Smart Meters - Pros and Cons

[Melanius Mullarkey]

Old people, eh?

Probably still ranting at cars that don’t have folk walking in front of them waving a flag.

[Bairnardo]

The MSE website says this is the reason for them.
Smart meters are an upgrade to the energy system, allowing the UK to adopt a so-called 'smart grid'. It's expected that better information on energy use in homes and businesses should create a more efficient and reliable energy supply network, which can plan to supply energy peaks at the right time. 
According to Smart Energy GB, the cost will be £13.5billion but the savings by 2034 will be £19.5 billion (from the FAQs on their website). 
Full MSE article
Smart Energy GB FAQ
Smart Energy GB homepage
 
 
 

No no, abusive auld man who doesn't understand the difference between power rating and power consumption knows best.

[scottsdad]

I submitted meter readings this morning. Took less than a minute.

[Sergeant Wilson]

1 hour ago, scottsdad said:

I submitted meter readings this morning. Took less than a minute.

I'm sure The Prof appreciates it.

[TxRover]

8 hours ago, HeWhoWalksBehindTheRows said:

Wonder how much energy one of those lamps they use at porno shoots uses?

If you’re talking the old style Klieg lights, the generator for those suckers was pumping out about 16,700 watts, or about 16.7 kWh for one hour if my interpretation of the above maths is spot on. They likely had several running off the one generator, but since they were carbon arc lamps, they were certainly drawing a fair amount each…probably easily a few thousand watts.

[HeWhoWalksBehindTheRows]

2 hours ago, TxRover said:

If you’re talking the old style Klieg lights, the generator for those suckers was pumping out about 16,700 watts, or about 16.7 kWh for one hour if my interpretation of the above maths is spot on. They likely had several running off the one generator, but since they were carbon arc lamps, they were certainly drawing a fair amount each…probably easily a few thousand watts.

We're you a lampy at some point??

[TxRover]

56 minutes ago, HeWhoWalksBehindTheRows said:

We're you a lampy at some point??

Nope, just old enough to remember what they were, and savvy enough to know how to look stuff up.

[Forest_Fifer]

On 27/10/2022 at 21:54, guinness said:

All their wanting is to do away with ordinary meters so the don't need any meter reader's. Doing away with job's. A bit like self service checkouts at the supermarket. 

I haven't had my meter read since before covid. I just submit my own readings. 

[hk blues]

We don't have smart meters but a meter reader comes around, reads the meter with some machine, prints off the bill and gives it to us all in one go.  The same with the water company.

Seems pretty smart to me.

(Our neighbour used to take a photo of the meter every morning before going to work and again when he got home. According to my wife, he was making sure the maid didn't use the a/c when he was out at work!)

[TxRover]

Still shaking my head at the number of people opposed to their meter reporting itself. There’s a string of distrust and paranoia in this that seems to have accelerated since 2000, and it looks like the UK might be heading for U.S. levels of it…good luck!

[beefybake]

2 hours ago, oaksoft said:

It took me 2 minutes to read and submit my meter readings today.

And another 30 seconds to fire the usage for the month into a spreadsheet to get a solid estimate of the cost (within a few pence).

Readings a bit higher this month but with the rebate I'll still be paying about the same as in the summer.

See these old skoolers who learned how to do basic arithmetic instead of daydreaming through their school years.....

I do appreciate that basic primary school arithmetic is too much for some on here though. 

I mean, someone on here can't even follow the instructions on either their humidifier or their clothes drier so it shouldn't surprise me that some need all the help society can throw their way.  Thanks for cheering me up @DA Baracus. Good man!

No use trying to put up a little snow flurry to disguise your ignorance of the difference between

a Kw rating on the side of an appliance, and what it actually uses.

[Bairnardo]

15 minutes ago, beefybake said:

No use trying to put up a little snow flurry to disguise your ignorance of the difference between

a Kw rating on the side of an appliance, and what it actually uses.

Yep. This cat, whilst wading into a debate where it was literally stated it is "no effort" to know what individual appliances use, is now shouting about making and maintaining spreadsheets etc (which incidentally, still do not calculate individual appliance consumption)

You wonder what it will take for some folk to stop doubling down eh... At least Kincy has had the good grace to slither off after his various "thick underclass" rantings. 

[RH33]

On 30/10/2022 at 21:12, mathematics said:

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

[for the avoidance of doubt, I’m joshing]

 

It took me a bit of time but I worked it out!

[strichener]

8 hours ago, oaksoft said:

It took me 2 minutes to read and submit my meter readings today.

And another 30 seconds to fire the usage for the month into a spreadsheet to get a solid estimate of the cost (within a few pence).

Readings a bit higher this month but with the rebate I'll still be paying about the same as in the summer.

See these old skoolers who learned how to do basic arithmetic instead of daydreaming through their school years.....

I do appreciate that basic primary school arithmetic is too much for some on here though. 

