Energy Smart Meters

[offshorehibby]

I'm back with Scottish gas supplying my gas and electricity. They've emailed me with the offer of a 'free' upgrade to a Smart Meter. Anybody got one, is it worth the hassle.

[Galahibby]

Yeh. Thought I was doing really great for the first few months then wondered why my bill was double what the meter was saying. Turned out it wasn't registering my gas! I've no idea at all how accurate it is now, I kind of gave up checking it and if they try and put my direct debit up I'll worry about it then.

[patch1875]

Does it still work if you switch suppliers again?

[Jim44]

I took up the Scottish Gas offer for Smart meters a few years ago. Two guys arrived, spent two hours changing both meters and on completion, I heard one of them mutter, "Oh, *****." It turned out that the mobile signal was Vodafone and the signal in my house was far to weak to work with the meters. They had to spend another couple of hours replacing the old ones. Unless they have extended their contract for mobile supply to other suppliers or have improved the Vodafone signal in my area, I would be wary of going down that road again. Mind you, I've been told that it is a Government priority for all households to have smart meters by 2018. :confused: No chance.

[heretoday]

Does it still work if you switch suppliers again?
I read on the Martin Lewis money website that if you switch supplier the smart meter reverts to being an old style meter for a length of time.

[beensaidbefore]

My Mrs works for BG and deals with smart meter calls, mostly complaints. We don't have one, and have no intention of getting one soon. Too many gremlins and issues that need sorted before we do.

[beensaidbefore]

I took up the Scottish Gas offer for Smart meters a few years ago. Two guys arrived, spent two hours changing both meters and on completion, I heard one of them mutter, "Oh, *****." It turned out that the mobile signal was Vodafone and the signal in my house was far to weak to work with the meters. They had to spend another couple of hours replacing the old ones. Unless they have extended their contract for mobile supply to other suppliers or have improved the Vodafone signal in my area, I would be wary of going down that road again. Mind you, I've been told that it is a Government priority for all households to have smart meters by 2018. :confused: No chance.

There is a big push for it but like u say won't happen. Not sure how they can force me to change something that ain't broke. Is there legislation etc to support the big push? All it will do when fully implemented is put more folk out of work.

[Jack]

Do you have to pay extra for this?

I saw an advert for some utility thing that was £7 a month. I'd this something else?

I don't pay much attention to adverts.

[hibby19]

Do you have to pay extra for this?

I saw an advert for some utility thing that was £7 a month. I'd this something else?

I don't pay much attention to adverts.

No extra costs. The energy suppliers are required to offer every house in Britain a Smart Meter by 2020, free of charge.

The idea is that it eradicates the need for estimated bills as it sends your usage data back to your supplier in near real time so they have a much more accurate picture of what you're actually using and charge accordingly. The customer also gets a small tabletop unit which allows you to monitor your usage and give you an idea of how you could change your usage habits and hence save money.

Personally, I think they're a good idea if they work as they are supposed to. Paying exactly what you should be paying whilst giving you the facility to see when you're using too much is all good in my book.

[Jack]

No extra costs. The energy suppliers are required to offer every house in Britain a Smart Meter by 2020, free of charge.

The idea is that it eradicates the need for estimated bills as it sends your usage data back to your supplier in near real time so they have a much more accurate picture of what you're actually using and charge accordingly. The customer also gets a small tabletop unit which allows you to monitor your usage and give you an idea of how you could change your usage habits and hence save money.

Personally, I think they're a good idea if they work as they are supposed to. Paying exactly what you should be paying whilst giving you the facility to see when you're using too much is all good in my book.

Thanks.

[beensaidbefore]

No extra costs. The energy suppliers are required to offer every house in Britain a Smart Meter by 2020, free of charge.

The idea is that it eradicates the need for estimated bills as it sends your usage data back to your supplier in near real time so they have a much more accurate picture of what you're actually using and charge accordingly. The customer also gets a small tabletop unit which allows you to monitor your usage and give you an idea of how you could change your usage habits and hence save money.

Personally, I think they're a good idea if they work as they are supposed to. Paying exactly what you should be paying whilst giving you the facility to see when you're using too much is all good in my book.

Think you have hit the nail on the head. The issue at the moment is the don't seem to be working as well as they should and still lots of problems figuring out how to get signal issues, topping up for payg metres and issues with transferring etc as has been mentioned above.

[offshorehibby]

Haha, well six years down the line and i've gone full circle and ended up back with British Gas and they're back trying to get me onto the energy smart meter.

Obviously we 6 years on since i first asked the question, what are peoples thoughts on energy smart meters now.

[Hibbyradge]

I've asked for a smart meter for 7 years and I still haven't got one!

[silverhibee]

I've asked for a smart meter for 7 years and I still haven't got one!

I have been waiting for 2 years now, engineer has turned up a few times and decided it’s a two man job, other times they have been a no show, got an appointment on Monday for to be fitted but got a funny feeling it will be another no show from engineers. Each no show gets me £30 of credit.

