade?
What happens if I end up leaving eon for another supplier?
D
Darkwood
We can go the known pros and cons or we can actually tell you when meters are capable of doing without you ever knowing, not suggesting it happens though.
At present different suppliers do not use a common method to send and recieve data meaning if you switch supplier you could be lumbered with a charge for them to change your original smart with a new one, this risk is higher if the smart meter is generation 1, I believe following gen models were compatible with more suppliers.
Now for the toe dip into conspiracy, the meters can be read remotely and they can also be updated ie firmware etc, there is in my view the ability to alter charge rates for short periods without anyone knowing, if a supplier is a bit let's say dodgy behind the boardroom curtains then what would stop them?
Of course this would be highly illegal and the idea any would try this is as I said still in the world of conspiracy such large pinch of salt on that one and don't make a decision based on this last point.
Ask your supplier if the meter is a gen 1 and push the question if you leave will any other supplier be able to use the existing smart meter.
At present different suppliers do not use a common method to send and recieve data meaning if you switch supplier you could be lumbered with a charge for them to change your original smart with a new one, this risk is higher if the smart meter is generation 1, I believe following gen models were compatible with more suppliers.
Now for the toe dip into conspiracy, the meters can be read remotely and they can also be updated ie firmware etc, there is in my view the ability to alter charge rates for short periods without anyone knowing, if a supplier is a bit let's say dodgy behind the boardroom curtains then what would stop them?
Of course this would be highly illegal and the idea any would try this is as I said still in the world of conspiracy such large pinch of salt on that one and don't make a decision based on this last point.
Ask your supplier if the meter is a gen 1 and push the question if you leave will any other supplier be able to use the existing smart meter.
There’s also the suspected effect that smart meters MAY be causing rcd’s to trip.
Check some forum threads on the subject and get the tin foil out.
Check some forum threads on the subject and get the tin foil out.
Harder to bypass a smets2 and get away with it...just saying
Nah EOn sent a email for a meter reading which me work out how much we used for gas and electricity.
Hi Darkwood.
You are a long term member here, and I respect your experience and knowledge; please take my comments as well intentioned. I don't think we should be putting Gazdkw off getting a smart meter!!
I feel you've presented a slightly cynical view of what this country intended as a valid attempt to make people more aware of their energy use.
I'm retired, admittedly using too much energy (in the kWh sense!) but feel a lot of criticism (generally, I don't mean this particular posting) is directed against smart meters, and the data collection "system", and not enough against the commercial electricity suppliers.
Now all suppliers targets are to install SMETS-2 meters, which do use a common method (sending & receiving data) to two national hubs (independent of the suppliers)
Quite a good narrative of how the Data Communication Company etc is supposed to work here:
The UK Smart Meter Data Ecosystem
Disclaimer: this blog post is about my understanding of the UK’s smart meter data ecosystem and contains some opinions about how it might evolve. These do not in any way reflect those of Ener…
blog.ldodds.com
I don't believe suppliers can charge for having to update your meter (eg if it's a SMETS-1 meter). They might refuse to do it though!
I believe that's all suppliers now.
True. So can other domestic appliances, security cameras, fire alarms, computers, phones, the list goes on.....
Well in theory? I don't doubt the design of the meters and the standards to which they are built and tested, as that's well tied down, and I believe, excepting fault conditions, the data is reported accurately. How the suppliers deal with the data is up to their business ethics, and the law. I've had some pretty rubbish experiences from suppliers myself, but not to the extent of 'fiddling the books'. I don't feel such arguments invalidate the goal to install smart meters, and it's not fair to score it a C1 instead of a C3 for something you fear 'might' happen!
Anyway, rant over. Apologies. Please let me know if I've made any false claims!
The glass is empty and it's bed time
That’s what we’re here for- a balanced discussion.
I still can’t get a smart meter from BG because I have solar panels.
That might have changed now with SMETS2, but I’m not as enthusiastic to keep asking them about it as I once was.
I have an energy monitor, which gives a snapshot of usage, but it doesn’t know the way the electric’s going either.
At night, the reading is what I’m using. By day, it’s what I’m exporting.
I still can’t get a smart meter from BG because I have solar panels.
That might have changed now with SMETS2, but I’m not as enthusiastic to keep asking them about it as I once was.
I have an energy monitor, which gives a snapshot of usage, but it doesn’t know the way the electric’s going either.
At night, the reading is what I’m using. By day, it’s what I’m exporting.
Smart meters can read the actual export and you could be paid the actual export as opposed to deemed export.
As far as the other stuff-
I got my smart meter taken out as I did not want to be switched to pre pay without my authorisation, if you fail a direct debit they can make you go to pre pay at the push of a button.
