Smart meter and storage heaters

[pooksahib]

I have THTC (2 meters, one for standard lecky and one for water/storage heaters. A radio signal turns the water/heaters on and off). You may know that the radio signal is not long for this world. My supplier has yet to announce what will happen for THTC customers but I suspect it will be a Smart Meter.
Does anyone have experience of a smart meter with storage heaters e.g. is such a set up now possible (I'd read that early smart meters didn't work with things like Economy 7)?
Would the smart meter be able to put the water and storage on and off overnight without human involvement?
Any other insights greatly appreciated.

 

[flameport]

Any new meter will 100% be a smart meter.
5 wire smart meters are available, and they can switch heating / hot water on overnight or at other times as determined by the supplier.

Before they install it, make absolutely certain that they are aware of what they are going to install - don't assume that they will know because you already have THTC - many suppliers contract the meter fitting to another unrelated company who will have no knowledge of the existing arrangements.

(I'd read that early smart meters didn't work with things like Economy 7)?

SMETS1 meters didn't do E7 equivalents,. but then most SMETS1 meters were total junk and didn't do much at all. Most of them are already obsolete.

 

[JohnW2]

Any new meter will 100% be a smart meter.

Another sweeping generalisation.

How new is 'new' in your book? The 'routine replacement' one I had installed a year or so ago does not qualify as 'smart'. Although it has plenty of TOU registers etc., it has no disconnector and does not have the ('optional') communications module installed.

 

[Murdochcat]

You can still request and get an old fashioned dumb meter

 

[flameport]

The 'routine replacement' one I had installed a year or so ago does not qualify as 'smart'.

Inevitable

 

[flameport]

Another sweeping generalisation.

Not at all.

In the OPs case, they require something to control their storage heaters and provide the equivalent of a E7 tariff where the night use is charged at a lower rate.
No non-smart meter will achieve that even if they could convince the supplier to provide such a thing.

Radio teleswitches are going away as is the signal that controls them.
No supplier has provided mechanical timeswitches for decades.

 

[JohnW2]

The 'routine replacement' one I had installed a year or so ago does not qualify as 'smart'.

Inevitable

I'm rather confused.

What do you mean by the above, and how does it fit with the statement to which I was responding, which said...

Any new meter will 100% be a smart meter.

?? My ('new') replacement meter presumably counts as "Any new meter" so, in view of your comment about such meters, why is it "inevitable' that mine is not 'smart'? Did you perhaps mean something other than "Any new meter"?

Edit: On reflection, I presume you must have meant "Any new meter that could reproduce the functionality of the OP's current setup", rather than "Any new meter". However, people reading this thread, and particularly those who, for whatever reason, do not fancy having a smart meter, the statement "Any new meter will 100% be aa smart meter" would very probably be seen as a generalisation, which might mislead and concern them.

 

[flameport]

This thread is about replacing a THTC arrangement of remotely controlled storage heaters and hot water with a modern equivalent.

What other people may have, require or want is unrelated.

It is not possible or desirable to add qualifiers covering every possible option to every single statement. Doing so would extend discussions to dozens or even hundreds of pages.
The context of this and other threads on this forum is already obvious from the title and the opening question.

 

[JohnW2]

What other people may have, require or want is unrelated.

You're obviously entitled to that view. Personally, in a forum like this, I'm inclined to consider the position of people who read posts (and perhaps not whole threads) in the future.

It is not possible or desirable to add qualifiers covering every possible option to every single statement.

I totally agree, but that does not prevent one being thoughtful/careful in what one does write, particularly if what one is writing is not true in all contexts. Hence, for what it's worth, I therefore still feel that one should perhaps think at least twice before making a statement that starts "Any new meter...", when it does not actually apply to "any" new meter - after all, I don't regard myself as totally stupid and/or unintelligent but, as you saw, I initially read your statement to be a 'general' one, not one applicable only to contexts like the OP's'.

 

[ericmark]

In the main you are correct. Does that fit the bill? However as to Smart meter or advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) not just automatic meter reading (AMR) it covers a whole host of meters. Wikipedia does help a little but what a smart meter can do in the UK is not exactly the same as other countries. And watching youtube or reading reports can be misleading.

When I tired to get a smart meter I ended up with three visits before it was fitted, as one it seems he had brought the wrong meter, two he said consumer unit needed to move, and three finally fitted. So it does seem there are different smart meters.

I am also considering a duel tariff, it would suit me to charge batteries over night, but I see no trigger point on the smart meter that I can use to tell the inverter when to charge batteries, I had expected to be able to view my usage on the PC. However it seems this is down to the remote monitor, some have a wifi functions others don't and the supplier gives no instructions, one has to hunt the internet to find instructions.

Only then did I find how to get to this page and find the items ringed did not exist. OK for me no big problem, I can see what I am using through the solar panel software, it took me an age to find which is really the important bit of the meter. It also gives an MPAN number and it seems I have given the wrong one when applying for payment for export.

In other words it is not made easy, seems I will need to phone British Gas tomorrow and rectify the error. I know were I use to work, the offices had storage radiators and there was a massive contactor to deliver power off peak. But this was in turn powered by a simple time clock, I have scrolled through the internet to find out what it required to switch items on during the off peak times, and sorry to say can find very little.

 

[flameport]

Personally, in a forum like this, I'm inclined to consider the position of people who read posts (and perhaps not whole threads) in the future.

You are welcome to that view.

My view is that if people decide to read items out of context here or anywhere else, they get exactly what they deserve.

 

[JohnW2]

Personally, in a forum like this, I'm inclined to consider the position of people who read posts (and perhaps not whole threads) in the future.

You are welcome to that view. My view is that if people decide to read items out of context here or anywhere else, they get exactly what they deserve.

Fair enough - we will have to agree to have different views, which is fine. You will understand that, quite apart from considerations of my 'conscience', I regard my approach as more 'responsible', particularly given that we know that people do read things 'out of context'.

However, in the case we are discussing, it's not just a matter of context, so I believe it's still desirable to 'be careful' about what one actually writes. I was fully aware of the context of the thread, yet, as you know, initially read your sentence (about "Any new meter") to be a 'general' one. In such a situation it would not take much more effort to write something less able to be misinterpreted, conveying the sense of "Any new meter which provided the functionality you current have ..." (rather than "Any new meters...").