Smart meter confusion

[Harry Bloomfield]

You do get access to your consumption figures, via your suppliers website once you have logged in.

What is lacking, or at least from the suppliers I have been with, is a means to actually download the bare data. They show it as a graph.

It could have been infinitely more useful, had the meters been designed to enable a customer to connect a PC to via their LAN, to grab data.

 

[JohnW2]

Yes, and if they don't install as many as they should - everyone - then they presumably still have been paid for all the ones they have not installed.

Well, that depends upon when, by how much, and on what basis they hike up everyone's bills to cover the cost of installing smart meters.

IF they, say, guesstimate (on the basis of a guessed number of installs) what the smart-meter-installation costs will be over the next 12 months, hike up everyone's bills for the next 12 months accordingly, but then fail to install as many smart meters during the period than they had guessed, then you would be right.

If, I would say more reasonably, they did not engage in guessing but, instead, adjusted everyone's bills for the next 12 months based on the actual smart-meter-installation costs during the previous 12 months, then they would not be "paid for ones they hadn't installed" - and they would gain nothing by installing more.

Kind Regards, John

 

[EFLImpudence]

Well, that depends upon when, by how much, and on what basis they hike up everyone's bills to cover the cost of installing smart meters.

As I understand it, there has, for some time, been a surcharge on everyone's bill to cover the estimated eleven billion pounds that the smart meters and installation will cost.
This is Government inspired; not the suppliers.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-4846700/Smart-meters-cost-household-420.html
I assume this is correct.

 

[JohnW2]

You do get access to your consumption figures, via your suppliers website once you have logged in. The granularity of the data, depends upon the regularity of the meter's consumption reports - monthly, weekly, daily or every 30 minutes uploaded a max of once per day as a batch. It also depends upon the supplier making the facility available to the customer - not all do, and the data frequency you request. I always request the 30 minute option, where the option is available, which makes it easy to spot your overnight base electrical loading.

What is lacking, or at least from the suppliers I have been with, is a means to actually download the bare data. They show it as a graph. It could have been infinitely more useful, had the meters been designed to enable a customer to connect a PC to via their LAN, to grab data.

I'm much happier with what I already have As I've said, I already have something much better than that "infinitely more useful" option without having a smart meter! ...

... my OWL system not only allows me to download data from the distant server, but with a granularity of ~12 seconds (rather than monthly, weekly, daily or every 30 minutes. In practice I download data and store it locally once or twice per week, but the server holds at least 3 months' data.

For example, from last night, snippets showing my immersion (on Phase 2) coming on just after the start of the E7 cheap-rate, and my loo macerator (on Phase 1) coming on for about 30 seconds when the loo was flushed ...

Kind Regards, John

 

[AndyPRK]

no NOT missing from my post. They wanted to be the ones to remove an old disc meter and fit smart.

 

[JohnW2]

As I understand it, there has, for some time, been a surcharge on everyone's bill to cover the estimated eleven billion pounds that the smart meters and installation will cost. This is Government inspired; not the suppliers.https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-4846700/Smart-meters-cost-household-420.html] a link [/url]. I assume this is correct.

Dunno. That article does not really explain how the surcharge is calculated, from year to year - they seem to have simply divided the total estimated cost of the 'roll-out' by the number of consumers/households to get a total cost (over 'all time) per consumer/household.

You may be interested in this - written by the government in 2012. It says quite a bit about the ultimate estimated 'savings per household' as a result of smart meters (£23 per household per year), but not anything I can see, at a quick glance, about implementation costs, ior how they are to be recovered.

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

no NOT missing from my post. They wanted to be the ones to remove an old disc meter and fit smart.

Fair enough - I wasn't sure. It was probably only a relatively short-term deal, anway (1 or 2 years, perhaps?), so even if you did have a smart meter installed "within x months", you'd probably still be back on 'standard tariff' within a year or two (unless you changed to something else)!