With a dumb meter they have to apply for a court order which may or may not be granted.
That goes back to Darkwoods comments about unscrupulous suppliers.
It doesn’t matter if it’s possible to change your tariff remotely, they would still need to give you notice they were doing so.
As there are less and less suppliers out there, it’s only the big boys left, really…. They don’t want to be seen doing anything dodgy.
A bit over the top that. I'm sure they would contact you first when the payment failed!
As someone who has been in dispute with one of my suppliers for four years, and have a thick folder of letters threatening various sanctions, including disconnection of supply, my biggest objection to a smart meter is the fact that then contain a contactor which can be used to remotely disconnect the supply An option which I'm sure would have been hinted at by now, if I had one.
Get it in writing.
Will they also fit an isolator, while they are changing the meter?
Having been in metering for 11years, energy suppliers just cannot cut supply.
If money is owed they have a duty to keep the customer on supply with a pre payment meter, and debt can be put on the meter with a recovery charge which will be discussed depending how much debt has been accrued, and what the customer can afford at no interest at all.
Equally with repeat offenders by passing meters to obtain free electricity, the above process is normally applied, the revenue protection teams are even told not to go out and look for by passes as they used to.
The only time I have seen full disconnection ie cable ditched in street is on cannabis farms by order of the DNO.
Energy suppliers dont like the publicity on these matters. They offset their tariff prices to cover such events ie the honest consumer always ends up paying.
If money is owed they have a duty to keep the customer on supply with a pre payment meter, and debt can be put on the meter with a recovery charge which will be discussed depending how much debt has been accrued, and what the customer can afford at no interest at all.
Equally with repeat offenders by passing meters to obtain free electricity, the above process is normally applied, the revenue protection teams are even told not to go out and look for by passes as they used to.
The only time I have seen full disconnection ie cable ditched in street is on cannabis farms by order of the DNO.
Energy suppliers dont like the publicity on these matters. They offset their tariff prices to cover such events ie the honest consumer always ends up paying.
I already have an isolator. Annoyingly fitted by myself last year
whip it out and ask for a new one and sell the old one .
Too much effort for such a small gain. The isolators ain't worth much really
I wonder if this varies by supplier? I don’t doubt your comments at all but I have a customer/friend who is on pre pay / smart meter and the electricity very definitely did just turn off. I’ve been there when it happened.
He then logged onto the portal on his phone - slung then some cash and it came back on again. Opened my eyes a bit!
In some ways this is not dissimilar to the key card meters where it turns off when get to zero. But you could obtain £5 emergency credit on those.
I don’t know the score regarding his standing with the energy company, but know he struggles to make ends meet sometimes so he could have been in debt with them.
I'm on another post at the moment ,typing about isolators speak amongst you selfs ,back soon.
Hi Tim yeah, it sounds like your friend is on a smart prepayment meter, once the emergency has been exhausted it will cut off, and until its topped up it will remain that way.I understand fuel poverty etc, my point really was that technically they cant cut off the supply, as they have provided a means of energy whether it can be afforded is another matter.
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Advantage I have is that I have another supply and meter from a different supplier less than a metre away, the other side of a single block dividing wall. A hour, couple of Henley blocks and 2m of tails, power would be restored, and Scottish Power can go whistle.
We are getting off the point...but one country estate where I work has a substation on site and everything is generally fed from this supply. It's an old school.
One very old bungalow on the edge of the estate had a supply which I've traced to the middle of a road outside the boundary wall, uniquely not from the substation on site.
For 20 years this wasn't known, and this property got free energy. One night this property still mysteriously had power while the rest of the site was subject to a power cut, which led to this anomaly coming to light. My customer then spent 18 months trying to get ManWeb / Scottish Power to install a meter and re-adopt this supply, but it wasn't on the computer and doesn't officially exist. In the end we gave up, and ran a new cable to it from the site supply and simply left the old cutout there with no fuse inside. It's still there and ready for service if needs be!
Reading the little displays or relying on the companies websites can be a pain. There's a free app called loop energy that you can link your meter to and it displays your energy usage. It would be good to work out maximum demand and just if you're curious about your usage.
Are the issues with RCBO's common? Does anyone have direct experience with it and did a metal CU sort it? I've heard it was supposed to be RF being picked up on the functional earth but that seems unlikely considering they are usually connected to the MET.
Are the issues with RCBO's common? Does anyone have direct experience with it and did a metal CU sort it? I've heard it was supposed to be RF being picked up on the functional earth but that seems unlikely considering they are usually connected to the MET.
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