Any downsides to a smart meter?

[Werewolf]

We were initially against a smart meter but had solar installed a couple of years ago, you cannot setup an export tariff without one, so we thought we would risk it to get the payments for the export.

We've had the smart meter in a year and so far no problems.

Getting an export tariff sorted out with Scottish Power is another story.......

Let me guess, a form that you have to locate hidden away on their site and print off, then fill in the information by hand (because it's not an editable PDF) in 4mm high boxes with a format that doesn't actually match the supply numbers for your meter, then scan it back in, send it off along with a load of other documents, then spend about 3 months back and forth and having to get your original supplier of the panels ammend the MCS to be accurate to the 10 watts of the total rated power output of the panels*...
I still cannot believe that the BG SEG team required the MCS to be stated to IIRC the tens of watts (IIRC our cert was 4.7, they wanted it amended to 4.74, then they didn't credit it to the energy account as requested but send out cheques - including one for 15p).

I'm fairly sure BG were also breaking the law in regards to accessibility as there was no option, or place to contact them to get the form sent out in a format that anyone with even slightly marginal eyesight could read of fill in, the only option was a PDF that seemed designed to be hard to fill in (I spent about half a dozen attempts to get it to print thinking I must have had a setting wrong on the printer given it had about a third of the page unused, but no it was something like A4 height and A5 width). And yes it narked me that a form that could have been done completely and much more easily online seemed intentionally hard to find and do, same with finding any information on the how the meter worked to get an export reading displayed, IIRC EDF had instructions for it, but not BG who arranged for the fitting of it.


*4.74kw, the original MCS cert was for 4.7, and the joke is that in good light the panels actually produce around 5.2 or more as the rating on them is nominal/the guaranteed rating after 10 years (but because of household overheads there is always a 200-300w load).

 

[BUDFORCE]

Let me guess, a form that you have to locate hidden away on their site and print off, then fill in the information by hand (because it's not an editable PDF) in 4mm high boxes with a format that doesn't actually match the supply numbers for your meter, then scan it back in, send it off along with a load of other documents, then spend about 3 months back and forth and having to get your original supplier of the panels ammend the MCS to be accurate to the 10 watts of the total rated power output of the panels*...
I still cannot believe that the BG SEG team required the MCS to be stated to IIRC the tens of watts (IIRC our cert was 4.7, they wanted it amended to 4.74, then they didn't credit it to the energy account as requested but send out cheques - including one for 15p).

I'm fairly sure BG were also breaking the law in regards to accessibility as there was no option, or place to contact them to get the form sent out in a format that anyone with even slightly marginal eyesight could read of fill in, the only option was a PDF that seemed designed to be hard to fill in (I spent about half a dozen attempts to get it to print thinking I must have had a setting wrong on the printer given it had about a third of the page unused).


*4.74kw, the original MCS cert was for 4.7, and the joke is that in good light the panels actually produce around 5.2 or more as the rating on them is nominal/the guaranteed rating after 10 years (but because of household overheads there is always a 200-300w load).

Similar, add 7 months to your 3, plus a complaint to the ombudsman.

 

[200sols]

Octopus really are a step up, they had mine setup in under 2 weeks.

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

Meters fall under the weights and measures act as someone posted before.
As such its the companies responsibility to ensure that they are conforming with the law which in regards meters means that they do everything they can to ensure accuracy. In this regard its simple, a meter that is within the manufacturers certified period is by far the simplest way to meet their liability.

If you refuse to have a meter changed that is outside that certification then its the company that is liable.

I don't get the problem with smart meters personally, but some people just like to have odd things to focus on. Smart meter hate is one of them.
Plus its a pretty much guaranteed money saver if your above average IQ and can do some basic maths...

 

[alphaomega16]

Good shout, I did that last night and they replied this morning, confirming they've switched me from yesterday. Thank you.

Result, saves waiting for them to batch process requests

 

[BUDFORCE]

Octopus really are a step up, they had mine setup in under 2 weeks.

They didn't accept our creditation at the time (Flexiorb) and didn't pay as much as Scottish Power per unit (12p per kwh currently) but yes otherwise.

Apprently they do accept Flexiorb now, if that had been the case back about 10 months ago I probably would have just gone with them.

