Smart meters

[pollution]

Am I over cynical here? Electricity providers want a smart meter installed in our homes in order to save money by not employing readers

to go from house to house, sometimes several times if no one is in. Bills issued and collected by DD. Huge savings to the supplier.

Yet they want us to use our electricity to save them millions. I know it will only be a small amount of electricity but it will be on non stop in perpetuity.

Multiply that by 25000000 homes and bingo.

Most of us use electricity responsibly so I don't see much being saved in reduced usage.

[heretoday]

The bottom line is that you don't have to get a smart meter. The jury is still out on them. It'll take a lot of persuading before I get one anyway.

[Peevemor]

The bottom line is that you don't have to get a smart meter. The jury is still out on them. It'll take a lot of persuading before I get one anyway.

There's been a bit of an outcry here in France where they've been installing these things for the past couple of years.

People are refusing them for various reasons including increased electro-magnetic radiation from the wiring within your house and the "spying" element. Smart meters can obtain data from increasingly "smart" appliances (TVs, coffee machines, ovens, etc.) and people are objecting to the possibilty of the electricity provider(s) selling this data to interested third parties.

The deal here is that, for the moment, they can't oblige you to change your meter, but if you do it just now it's free, otherwise you'll be forced to do it in the future and will be charged a few hundred quid (IIRC).

I just went with the flow and got one installed and to be honest the online access to our usage figures (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.) is prettty handy.

21322

[adhibs]

I was recently told me that the supplier owns the smart meter. Meaning you face a bill to have it removed if you decide to switch to a different company.

[heretoday]

I was recently told me that the supplier owns the smart meter. Meaning you face a bill to have it removed if you decide to switch to a different company.

Or it reverts to being a dead meter or something. I'll just hang onto the ones I've got. They're not that old anyway so not likely to peg out soon, touch wood.

[Just Alf]

I was recently told me that the supplier owns the smart meter. Meaning you face a bill to have it removed if you decide to switch to a different company.
Or it reverts to being a dead meter or something. I'll just hang onto the ones I've got. They're not that old anyway so not likely to peg out soon, touch wood.When they 1st came out it was a one company thing, this was really quickly changed as it was anticompetative so with the original ones when you move to another supplier they simply became like the dumb ones. The ones currently being installed are a different technology allowing you to use any supplier (not sure how long they've been out though).




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[heretoday]

When they 1st came out it was a one company thing, this was really quickly changed as it was anticompetative so with the original ones when you move to another supplier they simply became like the dumb ones. The ones currently being installed are a different technology allowing you to use any supplier (not sure how long they've been out though).




Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

That's good. I'm not averse to new technology. I just object to being told I have to have this when I suspect that the motive is more profit for shareholders and redundancy for staff.

[overdrive]

There's been a bit of an outcry here in France where they've been installing these things for the past couple of years.

People are refusing them for various reasons including increased electro-magnetic radiation from the wiring within your house and the "spying" element. Smart meters can obtain data from increasingly "smart" appliances (TVs, coffee machines, ovens, etc.) and people are objecting to the possibilty of the electricity provider(s) selling this data to interested third parties.

The deal here is that, for the moment, they can't oblige you to change your meter, but if you do it just now it's free, otherwise you'll be forced to do it in the future and will be charged a few hundred quid (IIRC).

I just went with the flow and got one installed and to be honest the online access to our usage figures (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.) is prettty handy.

21322

My ex-father-in-law genuinely thinks smart meters are a ploy by the Russian state to spy on us all. This was before all the recent Russian spy stuff as well.

[Sylar]

We're criminally bad when it comes to sustainable usage of energy (and water!) here in the UK, and if these meters can change the habit of even 25% of people who have them installed, it's a worthwhile endeavour.

The paranoia around them is moon-howling level ****wittery.

[Captain Trips]

I have one and looked at it for the first few weeks however to be honest I haven't looked at it for over a year. If cold the heating goes on if dark the lights go on it hasn't changed a thing in what we do.

[lapsedhibee]

We're criminally bad when it comes to sustainable usage of energy (and water!) here in the UK, and if these meters can change the habit of even 25% of people who have them installed, it's a worthwhile endeavour.



Just as likely to have the opposite effect, and stop people thinking about what they're doing because the technology is doing it for them. In the same way that ubiquitous push-button pedestrian crossings have more or less obliterated any communal sense of how to go about efficiently crossing a quiet road.

[O'Rourke3]

Under the scheme most people don't spot that it's possible for the supplier to limit your usage. Currently under non smart meters you can consume as much power as you want when you want. With smart, they can stop power getting to you. It's a form of rationing. Your bills go up as well as you pay for the meter.

Sent from my F8331 using Tapatalk

[overdrive]

My parents have a smart meter. They got hit with a massive backdated bill based on a random estimated reading. When they queried it they were told it was because the hadn’t submitted a reading for a certain period of time (which was the time in which they had the smart meter). My parents’ immediate response was “but we have a smart meter, it gives live data so we don’t need to give readings”. They were told that the live readings aren’t accurate so you have to provide readings. WTF is the point in the smart meter then?

[Steve-O]

They are pretty common over here, not owned by suppliers, and seem to me to be pretty accurate. My app shows my daily usage, and the times when most power is being used certainly appears to correlate to times when I've been using more power, and vice-versa.

Can't see the issue and saves me reading the meter or dealing with estimated bills.

[Wembley67]

I know it will affect some households but do people genuinely look at the stats and think oooo I've used an extra 3p this hour, better not have that cup of tea now? I honestly can't see the benefit of them.

[pollution]

They are pretty common over here, not owned by suppliers, and seem to me to be pretty accurate. My app shows my daily usage, and the times when most power is being used certainly appears to correlate to times when I've been using more power, and vice-versa.

Can't see the issue and saves me reading the meter or dealing with estimated bills.


In other words it is telling you what you know already.

Do you not see the irony of a non stop wi fi cost of sending the info to the power company paid by you to them to send this info?

On a possibly hackable source. I am sure that if the link can be of use to on line criminals it will be of use to them.

I may be overly concerned but any benefit of having a smart meter is for the power company. I don't understand why people do not see this.

[patch1875]

https://bulb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4834935b227d653db6d9f1a11&id=691c0989b1&e=e5e08e965c

If anyone is looking to change supplier the above link will give each of us £100 credit with Bulb.

Been with them a while and still one of the cheapest.

Good until the 20th

[patch1875]

https://bulb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4834935b227d653db6d9f1a11&id=691c0989b1&e=e5e08e965c

If anyone is looking to change supplier the above link will give each of us £100 credit with Bulb.

Been with them a while and still one of the cheapest.

Good until the 20th

Last 24 hours or so before this expires, one of the cheapest available and £100 credit!