EDF Energy Smart Meters

[DulwichFox]

I have had several Emails and Letters from EDF Energy about Upgrading to a Smart Meter.

I am Not one for change and a bit of a Sceptical old bugger.

Has anyone here upgraded to a Smart Meter and what are your opinions of any benefits or disadvantages ?

DulwichFox..

[Spartacus]

I love the adverts that say they can make the grid greener, more efficient and so on, but in small print it says "requires changes by the consumer"

A smart meter only makes it smarter for the billing department and not the consumer, it doesn't switch off devices when not in use, only tells you how much energy you are using.

The risk is that in the future we won't have fiat rate tariffs but that companies can vary the cost during peak periods thus making bills more variable and potential punish consumers who work and use more power during peak times in the evening as they can see what times of day your consumption is !

[Alan Medic]

Why are the government pushing companies to install these?

[RichH]

I had one rather forced upon me a few years ago when I changed tariff. Mine's for electricity only.

It's quite interesting to see how much electricity various devices and appliances use but it probably won't tell you much that you don't already know. It was nice to see just how little electricity modern computers and flat screen TV's use, but I was alarmed at the obscene amount of electricity the heated towel rail in the bathroom consumed. I also learned that my fridge struggles to cope in the Summer months and runs flat out all day long trying to stay cool. Once you've learned all you can you can put the little remote display away if you don't want to use it anymore.

Other advantages are that you should only pay for the energy you use and there's no need for anyone to call to read the meter.

It should take only around 40 minutes to fit but the engineer I had took nearly half a day to fit mine because he couldn't get it to connect to the data network. In the end he had to call tech support in India and they connected it remotely.

[Droid]

Alan Medic Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Why are the government pushing companies to

> install these?

It was an EU directive. ""Member States are required to ensure the implementation of smart metering under EU energy market legislation in the Third Energy Package.""

Quite why gov.uk is persisting with it post Brexit is beyond me.

[Nigello]

Bulb effed up my gas meter even though it was the second generation one, which is meant to be more reliable. It doesn?t work, never did, and the new provider isn?t interested in replacing it. Should I go to the ombudsman? Lots of fruitless chasing to clueless phone operators - not their fault they can?t stray from a script.

[Droid]

These smart meters will be redundant anyway in the next decade if natural gas is phased out. The plan is to replace gas boilers with heat pumps and or hydrogen. The lunatics surely have taken over the asylum.

[JohnL]

They came out to mine - couldn't park in Rye Lane and then stated as Rye Lane is such a difficult area to park they needed two engineers (one to sit in the car).

I gave up,

[malumbu]

I do worry about the demographic that post on this sort of issue - it appears rather luddite and full of conspiracy theories.

The smart meter makes it easier for both you and company to take readings and therefore monitor use. Combined with a Home Energy Display Unit this gives a visual of your real time use, both for electricity and gas. We are all encouraged to use less energy for our own pocket, energy security and the environment. Climate change is real and the UK is hosting the next big international conference (COP) in Glasgow later in the year - so expect some major announcements by our Prime Minister at this time.

The display units are quite fun, and may or may not encourage you to use less. At the least you can see them woosh up when the kettle is on, so you may stop overfilling it.

Bit of a cock up when the first generation were not transferable when you changed supplier.

So no conspiracy theory, something that will be encouraged post Brexit, and technology should be your friend.

Do have a quick read up on the subject: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/consumers/household-gas-and-electricity-guide/consumer-guide-understanding-energy-meters-ofgem/smart-meters-guide-your-rights

PS this reminds me of a friend - "you wont get me in one of those self driving vehicles" - my response "fine, you wont have to" and at a later time they were saying how wonderful the parking assist was on their vehicle and how once you use it you can never go back to manual parking.

[JohnL]

I'm a total medium adoptor of most technologies - so will get it all eventually. When the first generation doesn't really work that well it entrenches me in the above :)

I realise Gas boilers are going to be phased out too - just be careful of the service charges for community/district heating - they tend to go up very fast and you have to pay up - maybe residents management companies should administer them.