 

[BigBoy]

Meters fall under the weights and measures act as someone posted before.
As such its the companies responsibility to ensure that they are conforming with the law which in regards meters means that they do everything they can to ensure accuracy. In this regard its simple, a meter that is within the manufacturers certified period is by far the simplest way to meet their liability.

If you refuse to have a meter changed that is outside that certification then its the company that is liable.

I don't get the problem with smart meters personally, but some people just like to have odd things to focus on. Smart meter hate is one of them.
Plus its a pretty much guaranteed money saver if your above average IQ and can do some basic maths...

This was my point, I worded it poorly.

Legality lies with the owner of the meter, i.e. your energy supplier, if the meter does not meet the requirement of the Weight and Measure act it is there for illegal, the requirement in this case it to be withinx years of a certification date, that x years figure depends on the type and manufacture of the said meter.

No it isn't. Seriously, there's nothing illegal about having an old meter, how can you even think that?

That's like suggesting it's illegal to have a paper driving licence.

Actually, your suppler (as details above) holds the legality, the onus is on them to get it replaced after certification has expired, my poorly worded statement strikes again!

They (the supplier) have the right to force entry to change meters if there is the need to do so, and can also request access warrants if required (last time I was involved in a warrent job was 2020). MY employer has only enacted this right twice that I am aware of, once because the meter was nearly 100years old (certification date was 1931), and the second because of fire at the premises and the meter was deemed at fault (meter certification date of 1956).

 

[ShadowMan]

They didn't accept our creditation at the time (Flexiorb) and didn't pay as much as Scottish Power per unit (12p per kwh currently) but yes otherwise.

Apprently they do accept Flexiorb now, if that had been the case back about 10 months ago I probably would have just gone with them.

Just switch to Octopus now. I know a few who have. Some even gave up on SP and getting their credit after over a year.

Took me 16 months to get SP to payout my first SEG payment. I submitted my 2nd reading 6 months after and switched to Octopus 2 days after that. Took them about 4 days to move me over and now getting the 15p rate direct to my account rather than a bank payment every 6 months. Unless you have a massive solar system give up and move and save yourself the pain of Scottish Power SEG.

I also have FlexiOrb and it’s painless with Octopus. I also took the Agile import. Averaging 13p import and 15p fixed export at the moment. Cuts my bill by more than half. Yes you can have Agile Import and Fixed Export rates.

 

[Raymond Lin]

This was my point, I worded it poorly.

Legality lies with the owner of the meter, i.e. your energy supplier, if the meter does not meet the requirement of the Weight and Measure act it is there for illegal, the requirement in this case it to be withinx years of a certification date, that x years figure depends on the type and manufacture of the said meter.

Actually, your suppler (as details above) holds the legality, the onus is on them to get it replaced after certification has expired, my poorly worded statement strikes again!

They (the supplier) have the right to force entry to change meters if there is the need to do so, and can also request access warrants if required (last time I was involved in a warrent job was 2020). MY employer has only enacted this right twice that I am aware of, once because the meter was nearly 100years old (certification date was 1931), and the second because of fire at the premises and the meter was deemed at fault (meter certification date of 1956).

It’s nothing illegal to own an old car like there is nothing illegal to have an old meter. As long as the old car passes the MOT, it is legal to drive. As long as the old meter is working and passes certification, it is legal to stay there.

It’s more than wording it poorly, you used an entirely wrong word. I never said I would keep a broken illegal meter. You have no idea how old the meter I have is, for all you know it was replaced recently. There is a difference between an old one and a broken one or one that doesn’t comply with the law.

It does currently and there is nothing illegal about it.

Ps, I went to Octopus and put in my last 12 months’ usage for a quote and it works out MORE expensive than what I paid…no way I am switching.

 

[BigBoy]

It’s nothing illegal to own an old car like there is nothing illegal to have an old meter. As long as the old car passes the MOT, it is legal to drive. As long as the old meter is working and passes certification, it is legal to stay there.

It’s more than wording it poorly, you used an entirely wrong word. I never said I would keep a broken illegal meter. You have no idea how old the meter I have is, for all you know it was replaced recently. There is a difference between an old one and a broken one or one that doesn’t comply with the law.

It does currently and there is nothing illegal about it.

Ps, I went to Octopus and put in my last 12 months’ usage for a quote and it works out MORE expensive than what I paid…no way I am switching.

the only way an old meter can meet certification if for it to be removed and tested....