Talking of which, my supplier (E.ON) seems to have recently almost abolished the difference between 'standard variable tariff' and the various short-term (1-2 year) fixed-price deals. In contrast to the historical situation, the 'cost per unit' is exactly the same for 1-year and 2-year fixed-price tariffs as it is for the 'standard variable rate' one - the only difference being in the (fairly trivial) Standing Charge. Given that the standard tariff prices (per unit) are almost bound to increase over time, it therefore seems that one would now be daft not to have a 2-year fixed price one!

Kind Regards, John

 

[flameport]

(E.ON) seems to have recently almost abolished the difference between 'standard variable tariff' and the various short-term (1-2 year) fixed-price deals.

Is that just the deals available on their own website, or does it include those available on price comparison sites, which may not be listed on the supplier's site at all?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I'm much happier with what I already have As I've said, I already have something much better than that "infinitely more useful" option without having a smart meter! ...

... my OWL system not only allows me to download data from the distant server, but with a granularity of ~12 seconds (rather than monthly, weekly, daily or every 30 minutes. In practice I download data and store it locally once or twice per week, but the server holds at least 3 months' data.
Kind Regards, John

What I have, sort of suits my needs, between the indoor display and the spreadsheet I have maintained for the past three years. I weekly log E + G + W consumption, just to keep an eye on what difference my improvement measures over those years have made. The difference in comfort and consumption are quite noticeable. I just wish I had maintained the records for longer.

I think what they are trying to say, is that it is possible to cut down energy bills if you have the knowledge to make use of the data it makes easily available to you. I am much more aware than I used to be.

 

[AndyPRK]

There is very little saving for E7 customers on fix deals.

Unlike normal tarrifs, thankfully.
I like to switch every year or two as £100s to be saved.

 

[JohnW2]

Is that just the deals available on their own website, or does it include those available on price comparison sites, which may not be listed on the supplier's site at all?

That's the deals on their own website, for existing customers. I'm not sure whether any 'better' ones on comparison sites would be available to existing customers.

Things have changed in the few days since I last looked!! In addition to the (inevitable!) increase in prices, all the tariffs on offer other than the 'standard' one now require an agreement to have a smart meter fitted ('if possible'). As per what I recently wrote, the 'usage charges' (cost/unit) are identical for all tariffs, the only differences being (essentially trivial) differences in Standing Charges. The (new) current (E7) deals available to me, as an existing customer, on E.ON's website are ...

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

There is very little saving for E7 customers on fix deals.

Indeed so. Per what I just posted, the only difference between the various tariffs is, at most, the difference between a 15.383 p/day and 28.339 p/day Standing chanrge (the latter of which gets one a price fixed for two years) - a maximum possible difference £47.29 per year.

Unlike normal tarrifs, thankfully. I like to switch every year or two as £100s to be saved.

Fair enough. I'm currently saving £150-£200 per year by having E7, in comparison with the best available single-rate tariff offered on E.ON's website. However, even that situation is deteriorating - for several years prior to last April, I has been saving £300+ per year by having E7.

Kind Regards, John

 

[flameport]

I'm not sure whether any 'better' ones on comparison sites would be available to existing customers.

If they are not - then other suppliers are available.

 

[JohnW2]

If they are not - then other suppliers are available.

Indeed.

The E.ON prices have certainly taken a big jump. Currently (until present deal ends in April), I'm paying 17.147p/7.844p for day/night units. Last week, they were offering me deals, for all of which the cost was 19.362p/9.083p and, as you have seen, by today it's become 21.284p/11.004p. Comparing with what I'm currently paying with what I'm now being offered, that's an increase of about 24% for day units and a horrendous 40% for night units (I've commented before that the night rate is gradually getting closer to day rate) - which seems a bit ridiculous.

Kind Regards, John

 

[AndyPRK]

In my region 15p kWh is now considered a good deal. £75 year Sc.

Is it still worth having E7 John?