Here's Southwark Councils factsheet on community heating to give an idea - it just looks costly even there.

https://www.southwark.gov.uk/assets/attach/3837/District-Heating-Factsheet.pdf (edit: it's a pdf file)

[malumbu]

District heating/combined heat and power is something that other countries seem to do much better. Sweden had very high insulation standards 40 or 50 years ago, at a time when the UK was still building houses with single glazing. I've also been impressed by their district heating. You can argue they have the space, lots of lovely biomass to burn from the timber industry, but we were doing this 90 years ago at Battersea Power Station using the waste heat. This is all from memory so please do correct me!

[Spartacus]

Bring this older thread back to life.

As predicted in my earlier post, they are now trialing peak rate charging but repackaging it as a discount or refund if you avoid peak time consumption. How long before, like retail contract billing, we see demand based rates?

As a side there's a worrying article on the bbc news that discusses people on smart meters being remotely switched to a pre payment plan (non smart meter users would be physically changed with a court issued warrent) sometimes with no warning or looking at users circumstances (sickness, disability or other)

BBC News - Rise in energy firms remotely switching homes to prepay meters

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63554879

You still think they are here for the benefit of the user ?

[malumbu]

Surely charging more at periods of high demand is how markets work. Conversely those boxing a bit clever will save money buying their energy during lower demand. The real savvy ones will store energy in their battery backs, domestic (as some using PV already do) and/or in their electric vehicle (v2g). I'm using abbreviations to show how well informed I am. Or just a show off (a polite description).

Alternatively we should have never privatised energy markets in the first place, And we'd not have a problem as the Thatcher government had built a number of nuclear reactors. As they had planned to do from the late 80s

[Spartacus]

Surely charging more at periods of high demand is how markets work. Conversely those boxing a bit clever will save money buying their energy during lower demand. The real savvy ones will store energy in their battery backs, domestic (as some using PV already do) and/or in their electric vehicle (v2g). I'm using abbreviations to show how well informed I am. Or just a show off (a polite description).

 

All very aspirational energy storage ideas Mal but let's be honest 99.99% of the population isn't in a position (physically or financially) to do that.

The market for domestic energy currently isn't peak demand lead and it will potentially disadvantage those who are, for example, housebound and don't have the option to use electricity at low demand times.

You also failed to address the zeppelin in the room that people are being remotely switched to pre pay meters without warning or discussion when they are on so called smart meters.

[Sue]

I've been trying to get a smart meter for ages.

I've applied several times, and never hear anything.

I'm with Octopus (moved there with no choice when Avro folded, but very happy with their service - apart from this!)

[malumbu]

Returning to Sparticus's post, I watched the BBC article. Action is being taken by the regulators OFGEM, so the system is working.

Reading my subtext the energy market should never have been privitised in the first place.

In principle smart meters are a good thing if they allow consumers to reduce energy costs. The points on storing energy and selling it back to the grid are not so far fetched as getting on for 20% of new car sales have a large battery that can be used in this way. OK not mass take up yet, and certainly not those on limited budgets.

[Spartacus]

Mal, Smart meters on their own don't reduce consumer consumption, as the advert says "consumer action required." All they do is highlight when you are using energy.

With a bit of forethought, simple measures will save anyone (smart metered or not) energy. This includes not leaving laptops or phones on charge when they don't need to be, switching off lights, using low energy bulbs, switching plugs off when not in use (including the TV that's always on standby)... none of these are "managed" by a smart meter, it only alerts you that power is being consumed.

This is part of why I believe they are there for the suppliers benefit, not the Consumers.

On your battery front, agreed that most modern electric cars do have a bigger battery but as, in London for example, so few people have crossovers and off street parking at their property then the ability to store excess electricity in your car battery is limited to those who can park on their own drive. Looking down most streets here, thats not a feasible concept.

[Spartacus]

On 09/11/2022 at 08:21, Spartacus said:

Bring this older thread back to life.

 

As predicted in my earlier post, they are now trialing peak rate charging but repackaging it as a discount or refund if you avoid peak time consumption. How long before, like retail contract billing, we see demand based rates?

I feel like Nostradamus now....  

BBC News - Energy prices could change at different times of the day
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68655725