 

[Raymond Lin]

the only way an old meter can meet certification if for it to be removed and tested....

Until it is past its due date…it can very well stay there. If it aren’t broke, don’t fix it. I am happy to pay for less than Octopus quoted me to have an “old” meter.

 

[OldKitMan]

What’s not clear from the headline 4 million number is the amount which are actually SMETS1 meter which are no longer linked to their original supplier and can’t be or haven’t yet been migrated to the DCC.

I’d hazard a guess that it’s most of them.

I've a SMETS1 meter, think it was installed by edf, it works fine with Octopus - it's a Secure model which is listed as one of the SMETS1 meters that can be kept smart when moving suppliers.

 

[Journey]

I am happy to pay for less than Octopus quoted me to have an “old” meter.

I think you've made your point, you like paying more and having a non-smart meter. When you show me your unit rate then I'll believe you are paying less than tracker, until then I have my doubts. Also just in case you weren't aware Covid wasn't caused by 5G being rolled out.

 

[200sols]

My unit rate for March averaged 8.5p, bloody smart meters.

 

[ShadowMan]

Just had my 2nd week of “profit” where export was more than import.

Octopus Agile import and Octopus fixed export. May only be £4 up over 2 weeks but wouldn’t have it without a smart meter.

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

My unit rate for March averaged 8.5p, bloody smart meters.

Including power ups credit (which do not align perfectly with the month) mine worked out at 3.9p per unit
£55.76 pre power up, £15.75 after power up credit applied.
Thats for 407.8kwh import

Smart meters suck

Happy to let the luddites pay more. I cant believe the industry could cope with everyone getting energy as cheap as mine is working out.

 

[pastymuncher]

It's been a week now since I plugged in my replacement IHD and it still hasn't synced with my smart meters. It keeps switching between connecting to smart meter and not commissioned. Octopus asked me for the GUID on Monday and I haven't heard a thing from them since I gave them it. So much for their awesome CS!! I had a play with the menu of the new IHD and found a message that says unable to connect to smart meter network which could be the actual network everything is connected to and why the original IHD stopped displaying.

 

[TheVoice]

Does anyone know if it's possible to have two IHDs connected and working at the same time? The one I got when my meter was installed several years ago by SP is fairly basic so purely out of curiousity, I enquired with Octopus about what replacement IHD they provide and what the cost would be, and they simply sent me one out for free. So now I've got two, but I'm wondering if them connecting the new one up will kick off my current one or if it will keep working? Would be handy to have an extra one in my office since I've now got it anyway.

It's been a week now since I plugged in my replacement IHD and it still hasn't synced with my smart meters. It keeps switching between connecting to smart meter and not commissioned. Octopus asked me for the GUID on Monday and I haven't heard a thing from them since I gave them it. So much for their awesome CS!! I had a play with the menu of the new IHD and found a message that says unable to connect to smart meter network which could be the actual network everything is connected to and why the original IHD stopped displaying.

Is it a GEO Trio Touchbutton by any chance? I just received that one from Octopus and am getting the same on-screen message a week later, I've also sent all the ID numbers on it to them so hopefully they'll get it sorted. I did at least manage to get it connected to my WiFi and synced with the GEO app, which might be useful once it's actually connected to the meter.

 

[dlockers]

Octopus also bunged me a new IHD. A Geo something or other. It sits there and tells me how much money I have spent.

It also ahs WiFi but inexplicably does nothing?

 

[pastymuncher]

Does anyone know if it's possible to have two IHDs connected and working at the same time? The one I got when my meter was installed several years ago by SP is fairly basic so purely out of curiousity, I enquired with Octopus about what replacement IHD they provide and what the cost would be, and they simply sent me one out for free. So now I've got two, but I'm wondering if them connecting the new one up will kick off my current one or if it will keep working? Would be handy to have an extra one in my office since I've now got it anyway.


Is it a GEO Trio Touchbutton by any chance? I just received that one from Octopus and am getting the same on-screen message a week later, I've also sent all the ID numbers on it to them so hopefully they'll get it sorted. I did at least manage to get it connected to my WiFi and synced with the GEO app, which might be useful once it's actually connected to the meter.

One and the same. I have been without a working IHD for a month now and Octopus CS has been useless. They ask me for this that and everything which I supply them with including photo's of the GUID, error messages etc and then they go quiet so I have to start all over again and get nowhere.