Smart Meters

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Shallot Man
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Having arrived at that age where climbing under the stairs to read the meters is a bind, decided to have a smart meter fitted [ in my opinion a big con ] To save some £200 per year have changed suppliers. Now the puzzling thing is, if we believe the hype that they are all singing and all dancing, can tell you how much juice you are using by the minute. Why do I have to supply meter readings to the new company. :? :? :?
PLUMPUDDING
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Tell them to come and read it if it isn't providing them with the information. It defeats the object of having one in the first place.
Personally, I can't see the point of installing something that uses electricity to help you use less, but can see your idea of not having to climb up to read it is useful.
rowbow
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I had a smart meter fitted by a supplier, changed supplier two years later, they cannot use anyone else's meter so fitted there own, all meters must be compatible bye 2020, they just save you having to do the readings. :mrgreen:
robo
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I change suppliers every year or so I've so far had three different suppliers fit their smart meter I've not found one supplier who can use another's meter
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Shallot Man
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robo wrote:I change suppliers every year or so I've so far had three different suppliers fit their smart meter I've not found one supplier who can use another's meter


One would have thought that when the Government gave the OK , it would have insisted that they were compatible. :? :?
Colin2016
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I believe that if you are a pensioner they have to come round and read your meter.

I get a text asking for me to send meter reading in, unfortunately it is very rarely turn on as I don’t get signal at home. They have been told but don’t understand.
Westi
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Agree with PP! What's the point, but I can understand the need for convenience if your meter is in a difficult spot. Maybe they'd like to move your meter Shallot Man, but maybe they'd like to just come around & read it for you like Colin suggests! They are pretty quick to pop around if you submit a very low reading I've found. I had a new kitchen fitted which had an electric oven rather than the old gas. They didn't note the increased electric but just the decreased gas & did their own reading.
Westi
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Primrose
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We changed to Scottish Power last Oct who are having a big drive to get everybody to fit smart meters and tried very hard to get us to have one. When we asked for a written guarantee that if one was fitted it would be compatible with all other suppliers they couldn't give one so we refused to go ahead and don,t intend to have one fitted until there is full compatibility as we change suppliers fairly regularly.

I think people have now caught onto the incompatibility issue and are holding back although what is going to be done with all the old incompatible meters which are incapable of being used I have no idea. Another big waste of money !
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Geoff
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Something in the chain isn't that smart, told them we had a poor mobile signal on that side of the house but they tried and failed to make one work so put the old one back. I don't see how they are supposed to save you money, the only way you can find out where the electricity is going is with an Individual Appliance Monitor (IAM) and they don't support them. I suppose the payback will be slow but I replaced two knackered old freezers with a large A+ rated one and cut my consumption.
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Tony Hague
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They don't save you money, but the idea is to make the user more conscious of their consumption. I have a pretty good idea already, and the metet itself consumes extra power and possibly batteries. Whilst maybe setting fire to your house, if installed as carelessly as some have been.

Just say no.
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Primrose
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I remember the late sixties when everybody was converting to a North Sea Gas and the gas boards had to train hundreds of new fitters who has no previous experience to do all the domestic appliance conversions so they had any key from bus drivers to retail staff apply for the two week training course and then they were let out on the unsuspecting public

We must have got the D minus course results. trainee fitter. He actually tried to stick our gas fire back into the fireplace with sellotape and spent half an hour searching for the gas fitting in our oven which didn,t exist because we had just invested in one of the earliest combined cookers which had a gas hob and electric oven. He'd never heard of a cooker like this , kept insisting that such a thing couldn,t exist and insisted on still trying to do so !
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