[Alfiembra]

I got Smart meters from Scottish Power 12 years ago then switched suppliers about 5 years ago to Bulb.
Bulb are unable to read Smart meters supplied by anyone other than themselves and offered to replace them
I declined and this year the battery in my Gas meter gave up the ghost and the display stopped working.
My meter had to be replaced and was replaced by Bulb with a refurbished old style mechanical meter.

[McD]

I got Smart meters from Scottish Power 12 years ago then switched suppliers about 5 years ago to Bulb.
Bulb are unable to read Smart meters supplied by anyone other than themselves and offered to replace them
I declined and this year the battery in my Gas meter gave up the ghost and the display stopped working.
My meter had to be replaced and was replaced by Bulb with a refurbished old style mechanical meter.


1st generation smart meters are only able to be read by the supplier who had them installed. 2nd gen ones can be read by new providers if you switch. Ofgem were supposed to be working on a software update for 1st gen meters to allow them to be read by by different suppliers as you switch, but that’s been a while.

[cabbageandribs1875]

Boost finally installed a smart meter for my electricity last September after a few years of me telling them to bolt, finally relented on condition it was a smets2 meter, after a few engineer cancellations, 2 x £30 they owed me, then a total muck up at their end when i was left with no electricity overnight(£25 goodwill payment) then something else i can't remember they ended up owing me £110 i think it was, but the IHD wouldn't connect so it was call after call to them complaining, end story was it essentially ended up a dumb meter, i just couldn't talk to them anymore so my daughter started calling them, she's worked in a few utilities customer services so she knew that they couldn't get away with the excuses they were giving me all the time, so fast forward to approx 3 months ago and they finally gave me my £110 compensation but i just told them to put it towards the £600+ bill i had ran up due to the meter being a 'dumb' meter, turned out some fandan on their side hadn't connected it properly to their server, tho the meter is now connecting to their severs the damn IHD doesn't connect to the meter so if i want to see what's using up the electricity/find out how much credit i have i have to climb up ladders to get to the meter, sort of defeats the purpose of the meter being 'smart' :rolleyes: been waiting 10 weeks now for a replacement IHD unit so i've put my daughter on notice for calling them, my gas is with Scottish power and they've been telling me for several weeks i'm entitled to a smart meter for my Gas but every time i fill in online form there's usually a problem because my meter is actually on an outside wall, so 3 weeks ago after filling in form again it's went through and they are coming on wednesday, i'm positive the engineer will say he can't fit it cause the meter is outside :greengrin

[Santa Cruz]

Boost finally installed a smart meter for my electricity last September after a few years of me telling them to bolt, finally relented on condition it was a smets2 meter, after a few engineer cancellations, 2 x £30 they owed me, then a total muck up at their end when i was left with no electricity overnight(£25 goodwill payment) then something else i can't remember they ended up owing me £110 i think it was, but the IHD wouldn't connect so it was call after call to them complaining, end story was it essentially ended up a dumb meter, i just couldn't talk to them anymore so my daughter started calling them, she's worked in a few utilities customer services so she knew that they couldn't get away with the excuses they were giving me all the time, so fast forward to approx 3 months ago and they finally gave me my £110 compensation but i just told them to put it towards the £600+ bill i had ran up due to the meter being a 'dumb' meter, turned out some fandan on their side hadn't connected it properly to their server, tho the meter is now connecting to their severs the damn IHD doesn't connect to the meter so if i want to see what's using up the electricity/find out how much credit i have i have to climb up ladders to get to the meter, sort of defeats the purpose of the meter being 'smart' :rolleyes: been waiting 10 weeks now for a replacement IHD unit so i've put my daughter on notice for calling them, my gas is with Scottish power and they've been telling me for several weeks i'm entitled to a smart meter for my Gas but every time i fill in online form there's usually a problem because my meter is actually on an outside wall, so 3 weeks ago after filling in form again it's went through and they are coming on wednesday, i'm positive the engineer will say he can't fit it cause the meter is outside :greengrin

My gas meter is outside, I have a smart meter installed. Was offered it when I switched suppliers several years ago.

Unless I've missed something, I don't see why anyone would be reluctant to have one. It removes the inconvenience of having to provide meter readings. I have the standalone monitor, but have never used it as I don't want to fixate on what's costing the most to run.

[Hibbyradge]

My gas meter is outside, I have a smart meter installed. Was offered it when I switched suppliers several years ago.

Unless I've missed something, I don't see why anyone would be reluctant to have one. It removes the inconvenience of having to provide meter readings. I have the standalone monitor, but have never used it as I don't want to fixate on what's costing the most to run.

So it's ok to have smart meters outside?

[speedy_gonzales]

Re smart meters, how often are you billed by your utility company?
We had to get smart meters installed back in June (original meter had failed). My online account says I have smart meters so I don't have the ability to submit online readings.
My DD had been increased to reflect the increase in the standard variable rate but no money has came off my account in 4 months and my credit balance is just growing.
Should billing occur weekly, monthly, quarterly?

