Smart Meters

Steampunk said:
If you want a smart meter (which is a different debate), then you've got to make sure you get the second-gen SMETS2 meters. These should not go dumb when you switch from one supplier to another.

There's a few smart meter threads here already.
Click to expand...

As of March 15th all suppliers have to install SMETS2 meters they are not allowed to install or use up SMETS1 stock.
 
Irish_Tom said:
Yeah, I’ve read a fair few threads on here and everyone has always said wait for SMETS2 — which is exactly what Bulb have been saying on their blog for ages, they weren’t prepared to start the rollout until they could guarantee SMETS2 — now they have it, they are starting the rollout.

Ignoring the tin-foil conspiracy reasons, why else would I not want a SMETS2 smart meter?

The convenience of not having to submit readings and being able to monitor usage seem like big pluses for me.
Click to expand...
Did you go for the smart meter we've just had an email from bulb as there in our area ATM and I'm thinking about if I should get one installed
 
bettz said:
Did you go for the smart meter we've just had an email from bulb as there in our area ATM and I'm thinking about if I should get one installed
Click to expand...
It won’t save you any money and is powered from your side of it so will add a tiny amount instead!
 
bettz said:
Did you go for the smart meter we've just had an email from bulb as there in our area ATM and I'm thinking about if I should get one installed
Click to expand...
I didn’t in the end, but that has more to do with the birth of my daughter than anything else!

Having said that, I haven’t submitted a meter reading since she was born either, so maybe I should have got it done. :D
 
a1ex2001 said:
It won’t save you any money and is powered from your side of it so will add a tiny amount instead!
Click to expand...
No its not the meter is powered before your supply is measured, the in home display however is powered by you, but you have a choice to use that or not.
 
I've not had a letter for a few good years now, not sure if it's due to having a normal electricity meter and a pay as you go gas meter. how long until they start forcing installs to meet government targets?
 
Had smart meters installed by EDF a few weeks ago but the gas one is not working. They've sent me a letter to basically say its not sending readings and I have to take readings manually. They say they are working "very hard" to fix it. I'm sure they are...

Anyone with any inside knowledge on this have any guesses on why it wouldn't be working and if there is any way it can be fixed or of I will have to get an engineer out? Or anyone has a similar experience?

I did try to phone them but gave up after 10 minutes on hold.
 
EH75 said:
Had smart meters installed by EDF a few weeks ago but the gas one is not working. They've sent me a letter to basically say its not sending readings and I have to take readings manually. They say they are working "very hard" to fix it. I'm sure they are...

Anyone with any inside knowledge on this have any guesses on why it wouldn't be working and if there is any way it can be fixed or of I will have to get an engineer out? Or anyone has a similar experience?

I did try to phone them but gave up after 10 minutes on hold.
Click to expand...
How far away from you electric meter is the gas meter? They are linked by an encrypted Bluetooth network called ZigBee, distance and the amount of walls between meters is a huge factor. Gas meters cannot be set up remotely (but electric meters can), there have been lots of issues with the DCC network breaking of late, it could be the installer was unable to get it commissioned because the DCC was down. A quick visit from one of us (about 20mins) and it can be added if it's within signal range.
 
Just measured it and it's just over 3.5m. The electricity meter is on the side of the house in front of the garage and the gas is by the front door which is just round the corner. I'd be surprised if they couldn't communicate as its not a huge distance. For comparison the IHD is currently in the dining room which is significantly further away from the electricity meter than the gas meter is and it is picking up the signal from the electricity meter with no problems. The installer said when he left that the gas meter should've came on after a few hours but it never did.
 
My SMETS 2 gas meter never sent any readings from install. Rang British Gas and after some toing and froing they replaced it on Saturday. The new one doesn't appear to be working either. Not sure I can be bothered to ring again.
 
Just phoned EDF. Their response was basically "wait a few months to see if it works and call us back". Useful...
 
ZigBee is only quotes for 35-40feet direct line of sight so 4.5m is inside that range.

EH75 said:
Just phoned EDF. Their response was basically "wait a few months to see if it works and call us back". Useful...
Click to expand...

I hate our customer services :( and it's only going to get worse as the call centre is getting farmed out to India.

Sounds like your installer either didn't set it up properly or the meter has failed we had a bad batch what's the s/n does it start with 18L or 19L?
 
BigBoy said:
ZigBee is only quotes for 35-40feet direct line of sight so 4.5m is inside that range.



I hate our customer services :( and it's only going to get worse as the call centre is getting farmed out to India.

Sounds like your installer either didn't set it up properly or the meter has failed we had a bad batch what's the s/n does it start with 18L or 19L?
Click to expand...


Serial number does not start with either of those numbers (I'm not actually sure which one is the serial number there are about 6 different numbers on the front of the meter) but can't see that combination anywhere on the meter.

They said they are going to keep trying to connect to it. I did ask about getting an engineer out to take a look but they said it was "way too early" for that.
 
A further update on my smart meter issue if anyone is interested. I did a lot of forum searching when I was trying to figure this out so just in case anyone else is having the same issue. I eventually raised an official complaint. Surprisingly enough, it then started working. The IHD still wasn't showing anything but they did some more messing around at their end and that sorted it out. Hopefully it all keeps working as it should. Of course if these things worked out of the box then it would save everyone a lot of time and hassle!
 
Can someone educate me on how these work practically? From what I understand is that the meter communicate with each other wirelessly with one meter uploading both the gas and electricity readings. Can they communicate correctly when the meters on opposite sides of the property? The signal will be going through 2 double skinned brick walls, one internal brick and one internal stud wall.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
Can someone educate me on how these work practically? From what I understand is that the meter communicate with each other wirelessly with one meter uploading both the gas and electricity readings. Can they communicate correctly when the meters on opposite sides of the property? The signal will be going through 2 double skinned brick walls, one internal brick and one internal stud wall.
Click to expand...

The electric meter has a mobile phone in it and communicates with the DCC to give readings, the elec and gas are connected via ZigBee (encrypted Bluetooth) and will work in most cases upto 40ft apart. Real world walls make a huge difference but I have seen some of the strangest locations work when I expected them to fail.

I have been fitting SMETS2 for nearly a year now 99% are fine only in very extreme cases have they not connected together.

If you have any more questions then ping me a message.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom