Smart meter/'white' meter question.

[Mottie]

I haven't got the full info as I'm getting all this secondhand from Mrs Mottie. It doesn't seem right so I'm just asking here.

Mrs Motties 82 year old mum wants to have a smart electricity meter fitted. She doesn't like estimated bills (some have been way overestimated - over £600 for one quarter which she paid - twice!) and she likes to read the meter each month but it's located very high on the wall of her integral garage - she has to stand on a box with a torch and only this week she fell over (not while reading the meter) and broke her wrist. She's not too steady on her pins and Mrs Mottie would prefer she has a smart meter too. She just won't be told to not read the meter.

The problem is, she has been told that she can't have a smart meter fitted as she has two meters, one of them a white one. She's been in the house about 15 years. As far as she knows, she's not on economy 7 so is this just a load of waffle they are being told? If it came to it, could the white meter just be removed by a qualified electrician or the electricity supplier?

All suggestions welcome as I'm getting fed up hearing about it!

 

[crystal ball]

It should show on the bills if she is on E7, how is the house heated / hot water? Removing the white meter is a job for the nominated contractor from the provider

 

[Taylortwocities]

Perhaps she is on a white meter tariff, but no longer has a need for it, maybe the storage radiators have been removed?

If so, she’ll be paying over the odds for her daytime power. It needs an electrician to review the installation. She may save money by cancelling the white meter tariff and having it removed. But it depends.

 

[Mottie]

It should show on the bills if she is on E7, how is the house heated / hot water? Removing the white meter is a job for the nominated contractor from the provider

Gas central heating and hot water.

I'll ask Mrs Mottie to get one of her bills and I'll have a look at it.

 

[crystal ball]

When a customer comes off E7, sometimes the meters are left in and the totals added together to make a single tariff, if there have been storage heaters the E7 consumer unit may be left in and the outlets used as sockets, or removed altogether, a pic of the meter etc would help

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

They can do E7 Smart Meters, they even offer talking Smart Meters for the blind, it is just a matter of the Smart Meter installation program seems to have almost completely stalled.

Probably worth you being insistent that for health, safety age, plus infirmity reasons - a Smart Meters are urgently needed.

 

[bsr]

If she rings and points out that she's vulnerable she will get prioritised. She should get added to the priority register at her supplier.

E7 is no problem as supplier can provide a five terminal meter. So either pay an electrician to combine the boards before the meter is fitted, or get a five terminal meter fitted and then change to a normal non E7 tariff after.

 

[JohnW2]

E7 is no problem as supplier can provide a five terminal meter.

In theory, but it seems that a good few suppliers seem unprepared to install 5-terminal Smart meters, even though they are theoretically available.

Of course, as you sort-of imply, E7 installations do not necessarily have to have a 5-terminal meter, if wired appropriately.

Kind Regards, John

 

[bsr]

I don't think our installers are allowed to install a Henley. It also means no chance of returning to E7 in future. So a 5 terminal seems the easiest approach for the lady.

 

[JohnW2]

I don't think our installers are allowed to install a Henley. It also means no chance of returning to E7 in future. So a 5 terminal seems the easiest approach for the lady.

Smart meters can, 'by definition', handle an E7 tariff (and far more complex ones than that).

The only real difference between a 3-terminal and 5-terminal meter is that the latter does the switching of loads (usually storage heaters) which oine wants to only function during 'cheap-rate' times. If one has a 5 3-terminal meter, one needs to install some sort of timeswitch to control such loads.

I may be wrong, but I think that one downside of a 5-terminal meter, at least as usually installed, is probably that it means that only specific loads (e.g. storage heaters) enjoy the cheap-rate E7 electricity, whereas with a 3-terminal dual-rate (or 'smart') meter, everything in the house enjoys that cheap rate during the cheap hours.

Kind Regards, John
Edit: typo corrected

 

[boringoldcodger]

Deleted as no longer relevant.

 

[JohnW2]

Being my usual pain-in-the-backside to John, when he says: ... I believe "3-terminal" is what's meant.

How right you are. Apologies for the typo, now corrected! Thanks for noticing.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Robbox]

Prolly not relevant here, my old meter was black and ancient. The backboard was some cheap composite board and was coming loose off the wall. I complained to the supplier, who came in and very kindly gave me a new board, new meter AND moved it slightly to accommodate a kitchen refurb. All done for free.