What is the point of the smart meter monitor?

[Harry Bloomfield]

I can't believe it, the phone still shows 26th Feb 2024 as latest reading. 7 days delay! OK don't need it as my solar software shows it all, but rather pointless being so far behind.

My data is two days behind - Sunday today, most recent data was for Friday. In the great scheme of things, it's no great problem, because I have the data showing instantly, in the IHD.

The data is sent in batches, a whole days data, as one batch, using the mobile phone network. If the data cannot be got through, the meter will keep trying so it may take a few days. Even when the data is sent and arrives, there are more delays whilst it is processed at the server.

 

[flameport]

Get rid of British Gas. Overpriced and crap.

Switch to Octopus and then you can have variable pricing so you can take full advantage of the solar and batteries you have paid large amounts of money for.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

This is my most recent electric consumption graph, available this morning 06:50 Monday. The most recent being the data for Saturday, from midnight Friday, to midnight Saturday.

Useful? - Certainly, very useful to me! I can see and check on my baseload, which is around 44watts, that confirm nothing is left running that shouldn't be on.

 

[ericmark]

I look at smart meter on 26th to solar today and simply think why do I want to know what happened so long ago. OK if I want to see what happened on the 26th then this tells me far more, before I had solar and batteries I had no need for a smart meter, it was only because I have solar and batteries I had to have one fitted, but we still pay by direct debit, a fixed amount a month, so it has made no difference at all in bills or info, or payments.

So what is the point?

 

[Why Not Indeed]

If you're only interested in instantaneous information, feel free to ignore the historical information.

 

[ericmark]

My main reason for looking at electric produced, used, exported, and imported is to work out when to turn on washing machine, dishwasher, and tumble drier, near everything else we use as required, those are about the only three items where we look at the info first.

So seeing the does show we are some where between 10 and 100% charged with battery, 3.2 kWh at 2 kW max charge rate means at least 2 hours from seeing the above display to starting to export, normally a lot longer, but with a capacity to generate 6 kW although never seen that much, it means as the sun moves around I can easy reach a point where more than 2 kW is spare. At this point it will start exporting even if battery not full.

So we normally have the three ready to be turned on. Some are running now it is a bit of guess work, only 11:40 am the day may improve, but would like to see battery full by 3:30 pm as the sun start to wane, so when at around 6 pm when sun has stopped charging the battery will take us a good bit through the evening. This part

of the display is very small viewed across the room, and even when export is over a kW it is hard to see the display is exporting, half of the display is not used, it just says it is going to wait a long time, we don't have gas.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

it just says it is going to wait a long time, we don't have gas.

Isn't that a complaint, that your glass is half empty?

It's a standard production bit of equipment, made to satisfy the needs of the majority of customers.

 

[ericmark]

I sit here, battery around 50% dull day, do I switch on tumble drier. Producing 1.5 kW with solar, and tumble drier uses around 600 watt for 2.5 hours so likely yes, worth turning on, but the energy monitor connected to the smart meter has not helped one bit in deciding that. So what's the point in it?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

So what's the point in it?

You have all the information you need, so - What's the problem? Use it, or ignore it, or unplug it.

 

[Mister Banks]

My data is two days behind - Sunday today, most recent data was for Friday. In the great scheme of things, it's no great problem, because I have the data showing instantly, in the IHD.

The data is sent in batches, a whole days data, as one batch, using the mobile phone network. If the data cannot be got through, the meter will keep trying so it may take a few days. Even when the data is sent and arrives, there are more delays whilst it is processed at the server.

The data in my Octopus app is fully up to date, it even shows usage for gas and electric so far today.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

The data in my Octopus app is fully up to date, it even shows usage for gas and electric so far today.

I've never had data show up that quickly, best (when I have checked) is previous days' usage, up to midnight - appear just after midnight.

 

[ChrisJP]

Smart meters were never really about displaying your energy consumption so you can reduce it. This was the Government propaganda to try to popularise them and persuade us all to accept them.
The real purpose of them is electricity (and probably also gas) "demand management", which is Govt speak for rationing. Smart meters enable "dynamic pricing" for electricity and gas to be used, which is more Govt speak for putting up the price immediately when there is heavy demand to try to discourage demand. In extremis, smart meters also allow the remote turning off of electricity (not gas AFAIK) to "manage demand" when wind & solar can't keep up with demand, and all other sources of electricity have either been banned or are not in operation.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Smart meters were never really about displaying your energy consumption so you can reduce it.

I would suggest you certainly can accomplish that.

Smart meters enable "dynamic pricing" for electricity and gas to be used, which is more Govt speak for putting up the price immediately when there is heavy demand to try to discourage demand.

That line, directly contradicts what you suggested above.

In extremis, smart meters also allow the remote turning off of electricity (not gas AFAIK) to "manage demand" when wind & solar can't keep up with demand, and all other sources of electricity have either been banned or are not in operation.

Better that they have granular control of individual home supplies, that having to switch off whole areas at a time - that way, essential supplies can be maintained to customers who need power for dialysis, and similar health conditions.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Yes it shows me when the battery has fully discharged, but that is hardly going to change what I do, now a monitor on the TV stand which says when battery is 80% charged, yes that would help, but the monitor may help if we had mains gas, but with just electric does next to nothing it seems.

Months ago, I requested a free 'mini' device, something only offered by Octopus - there has been quite a demand for them, hence the wait. Today, I received an email, advising me that it is on the way to me, quite looking forward to it....

From what I can make out, it feeds the consumption data, every few seconds, via the internet, to an Octopus server, where I can access it via an app on the phone, or a webpage - as such, I should be able to access the instantaneous consumption data, from anywhere I have internet access. Is this lack of instant access, what Eric is complaining about?

 

[JohnW2]

The real purpose of them is electricity (and probably also gas) "demand management", which is Govt speak for rationing.

If/when 'rationing' is required, what better way of implementing it would you propose? In any event ....

Smart meters enable "dynamic pricing" for electricity and gas to be used, which is more Govt speak for putting up the price immediately when there is heavy demand to try to discourage demand.

Suppliers (not the government) could, "put up price immediately" when demand was high, but I doubt that many consumers are going to be forever glued to a monitor so that they can "immediately" respond to the price change by reducing their consumption.

In extremis, smart meters also allow the remote turning off of electricity (not gas AFAIK) to "manage demand" when wind & solar can't keep up with demand, and all other sources of electricity have either been banned or are not in operation.

If demand exceeds supply, some consumers are going to have their electricity supply 'turned off';, whether by smart meters or the 'regional shutdowns' we have experienced in the past. I don't see why using smart meters for this purpose would be any 'worse'than alternatives, would it?

Kind Regards, John