Smart meters - good choice?
- Thread starter Noidea88
- Start date
If you want or need a new meter they are the only choice.
Theoretically possible to have one installed without the comms hub so it will have to be read manually, but the metering part is identical.
For people that have a fixed rate tariff and want to pay fixed high prices for ever and never change anything then they work like any other meter.
The only advantage being that readings are sent to the supplier automatically.
For everyone else, they enable variable pricing for those who can use such things.
In any case it's just a device to record energy usage, just like any other meter from the last 100+ years.
They can and do go wrong sometimes - just like any other type of meter.
Theoretically possible to have one installed without the comms hub so it will have to be read manually, but the metering part is identical.
For people that have a fixed rate tariff and want to pay fixed high prices for ever and never change anything then they work like any other meter.
The only advantage being that readings are sent to the supplier automatically.
For everyone else, they enable variable pricing for those who can use such things.
In any case it's just a device to record energy usage, just like any other meter from the last 100+ years.
They can and do go wrong sometimes - just like any other type of meter.
Do you have a mobile phone and, if so, are you comfortable about having it?
they are a good idea for most people
but downsides you need to be aware off
they can remotely disconnect you they can remotely change to a prepayment meter or charge you more per unit without your permission if they make a mistake
now these are all legitimate actions if situations require it like non payment or variable charging but the first you will know iff wrongly applied or cut off you wont know the problem until the next bill or off course instantly iff cut off or very quickly if changed to prepaiment
but downsides you need to be aware off
they can remotely disconnect you they can remotely change to a prepayment meter or charge you more per unit without your permission if they make a mistake
now these are all legitimate actions if situations require it like non payment or variable charging but the first you will know iff wrongly applied or cut off you wont know the problem until the next bill or off course instantly iff cut off or very quickly if changed to prepaiment
The goal of our governments is to have variable pricing electricity - so they charge you the most when you need it the most.
We still haven’t got SMs
We still haven’t got SMs
On the other hand, they can open up the opportunity to make some substantial savings, which are simply not available to those with a simple, dumb meter. This is what I have been paying each day, on my smart meter, versus the straight line, on the graph which represents what you would be paying per unit, with a dumb meter.
Yes, in January, it briefly exceeded 45p per unit, days when you simply try to minimise your consumption, but as the graph shows - most of the time, it is well below the CAP, which makes up for it and then some. I'm on the Octopus Tracker tariff, only available with a smart meter - where the cost per unit, can vary each day, with the next day's cost, announced the day before.
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With no energy storage, or micro generation, I see little gain having a smart meter. All the split tariffs I have looked at, the standard or peak rate is higher than with a single rate, so the only gain for me was not having to let the meter reader in the house. The IHD (in home display) does alert one to when there is heavy usage, but there were IHD's well before the smart meter, so no real reason for fitting one.
But with energy storage or micro generation then no real option but to have a smart meter.
But with energy storage or micro generation then no real option but to have a smart meter.
i am presently with british gas on lower standing charge tarrif or i was over the last year
if i had a smart meter i could get free sunday afternoon electric units now this sounds great but is is virtuallty zero value as i dont have a smart meter but most off all my base load is about 2.7 electric units a day so a free units for 3 or 4 hours on a sunday may save me perhaps 11% off normal use as thats about 70p a day thats perhaps 8p that could be further bolstered by farting about cooking things short powering fridges and freezers and charging powertool batteries a washing and drying cycle and using perhaps another 20- 40p in other words a saving off 50p for loads off effort so not off any real value on a sunday only but needing a smart meter that incidently they already fitted about 15 years ago but non functional now as a first generation
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That is a major thing. Before my solar, batteries, and smart meter, we used power when we wanted, now when consider when to use the big three, dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer, these have the option for delayed start, so can be run over night on off peak.
But one needs to know the cost, so the tumble dryer as an example, runs for 2.5 hours (heat pump type) it can have a mark/space ratio need the end, and it can auto decide it does not need 2.5 hours, but forget that for the moment 2.5 hours x 600 watt = 1.5 kWh per load at 8.5p = 12.75p, at 15p = 22.5p and at 30.17 = 45.255p so running it overnight saves 32.5p and running it when we have solar 22.8p is it worth the effort?
OK running it every other day, so £59 or £42 per year, but still is it worth the effort?
We had the same sort of argument should we simply hang up clothes to dry, but unless you have a car port, factor into that how many times need to rewash due to bird lime. And cost of rewashing soon kills any gains by hanging out the clothes.
When I was with British Gas, I was not being paid for export, so more important to use big three at the right time, but after moving to Octopus and getting export payments, at least in summer we do as we want, with no thought about gaining a few pence. In the main electric costs between 8.5p/kWh and 15p/kWh depending if used over night, or in the day where it is depriving us of payment for solar export. Shower will use some power at 30.17p/kWh and in winter the battery may run out on some days.
But without solar and batteries, would be no point in split tariff, so no need for all the farting about.
As to in home display (IHD) it shows green or green/orange/red, can't see position of needle, so shows export (green) or import tri-colour, most of the time green, so very little point having it. If I had a state of charge meter, that would be useful, but by time the IHD shows tri-colour, it's too late, we have run out of battery.
What would be interesting would be compare microwave, deep fat fryer, air fryer, and fan oven. Take say a pizza and baked potato, what are cooking costs and which tastes best? My wife pre-cooks the baked potato in the microwave, then finishes it in oven with pizza, I am not convinced the microwave saves money.
SMETS1 are mostly upgradeable...
I looked at BG's free Sunday power, compared it, and it didn't come close to my Tracker on cost, even if I managed to make good use of it. I have cheaper pre unit most of the time, plus times when it is much cheaper. We just try to hold back, what can be held back, until those cheaper times, even when we don't manage it, we are usually paying well below the normal rate.
Lots of birds around here, but I cannot recal when that last caused a problem here. We have a 50 yard long stainless steel wire washing line, which we crank down to load/unload. Last year, I supplemented that, with several lines to hang washing on the summerhouse veranda, for use during wetter weather.
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I am sure if you want to run your home to suit the supply cost, you can save a lot, but I just want an easy life, and not wait to cook the evening meal until 00:30 because I can save a few p.
We don't wait to cook our meal, and we don't inconvenience ourselves due to unit cost. We cook and heat with gas, and only delay until cheaper times, when it suits us, will not especially inconvenience us - don't forget, we are generally saving anyway, by being on the Tracker tariff, even if we do absolutely nothing.
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