I mean, someone on here can't even follow the instructions on either their humidifier or their clothes drier so it shouldn't surprise me that some need all the help society can throw their way.  Thanks for cheering me up @DA Baracus. Good man!

Why do you need a spreadsheet to do primary school arithmetic?  Surely notepad would suffice if it is you that is doing the calculations rather than Excel.

 

[The_Kincardine]

On 31/10/2022 at 09:32, Artemis said:

The MSE website says this is the reason for them.

Smart meters are an upgrade to the energy system, allowing the UK to adopt a so-called 'smart grid'. It's expected that better information on energy use in homes and businesses should create a more efficient and reliable energy supply network, which can plan to supply energy peaks at the right time. 

According to Smart Energy GB, the cost will be £13.5billion but the savings by 2034 will be £19.5 billion (from the FAQs on their website). 

Full MSE article

Smart Energy GB FAQ

Smart Energy GB homepage

It's all about metering and billing.  Smart meters allow energy companies to monitor your electricity usage and to reduce their costs of collecting this data.  This  is good.  Businesses should, absolutely,  invest in more efficient technology.  A smart meter combined with a direct debit increases their revenue assurance and allows then to reduce some staff costs.  This is good business practise.

However, it's a massively expensive programme - you said £13.5 billion - and gives not one single benefit to the consumer. So they had this good idea of linking a display unit to the meter and tell us that it would save everyone money.  And you have entirely bought in to this farrago just because you've a new wee geegaw in your hoose.  Not only that, but you're now an evangelist for power companies lumping us with extra costs - maybe about £350 per household - hence your post.

Smart meters - as they are currently used - cannot possibly save one single Watt of power. 

6 hours ago, Bairnardo said:

You wonder what it will take for some folk to stop doubling down eh... At least Kincy has had the good grace to slither off after his various "thick underclass" rantings. 

Slither?  Don't be even dafter than you are.

It's impossible for smart meters or their associated display units to reduce your power consumption as they are  not linked to your electrical devices.  However, the utility companies - knowing that Britain's "thick underclass" can't understand a simple message such as, "turn down or turn off" - gave us the chance to have a shiny wee display unit linked  to a smart meter which they have installed entirely for their benefit.  This allowed them to stiff us for the cost of their business improvement scheme.  

And schmucks like you bought in to it.

[NorthernLights]

I didn't realise that with smart meters energy companies can turn your meter into a pre-payment one as easy as this.

Rise in energy firms remotely switching homes to prepay meters

 

Quote

 

A rising number of households are having their energy smart meters remotely switched to prepayment meters, the energy regulator has said.
 

Energy firms use the technology to swap customers who are in debt to the more costly plan without needing a warrant.

Ofgem said it had received reports of "vulnerable customers being left without power for days or even weeks".

Kelly, from South London, whose meter was switched, said: "I suddenly only had £3 on my electric until payday."

Once a smart meter is installed, it is a much simpler process for a supplier to swap the customer into prepay mode at the push of a
button, rather than having to apply for a warrant and install a physical box.

Switches can either be done at the request of customers or done by the supplier as part of a debt recovery process.

 

 

[Raithie]

I apologise for the daft question but if you're using a smart meter (which Iam) am I right in saying you don't get the £66 debited into your bank account and it simply goes towards your energy costs automatically? if so is it used towards reducing your monthly DD i.e. would my current DD be less £66 that they've taken into account or does it go towards reducing your debit each month? My energy provider, for some reason, added a credit (albeit I can't see where I was benefitting from this) then reversed it and debited it into my bank.

[Jimbo Jagsfan]

If you are on a DD, then the £66 goes to your bank, so mas not to bugger up the DD.

If you are on a quarterly (or monthly) bill then the £66 is deducted on the bill.

[strichener]

23 minutes ago, Raithie said:

I apologise for the daft question but if you're using a smart meter (which Iam) am I right in saying you don't get the £66 debited into your bank account and it simply goes towards your energy costs automatically? if so is it used towards reducing your monthly DD i.e. would my current DD be less £66 that they've taken into account or does it go towards reducing your debit each month? My energy provider, for some reason, added a credit (albeit I can't see where I was benefitting from this) then reversed it and debited it into my bank.

 

18 minutes ago, Jimbo Jagsfan said:

If you are on a DD, then the £66 goes to your bank, so mas not to bugger up the DD.

If you are on a quarterly (or monthly) bill then the £66 is deducted on the bill.

It is actually energy company dependant.  Some are deducting it from your normal DD (Eon) others are refunding to your bank (British Gas)

[Big Fifer]

Is anyone else with British Gas? Last month the £66 went into my bank account, which was what they said would happen when this was announced. On my energy account for last month, I can see a £66 credit followed by £66 charge cancelling it out, maybe it was an error. But this month there's no £66 in the bank account but there is £66 credit to my energy account. Anyone else seeing something similar? Can't help butt feel British Gas have worked out its better for them to credit an account than sending cash directly...