Smart Meters

[BigBoy]

I have taken a pic of mine, the WAN and PWR lights are solid green, the HAN light blinks on & off and is a red/orange colour.



Perhaps I can wrap it in loads of foil so it can't call out?

It's in my cupboard. Morons attached the door so the hinge is on the right hand side. Looks like I could move it to the other side but I'd have to rotate the door 90 degrees, and it has what I presume is an earthing cable connected to the bottom hinge area.

That was installed by British gas wasn't it? You disconnect the comms hub.... Black cable going into the white unit on the right... I didn't suggest that though
That's one of the original retail smart meters EDF have been removing them and upgrading to Smets2 for the last 6months because the Comms hubs tend to fail.

 

[BigBoy]

Does anyone know what happens if you get a smart meter, you switch supplier, and the meter goes dumb? Is the new supplier obliged to switch the meter to a working smart meter?

No obligation to change your meter what so ever...

 

[HungryHippos]

That was installed by British gas wasn't it? You disconnect the comms hub.... Black cable going into the white unit on the right... I didn't suggest that though
That's one of the original retail smart meters EDF have been removing them and upgrading to Smets2 for the last 6months because the Comms hubs tend to fail.

Yes spot on, original supplier with the house was BG

Looking at it, to disconnect that hub I think I'd need to remove the front cover on the hub as well which seems to have some kind of security screw on it. I'm a little wary of doing it as I am conscious that messing around with electrics can be dangerous!

Would removing that prevent it getting any updates designed to make SMETS1 work on all suppliers?

 

[BigBoy]

Yes spot on, original supplier with the house was BG

Looking at it, to disconnect that hub I think I'd need to remove the front cover on the hub as well which seems to have some kind of security screw on it. I'm a little wary of doing it as I am conscious that messing around with electrics can be dangerous!

Would removing that prevent it getting any updates designed to make SMETS1 work on all suppliers?

Yes, the screw should just be a number 4 allen key or a euro driver (pozi with an elongated slot on one length of the cross), the black cable provides power and data from the meter. comms hub is only taking 5v power so little risk opening that up. As long as there is no security wire through the screw on the comms hub you will be fine. Removing the seals however is punishable under law...

The meter you have cannot be added to the smets2 program as its a 'Trial' meter type, the first generation of smets1 meters, only the more recent 3rd gen of smets1 can be added to the smets2 program after a firmware update.

 

[HungryHippos]

Yes, the screw should just be a number 4 allen key or a euro driver (pozi with an elongated slot on one length of the cross), the black cable provides power and data from the meter. comms hub is only taking 5v power so little risk opening that up. As long as there is no security wire through the screw on the comms hub you will be fine. Removing the seals however is punishable under law...

The meter you have cannot be added to the smets2 program as its a 'Trial' meter type, the first generation of smets1 meters, only the more recent 3rd gen of smets1 can be added to the smets2 program after a firmware update.

Ah, turns out it just needs a big flathead screwdriver to undo the cover.

My meter is indoors so no one will be poking around in that unless I have authorised them to be in my house anyway

Thanks for the theoretical advice that I would certainly never actually follow!

 

[Jez]

the meter should have a ''cert date" to show its last certificated test date, most meters are installed within 3 years of that date. If you have a picture of it (by all means block out serial numbers and such) I can tell you how old it is.

The little sticker says 00, which i can only assume might mean year 2000. The meter is certainly not that new, though. This is not my meter (a random image search found it) but it looks identical to this, but 00 instead of the 81 pictured.
https://www.flameport.com/electric_museum/old_meters_and_cutouts/sangamo_meter.jpg

 

[BigBoy]

The little sticker says 00, which i can only assume might mean year 2000. The meter is certainly not that new, though. This is not my meter (a random image search found it) but it looks identical to this, but 00 instead of the 81 pictured.
https://www.flameport.com/electric_museum/old_meters_and_cutouts/sangamo_meter.jpg

We were still installing refurbished meters of that type back in 2000. So it's possible it was installed around then.

 

[Jez]

We were still installing refurbished meters of that type back in 2000. So it's possible it was installed around then.

Wow, fair You mentioned the overdue inspection letter usually applies to 30 year old or more meters though?

Thinking maybe i will just let them install a smart meter and be done with it

 

[BigBoy]

Wow, fair You mentioned the overdue inspection letter usually applies to 30 year old or more meters though?

Thinking maybe i will just let them install a smart meter and be done with it

Yeah between 25-30 is usual for the recertification program we run but every supplier is different.

To be honest Smets2 smart meters are as solid as the old dial/disc meters with the added bonus of not needing to read it.

The code of conduct SMICOP that all providers sign up to dictates what can and cannot be done with a smart meter, so there are no worries about being cut off or tarrif changing randomly as it's not allowed to happen!

 

[ttaskmaster]

NVM

 

[TheVoice]

Yours might be...
Ours is split between day and night rates. The latter is 23:30 to 05:30 and costs 7p per kwh. Outside of that it's 20p.
We even have two different readouts on the meter, for this reason.

That's Economy 7, it's not very common any more. The only place I've seen it is in an old flat I had with electric storage heaters so they could warm up over night and release all their heat during the day just in time for you to get home to a cold flat.

Most people will be on a single-rate tariff these days.

 

[ttaskmaster]

NVM

 

[ChrisD.]

Had mine fitted on Friday, electricity one works fine but the gas one doesn't look to be.

I don't see what the fuss about them is to be honest.

 

[Haggisman]

That's Economy 7, it's not very common any more. The only place I've seen it is in an old flat I had with electric storage heaters so they could warm up over night and release all their heat during the day just in time for you to get home to a cold flat.

Most people will be on a single-rate tariff these days.

It can't be that uncommon, as the last 10 places I've lived have all been on economy 7

 

[Irish_Tom]

Just had an email from Bulb to say they are now rolling out second-generation smart meters.

What’s the general consensus, are these worth getting now?

 

[Steampunk]

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.

 

[nutsnut]

Smart meters are worse than dumb meters. Say no to smart meters.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/six-reasons-say-no-smart-meter/
https://moneyweek.com/495707/say-no-to-smart-meters/

Surprised the telegraph published such dross.

 

[Irish_Tom]

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.

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.

 

[jpaul]

The convenience of not having to submit readings and being able to monitor usage seem like big pluses for me.

Doesn't take long to read/submit it yourself ?

The monitoring capabilties are rubbish ... cheapest piece of hardware and software they can deliver .
.. if I could calculate energy used for cooking, say, by having a chart showing usage over 5 minute periods say, I might be interested.

The Inept octopus reply on an email i had sent, and, bulb site is no better.

Hi,
I am considering engaging for an Agile Octopus contract, and could
not find some of the product details on your web site.

I would like to know what data I will be provided with to show me the
half-hourly usage, corresponding to the matched billing period;
do you have an example of how this data is provided/presented ? a web link ?
Yours sincerely
Paul

Hi Paul,
Sorry about this and hopefully will be able to go through this further for you.
I have now found this information and we do send across graphs like this for your half hourly consumption. This though would be given with all your statements that are sent out and not daily.
I hope this all helps.

Kind regards,
K

 

[BigBoy]

That's Economy 7, it's not very common any more. The only place I've seen it is in an old flat I had with electric storage heaters so they could warm up over night and release all their heat during the day just in time for you to get home to a cold flat.

Most people will be on a single-rate tariff these days.

Eco7 is a very common tariff especially in areas that dont have access to gas, I'm doing on average 8 eco7 smart installs a week. And the are a right PITA average install time is and hour and a half but if you get a poor quality install to start with you end up with a 3hr+ job on your hands