[offshorehibby]

Boost finally installed a smart meter for my electricity last September after a few years of me telling them to bolt, finally relented on condition it was a smets2 meter, after a few engineer cancellations, 2 x £30 they owed me, then a total muck up at their end when i was left with no electricity overnight(£25 goodwill payment) then something else i can't remember they ended up owing me £110 i think it was, but the IHD wouldn't connect so it was call after call to them complaining, end story was it essentially ended up a dumb meter, i just couldn't talk to them anymore so my daughter started calling them, she's worked in a few utilities customer services so she knew that they couldn't get away with the excuses they were giving me all the time, so fast forward to approx 3 months ago and they finally gave me my £110 compensation but i just told them to put it towards the £600+ bill i had ran up due to the meter being a 'dumb' meter, turned out some fandan on their side hadn't connected it properly to their server, tho the meter is now connecting to their severs the damn IHD doesn't connect to the meter so if i want to see what's using up the electricity/find out how much credit i have i have to climb up ladders to get to the meter, sort of defeats the purpose of the meter being 'smart' :rolleyes: been waiting 10 weeks now for a replacement IHD unit so i've put my daughter on notice for calling them, my gas is with Scottish power and they've been telling me for several weeks i'm entitled to a smart meter for my Gas but every time i fill in online form there's usually a problem because my meter is actually on an outside wall, so 3 weeks ago after filling in form again it's went through and they are coming on wednesday, i'm positive the engineer will say he can't fit it cause the meter is outside :greengrin

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with the outside meter as i have an outside gas meter also.

[speedy_gonzales]

i'm entitled to a smart meter for my Gas but every time i fill in online form there's usually a problem because my meter is actually on an outside wall, so 3 weeks ago after filling in form again it's went through and they are coming on wednesday, i'm positive the engineer will say he can't fit it cause the meter is outside :greengrin

My gas meter is also outside, not too far from the front door. The engineer/installer did mention at the time that it might not work great because of the thick walls and the location of the smart display. I'm guessing it has to do with GSM/WiFi connectivity?
As it was, the display connects to the meter absolutely fine.

[Santa Cruz]

So it's ok to have smart meters outside?

The smart meter installed is inside the property. The outdoor gas meter is not accessible as is in-cased, the previous owner did not leave the key to access it.

Edit: Read posts below, apologies for causing confusion.

[bigwheel]

I have a smart meter outside the house. Albeit in a key accessed box ..thought that was the norm tbh

[Moulin Yarns]

The smart meter installed is inside the property. The outdoor gas meter is not accessible as is in-cased, the previous owner did not leave the key to access it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yellow-Plastic-Gas-Meter-Key/dp/B00J335G72/ref=asc_df_B00J335G72/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=223237768057&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17717827479223403899&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=20342&hvtargid=pla-421823540525&psc=1


£1.60 from amazon or needle nose plyers if you have any.

[Santa Cruz]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yellow-Plastic-Gas-Meter-Key/dp/B00J335G72/ref=asc_df_B00J335G72/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=223237768057&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17717827479223403899&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=20342&hvtargid=pla-421823540525&psc=1


£1.60 from amazon or needle nose plyers if you have any.

Thanks MY. I don'y need it as have no need to access it now because the smart meter installed provides all the readings. :aok:

[Santa Cruz]

I have a smart meter outside the house. Albeit in a key accessed box ..thought that was the norm tbh

You've got me wondering now if my gas smart meter is inside my outdoor box and it's my leccy smart meter indoors. Could I have two smart meters? Tbh I'd not long moved into the house and was dealing with a number of issues in the house, so this might have went over my head while I was dealing with various tradesmen also. Apologies if I've posted misleading info.

[Just Alf]

Thanks MY. I don'y need it as have no need to access it now because the smart meter installed provides all the readings. :aok:Ah.. was wondering what was going on.... they have installed the gas one as well, as far as I know this connects via wireless to the main unit at the power meter, this in turn sends the gas and meter readings via a mobile phone signal to your supplier.

I also never use the display, in fact I'm not even sure where it is anymore!


EDIT: I see you've already reached that conclusion!

[Santa Cruz]

Ah.. was wondering what was going on.... they have installed the gas one as well, as far as I know this connects via wireless to the main unit at the power meter, this in turn sends the gas and meter readings via a mobile phone signal to your supplier.

I also never use the display, in fact I'm not even sure where it is anymore!

Cheers for explaining, makes sense. I'm the same, no idea where the monitor is, no doubt in my box which contains dozens of adaptors and cables that nobody has any clue what they are for but I won't chuck out in case we suddenly find out we need one of them. That box triggers me every time I add something else to it:greengrin

[silverhibee]

I have been waiting for 2 years now, engineer has turned up a few times and decided it’s a two man job, other times they have been a no show, got an appointment on Monday for to be fitted but got a funny feeling it will be another no show from engineers. Each no show gets me £30 of credit.

Got mine done yesterday, SSE fitted them, guy was from Durham and has been in Scotland for 6 weeks working and mainly doing work in Edinburgh Perth and Inverness.