Gas Smart Meter

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Perhaps a silly question.... My energy supplier keeps nagging me to have gas and electricity meters installed.

Not long ago I had the house fully decorated and area surrounding the gas meter (I've got it boxed) is wallpapered.

Obviously there is an electric supply for the electric meter but will the engineer need a power supply for the gas meter?

If he does I'm loath to have the gas meter installed because he would have to run a cable from a power plug elsewhere in house which would be unsightly.

I'm currently on a fixed tariff at the moment but noticed that many suppliers insist that new customers have to have smart meters fitted.

Months ago the guy who came to read the meters said that if I had one fitted and moved to another supplier the meter became a Dumb Meter.

Thus far I've palmed the supplier off regarding installation.

Additionally, they supply a visual meter screen, it looks like a tablet. How are they powered? Batteries? I read that it's the same principle as a tv remote control but the remote has batteries which I have to replace every now and then and my Samsung 10inch tablet needs charging after almost every use.

Any advice please.
 
Mine replaced the electric meter, wireless
On the gas Somehow talks to it. the display thing i got was plug or battery powered. Soon as the guy left it went straight in the cubbord

cant see any point in sitting there Like the sados turning individual light bulbs on to see which one makes the little bar go up.

best thing about the smart meter is not having to bother sending in meter readings anymore
 
The gas meter is wireless and powered by batteries, they replacement and they last a long time. Swapping the meters shouldn’t case any damage outside the meter cabinet, it’s a direct replacement.

New smart meters work on other suppliers and stay smart (usually). They are different to the old ones.

the monitor changes from a wall socket. Mine is also in a draw somewhere. Not used it sine they gave it to me. It’s just a monitor, and isn’t needed but will be useful to some.
 
Thanks to both of you.

Who pays for the gas batteries? Are they simple AA or more complicated like a laptop battery?

I don't think I'd use the monitor, currently my gas and electricity charge is £59 combined having just gone up from £49 usually because we holiday abroad more than 26 weeks a year mostly in the colder months (that will stop). I'm unlikely to try to cut down by using the monitor.

Thanks again
 
I think they are just like CMOS type batteries and I'm sure they will (if they can be bothered) change them once the readings stop coming in.
 
Gas meters have a li-po battery that lasts between 7 and 10 years (outdoors Vs indoors) it's not customer changeable and your supplier will know it needs changing before you do!
 
BigBoy said:
and your supplier will know it needs changing before you do!
Click to expand...

Unless, of course, it's like mine, where the gas meter was happy to talk to the electricity meter (which does the comms via cellular) for about 3 days before deciding it could no longer be arsed. I tried to get my energy supplier to sort it and they tried a few things remotely before saying "it is what it is, wait for a potential future hardware update", and giving up!

I still have to read my gas meter manually (which is more annoying than the electricity meter since it's outside) therefore I have concluded that smart meters are just as flaky as they always have been, and are probably not worth bothering with.
 
I was with BG and had their smart meters for gas and electricity, worked perfectly. I then left for Bulb and the meters became dumb. I went back to BG and the gas meter regained its smarts but the electric on didnt.
 
Howard said:
Unless, of course, it's like mine, where the gas meter was happy to talk to the electricity meter (which does the comms via cellular) for about 3 days before deciding it could no longer be arsed. I tried to get my energy supplier to sort it and they tried a few things remotely before saying "it is what it is, wait for a potential future hardware update", and giving up!

I still have to read my gas meter manually (which is more annoying than the electricity meter since it's outside) therefore I have concluded that smart meters are just as flaky as they always have been, and are probably not worth bothering with.
Click to expand...
Who is your provider and when was your meter installed? Also do you know if it's smets1 or 2, lastly how far away is the gas meter from the electric?

pepp77 said:
I was with BG and had their smart meters for gas and electricity, worked perfectly. I then left for Bulb and the meters became dumb. I went back to BG and the gas meter regained its smarts but the electric on didnt.
Click to expand...
if it's smets2 then a reset by your provider should kick it back to life.
 
BigBoy said:
Who is your provider and when was your meter installed? Also do you know if it's smets1 or 2, lastly how far away is the gas meter from the electric?

if it's smets2 then a reset by your provider should kick it back to life.
Click to expand...

Fairly certain it smets1, it is about 5 years old I would say. Doesnt bother me, reading the elec meter is a doddle anyway (the gas was the faff one)
 
Smets 1 isn’t really reflective of a new install. They have changed so they now work across providers.

I’m coming up to the end of my contract so let’s see how well that’s handled in the real world. Will be interesting because I have a smart electric and a dumb gas meter. The installer didn’t even bother trying to install the gas meter due to its location relative to the electric one, no chance they would be able to communicate which each other.
 
BigBoy said:
Who is your provider and when was your meter installed? Also do you know if it's smets1 or 2, lastly how far away is the gas meter from the electric?

if it's smets2 then a reset by your provider should kick it back to life.
Click to expand...

Bulb
November 2019
SMETS2
About 6 feet :D

They've tried everything (and so have )I and concluded it's a hardware issue.
 
pepp77 said:
Fairly certain it smets1, it is about 5 years old I would say. Doesnt bother me, reading the elec meter is a doddle anyway (the gas was the faff one)
Click to expand...
Yeah 5 Years your looking at SMETS1 so no its not going to work and Gas meters of that Generation are only commissionable once they lockdown after that. would mean completely replacing the meter. This is something I have been doing up until the whole COVID thing.

b0rn2sk8 said:
Smets 1 isn’t really reflective of a new install. They have changed so they now work across providers.

I’m coming up to the end of my contract so let’s see how well that’s handled in the real world. Will be interesting because I have a smart electric and a dumb gas meter. The installer didn’t even bother trying to install the gas meter due to its location relative to the electric one, no chance they would be able to communicate which each other.
Click to expand...
We still install as to be honest its a tick in a box and you have new hardware that's within it's life span

flea.rider said:
is it worth it ? to be given something you don't need ..
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Lots of Gas and Electric meters are out of the useful life span of the meter, they are certified by law and have to conform to the weights and measures act, so its not just about what you want or need.

Howard said:
Bulb
November 2019
SMETS2
About 6 feet :D

They've tried everything (and so have )I and concluded it's a hardware issue.
Click to expand...
It happens the Technology is not bullet proof! We had a spate of OTA updates that spannered Electric Meters recently total PITA getting them changed out
 
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