Utilities and smart meters

[TheOstrich]

There's nothing to stop you taking your own readings and either phoning them in or using your on-line account to do so. I've tended to use the receipt of a bill as a reminder to check the readings if the company have estimated them, but if my reading is not that different from their estimate, I just let it ride. Now, as I posted in Today's thread, I get prompted to provide them with actual readings ....

Same with the direct debit - if I'm overpaying now in the summer, I'm not fussed, it will help to fund next winter.

We are gas central heating, so our gas usage varies enormously. Over this last winter, it was 3.38 thingies per day over the winter, and has now dropped to 0.15 thingies per day - that just reflects we are using the gas hob only in the summer, not the boiler for central heating.

However, our electric consumption has been a mystery since we moved in last September. It really ought to be pretty constant, just the oven, fridge/freezer, lights, TV, so on. And it is, but I've always been suspicious that it has been consistently high ....

We inherited a solar thermal system, and we had constant, almost scalding hot water throughout the winter. Great, we thought, didn't have to use the gas boiler once! But a visiting electrician noticed our boiler thermostat was "hanging off" so there was no automatic cut-off at 60 Centigrade. Therefore, either the solar system was working overtime (but then we were told that it wasn't hugely efficient) or (my conspiracy theory ) we might have had the electric immersion heater on without realising it. Three ways to get hot water here - solar, gas boiler, and electric immersion (although as one workman put it, if the electric fails, you're b*ggered on all three methods! ). So now I am monitoring the readings and looking for a fall in consumption ..... perversely however, having just registered on-line to give electric readings, they had a usage comparison site, and the findings were that we were 23% more efficient than average! So I have no idea what is going on!

Yes, these smart meters can give you instant information as to what you're using, and send the readings direct to your company by Wifi. That's probably why your friend's bill has gone down, Meriad, it's just actual readings replacing estimated ones. But if they were overpaying, the money wasn't lost, they'd still get it back. The other thing to remember is that if you are on the default Standard Variable Tariff, well, every company has hiked the price up of late.

I have a friend who has a smart meter and he had a huge shock at first as it seemed his consumption tripled overnight! It was only after some time that he realised his old readings were in the electricity equivalent of £s, shillings and pence, and his new readings were in metric!

As for price comparision websites, that's a whole different kettle of fish. Ossie more than happy to copy his avatar .....

[Kaz]

We did a comparison and have switched from npower to Scottish Power, with a saving of over £200 pa!

I think I would be tempted by the smart meter Ria, if only to see how your bill is that high, as it does seem excessive for a flat xx

[Workingman]

Please hold the gasps as I say this, but I am on pre-pay meters and find them exceptionally good.

Yes, I know that the *experts* hate them because they are *expensive* and that I could save 0.007 per unit, blah, blah, but there is an upside or two.

No DD or SO to set up so my day-to-day bank account is not affected. The digital displays are super easy to read and tell me when I need to top up, and they do it without sending all sorts of snippets of info about me to Information Central Control, somewhere over there. Smart meters are not for me, I like my privacy.

However, the very best thing is that I have now worked out a weekly payment regime that goes in without fail, bada, bada, bada. My reserve builds up over the summer and is usually just about to run out about six weeks before the new financial year, but the normal payments I make tend to cover those weeks anyway. There are no big shocks from huge bills and no massive sum(s) handed over to sit in the bank of the utility company until they decide to hand them back.

I am with Scottish Power and also in a flat like Ria. The electric does mainly lighting, a few clocks, computer stuff, fridge freezer and washing machine. Gas is for cooking, hot water and heating. I am now paying about £50 per month but unlike Ria I am in most of the day. I have to say that £80 per month sounds way over the top.

[cruiser2]

Like Gal, I am with npower.
Had a letter from them earlier this year saying I should make a payment of over £100 in addition to the monthly payments.
I did not do what they asked.
I am paying £80 per month for gas and electricity.
Have freezer, fridge alarm/clock radio and cooker clock on all the time.
Use washing machine, dryer and cooker, TV and computer and vacuum cleaner.
Am thinking of changing to another supplier as I have had an email saying I can get it cheaper.
There are only two of us and we try to be economical.
Had a new electricity meter fitted last year. It is only small and I thought it was a smart meter when the engineer took it out of the box.
I will not have one fitted.

[Diflower]

I'm sure I heard that if you have a smart meter fitted, then you are tied to that power provider.

So do check that, and if your bills seem high (or even if they don't I guess) do a price comparison first, and switch before having the smart meter fitted.

[lissie]

I was`nt told this when ours was fitted so have looked it up and found this.


"Having a smart meter doesn't affect your right to switch energy providers whenever you want. So if you've had a smart meter installed but you want to move to a new supplier, you will still be able to do so. However, you may find your smart meter loses its functionality and reverts to being a traditional meter."

[TheOstrich]

"Having a smart meter doesn't affect your right to switch energy providers whenever you want. So if you've had a smart meter installed but you want to move to a new supplier, you will still be able to do so. However, you may find your smart meter loses its functionality and reverts to being a traditional meter."

Yes, that's the rub - different utility companies, needless to say, use different digital systems. And one can't read t'other ....
Another problem you may encounter is that (I think this is correct) some companies are insisting you are dual fuel with them before they will fit a smart meter .....

[Diflower]

I was`nt told this when ours was fitted so have looked it up and found this.


"Having a smart meter doesn't affect your right to switch energy providers whenever you want. So if you've had a smart meter installed but you want to move to a new supplier, you will still be able to do so. However, you may find your smart meter loses its functionality and reverts to being a traditional meter."

Oh well that's better. I guess you might have learnt enough to not bother by then

[TheOstrich]

Please hold the gasps as I say this, but I am on pre-pay meters and find them exceptionally good..

The crucial thing is that, budget-wise, it works for you.

Do you have one of they cards you "load up" at the local store? Do they work OK? Only asking because peeps always seemed to be having trouble getting them to function up at the Co-op where we last lived ....

[Suff]

There was an EU directive on energy billing and the ability for consumers to know exactly what they are spending and, critically, when. This is what is driving the smart meter revolution right now. There are several "smart meter" projects just starting up as I see in the IT space, they are recruiting right now.

Smart meters, essentially, remove meter reading visits and estimates never happen as the meter reports back, real time, on energy usage, direct to the company. However point in time energy usage is not really that much use unless you have your washing machine, dishwasher and fridge plugged into a timer and want to see just how much energy they use and you keep a log of when you use the oven.

Whilst they give you more information, most people won't actually do anything with it, apart from knowing they are not having to challenge the energy company.

The energy companies are going to lose a lot of overcharges on which they get interest before paying it back. However they're also going to put a lot of meter readers out of work.

Personally I expect them to screw it up more often than not. Whilst I might not be, exactly, with WM on pre paid meters, I really do understand the sentiment. I have a faulty water heater which I've now replaced and I had to run my pool pump for a month to get the pool sorted out and only then after I bought a new pump. It turns out that the 4 months of estimates had allowed me to rack up nearly €400 of charges. A smart meter would have helped that, but, again, it's not something I can't work out for myself from the bills and the meter display. So in the end it's my own fault.

Swings and roundabouts. I, personally, don't see a huge benefit except when I'm overusing due to failing equipment. They're not an option here in France right now anyway, so I'm not worried. But if you want to know about your bill, you can read the old bill, read the meter and calculate the charges by the energy unit prices set out on your bill. If you are that way inclined you can create a spreadsheet in which you type the meter reading and it will tell you exactly how much you have used since your last reading.

I might just get on that spreadsheet setup for here.