Smart meters.....what's the point

And as the radio ads continue to tell us we can get a Smart Meter installed 'at no extra cost' - the companies are in the process of putting their charges up with reason partly being the cost of rolling out Smart Meters - hold on a sec!
 
Bunkermagnet said:
I think I have decided to avoid them all together. Common sense tells me when I'm using leccy, and when it's cheapest to use it.
I might have more faith in them and the leccy companies if they weren't blaming these things for some of the massive price rises, they take the proverbial.
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Then you might end up with the price hike without the meter.
 
SwingsitlikeHogan said:
And as the radio ads continue to tell us we can get a Smart Meter installed 'at no extra cost' - the companies are in the process of putting their charges up with reason partly being the cost of rolling out Smart Meters - hold on a sec!
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Mind was was installed over a year ago and never had an increase because of it to the best of my knowledge. The smart meter used in conjunction with Hive has reduced my costs by over 10%
 
Crazyface said:
Just why it is assumed that Smart Meters will change peoples behaviour baffles me.
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It might change some people's behaviour but I doubt it will be many people.

Will I measure xx mills into a kettle? No. Will I switch things off that are sitting in standby? No. Will I switch bulbs/lights? Some, but not many.

Should I put another sweater on or turn the heating up?

Gas guzzlers/high performance cars/switching to hybrid cars...

New technology that enhances our comfort, yes. Adopting habits like a second sweater... I must find another tree to hug.
 
Hobbit said:
It might change some people's behaviour but I doubt it will be many people.

Will I measure xx mills into a kettle? No. Will I switch things off that are sitting in standby? No. Will I switch bulbs/lights? Some, but not many.

Should I put another sweater on or turn the heating up?

Gas guzzlers/high performance cars/switching to hybrid cars...

New technology that enhances our comfort, yes. Adopting habits like a second sweater... I must find another tree to hug.
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Well I must be one of the few then.

Will I measure water into a kettle? No but I wont fill it.

I will switch things off standby - if the're not used very much.

Will I switch bulbs-lights off? Yes, why would I not save money?

Putting another sweater on if feeling chilly, rather than turning heating up, does not make one a tree hugger.

:ears:
 
We're being pestered by our provider to have one of these fitted as they are in the area next week. There's only two of you in the house. We know what we use and are careful. Apparently you do not have to have one, so we aren't going to bother. i can't wait for these things to start going wrong and sending incorrect figures to be processed. I'll stick with my meters I think.
 
Crazyface said:
We're being pestered by our provider to have one of these fitted as they are in the area next week. There's only two of you in the house. We know what we use and are careful. Apparently you do not have to have one, so we aren't going to bother. i can't wait for these things to start going wrong and sending incorrect figures to be processed. I'll stick with my meters I think.
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Government legislation has given suppliers a time limited to fit them in all users homes. Eventually you'll have no option.
 
I had one fitted by Scottish Power on each service this year and the one on the gas meter would not send the figures directly to them. It has given a lot of hassle because submitting the reading via the web from the new meter is not accepted because the figure is lower than the last reading I supplied.

I switched supplier this year and it has caused on going problems because the figure supplied by Scottish Power does not match the one I gave the new company.

The new Company does not have a smart meter system so I have had to go back to supplying readings.

The only advantage to me for having one in the first place is that I did not have to go outside in the cold to get the readings and post them them on the website but now that has only become I do have to go outside to get the readings.

So now the meter is only switched on when I need a meter reading.

Having one never changed my use of power.
 
Old Skier said:
Government legislation has given suppliers a time limited to fit them in all users homes. Eventually you'll have no option.
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That's what I thought although I was recently speaking to someone who works in this industry and he has said the legislation has changed. Currently it is a cost to the consumer, i.e. you pay for a smart meter. You can't be forced to pay and the gas/electricity providers have said the government can't force them to install them for free.
 
londonlewis said:
That's what I thought although I was recently speaking to someone who works in this industry and he has said the legislation has changed. Currently it is a cost to the consumer, i.e. you pay for a smart meter. You can't be forced to pay and the gas/electricity providers have said the government can't force them to install them for free.
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I got mine a good couple of years and they were fitted FOX so I didn't realise that you had to pay these days.
 
Smart Meters are a bit like a Fitbit. A fitbit tells you how far you walk but only makes a difference if you use that information and act on it to walk more to hit targets. Smart Meters are the same, tell you your energy use and they are useless unless you take that information and use it to reduce your overall energy useage. If, like our one, it just sits on the side and is ignored then it really has no purpose.
 
GB72 said:
Smart Meters are a bit like a Fitbit. A fitbit tells you how far you walk but only makes a difference if you use that information and act on it to walk more to hit targets. Smart Meters are the same, tell you your energy use and they are useless unless you take that information and use it to reduce your overall energy useage. If, like our one, it just sits on the side and is ignored then it really has no purpose.
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Not quite true as their purpose is much more than encouraging consumers to lower consumption. However, in this particular aspect you are correct.
 
Well I had my leccy supplier telling me it was time to change my meter, so I make the booking. Now I understand with the old mechanical meters why you needed to on a certain time frame, but why with my current digital meter?
Anyway guy turns up, with smart meter. I ask why it has to be changed when its digital...."displays can go blank", valid point but if it was a regular happening they would be changed from production I say. Anyway, I explain I dont want smart meter...no problem he says and marks it as meter refused.
As he said, until the new second generation smart meters are produced and fitted, there is no point in the current ones.
 
Smart houses are here to stay. And although people can resist as much as they want to (and I am sure some people will) , it will become the norm pretty soon for most people. So just embrace it and get on with it.
 
pendodave said:
This.

And the kids.

There is no way that a smart meter will change their behaviour. They just don't get it.

On the privacy issue. This is a huge concern and I'm surprised that there isn't more resistance to it. If there are two things we know about utility companies it is that they are (a) incompetent and (b) willing to do anything to make a quick buck. They will either lose or flog this data as soon as they have it.
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There are vast amounts of data being collected by many companies about you, your habits and lifestyle.

Worrying about NPower doing it now is a bit late.
 
Hacker Khan said:
Smart houses are here to stay. And although people can resist as much as they want to (and I am sure some people will) , it will become the norm pretty soon for most people. So just embrace it and get on with it.
Click to expand...

I always try to be one or two generations behind on modern technology coming out, purely until the latest updates have been proven to work and on the cost. The latest TV might look incredible but wait a couple of years for it to be shown to work consistently and the price to drop and then I'll be in. The same with Smart meters. I'll let others trial them and iron out the bugs and then when that's all sorted I'll get one.
 
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