Ovo pay interest on any positive balance, FWIW.
Any downsides to a smart meter?
- Thread starter Minstadave
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Didn't know this, what percentage is that?
Oh actually, checking again, they've stopped doing it now as it runs counter to the directive to minimise credit balances!
It was 3% I think
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When was the last time you had an inspection of the supply head and meter connections?
You do realise that screwed down cables can become loose over time due to heating and cooling of conductors? This is a very common cause of meter related house fires...
Any meter built or installed before 2001 will need to be replaced, its that simple, they have and will have come to the end of expected (certified) life, where as years ago we would test and recertify it has now become cheaper to replace the meter, in 2006 MID (Measuring Instruments Regulations) meters were introduced (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mid-approved-gas-and-electricity-meters) and since then all meters installed and MID approved. There for they are approved for a lifecycle set out by the manufacture, most are 10-15 years iirc.
I've said it before and I will say it again, residential metering makes less money for suppliers than you would expect, especially with the cost of running large call groups and employing humans in the UK (most have a significant UK based call center now, although they tend to have centres in several other parts of the world for outbound dialing). Commercial metering or CT/Major business is where the money is at, my employer manages the supply for every ScrewFix (1726 stores not including distribution centers) and B&Q (300 not including distribution centers) in the UK and they are one client worth rought £18m pa. We supply the rail network (£2.3b over 3 years) and every Government office (not local but we do cover several of them too). In some areas we supply street lighting and CCTV power systems. Consumer Retail business is small fry compared to generation, whole sale energy prices are close to cost in value of nuclear and gas generation, due to constant maintenance and new builds. Where as Solar and Wind in the UK has paid for its self in less than three years in some installations.
Eon do provide weekend appointments, as do nearly all suppliers bar a few of the smaller ones. They also provide late evening slots as do nearly all other suppliers.
If your E7 meter uses a radio teleswitch a smart meter will be your only option, I would be pushing for a new meter as hard a possible as come March 2025 when the Radio4 signal is switched off you can say goodbye to you heating and hotwater!
At the end of the day Suppliers are being FORCED to install smart meters as part of a Government idea it will help reduce our carbon footprint as a nation (it Wont). They honestly don't want to be doing it, every appointment costs roughly £400 in man hours and equipment that they are NOT allowed to add to the overall cost of your fuels (strict guidelines control what can be added to your fuel costs).
Deleted User 298457
Deleted User 298457
Disagree - time of use tariffs have already proven to make a huge difference.
Its funded through the standing charge.
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Yeah seems a pretty obvious upside to smart metering. Encouraging smart EV charging and load shifting to have less spikes in usage means less fossil fuel based generation needed to meet short term demands - it's mostly gas used for that I recall.
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Time of use and load shifting does not reduce the carbon cost of 24/7 production from a gas powered plant.
Incorrect, the installation an maintenance of the smart meter is provided by the supplier, the standing charge covers the infrastructure cost provided by the DNO and the DCC.
No one said it did.
The marginal power generation is always fossil fuels at peak times. Shifting it overnight to where there is spare capacity on renewables via time of use pricing will lower carbon cost and it’s cheaper.
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Nope. They recoup the cost of providing installation and maintenance of the meter through the standing charge, just like they did with traditional meters.
As I said the installation and maintenance of the meter is paid for by the supplier, this is an up front coat of around £400 for a two fuel property.
The running costs of the meters come out of the standing charge.
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Deleted User 298457
Lol
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"paid for by the supplier" is an accounting sleight of hand.
Ultimately, the source of funding for the smart meter roll out is the customer because the customer is where the supplier's money comes from in the end.
I've given up trying to get a smart meter installed.
Booked with bulb, had to change date, had confirmation of date change, didn't turn up, phoned them. Apparently cancelled date change and booked back for original date which I am unable to do.
Waste of staying at home for a day..
Now can't get an appointment until they are back in my area again.
Can't be arsed with it
Booked with bulb, had to change date, had confirmation of date change, didn't turn up, phoned them. Apparently cancelled date change and booked back for original date which I am unable to do.
Waste of staying at home for a day..
Now can't get an appointment until they are back in my area again.
Can't be arsed with it
Nope, a gas plant is always going to emit carbon dioxide when it runs.
But smart meters do mean that we can have tariffs which are cheaper on days/times when there's more renewable generation. Better to consume intermittent renewable power when it's plentiful than to use more gas.
My car charges at the time of best fit, chosen by Octopus, based on when there's more renewables available. This also makes a better case for more renewable sources: "How will you make sure to use this power?", well, this is one big way!
My SMETS1 meter was replaced with a SMETS2 meter by EDF in 2022, so I assume they would check the supply head and meter connections during installation to ensure a safe installation. I must admit, I didn't realise the screwed down cables might become loose over time - I find this surprising to be honest, but I don't doubt what you say for one second. Could it be argued that installing smart meters could make households vulnerable to such fires, or is the timescale of the loosening of cables longer than a couple of years?
There have been cases where a loose connection left because an installer was distracted/lazy/whatever have caused fire, these are few and far between. Our Operatives (EDF) get a QA inspection rate of 1 in 10 nearly 5x higher than that most of the other installers in the UK. If a minor issue (un-bunged terminal or missing security tie) was found that would increase the check rate to 1 in 5. We have the best safety record of all meter workers in the UK.
Expansion and contraction of a tight joint tends to make them tighter not looser, a loose connection that expands and contracts tends to become looser, time frame is dependant on location of the meter how warm the connection becomes and several other factors. If your installation was done to the expected standard it will have been Torqued to 2.3nm more than enough to keep the connection safe for many many years to come.
I don't remember the EDF installer using a torque wrench, I think they just hand tightened it - which is arguably stronger (and safer) than using a cordless screwdriver (potentially low battery), such as the previous installer when installing the isolator switch to my SMETS1 meter. The engineer who installed my isolator wasn't from EDF, I think they contracted by Utility Point.
Torque wrench we use is This one. Depending on where you live we have several third party's that work for us.
Our operative are not allowed to use an electric driver on the metering apparatus, only to be used for wall fixing!
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Soldato
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absolutely, of course it will....... there are in theory pottential future downsides to smart meters, but for now its all upsides imo with loads of cost effective tarifs open to smart meter users, which then will absolutely encourage us to break the back of the duck curve which will mean cleaner energy.
and even the most vocal tin foil hatter worried about what a smart meter could mean for us ............. ignores the fact that standard non smart tarifs which you would have to be on could be made so expensive to essentially force you over anyway in the future, there will be no escape, they will get their pound of flesh one way or another so may as well jump now and make hay whilst the sun shines imo.
The people who switched mine over - actually took 2 teams to do it because it was in a really tight space so the 1st team were not confident, so a more experienced pair came.
but they were polite, professional and friendly........... and i had no problem at all with them admitting they were not comfortable doing it. Rather than just shafting me and saying no! cant do it, which would have been a proper ballache as our meter is under the oven in our fitted kitchen they got other people out who - after some friendly swearing and cursing - managed to get it done.
and other than a few cups of tea and a packet of hobnobs, it cost me nothing.
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