So I don’t repeat the cock up of a few yearrs back I thought the grown ups should have a look.

55191, I think.

Read my leccy meter for me.

It says that it’s 1958.

55191.2

55191.2

No, it’s only whole numbers only so ignore the .2

Linky

1.21 gigawatts

or what Cougar said.  AFAIK read each of the top five dials to the number lower than the pointer.  Did you receive a card with some instructions on? Does your last bill give you a clue as to what to expect?

It says that it’s 1958.

..and that you should stop watching porn on your phone when trying to take a reading

Also kudos for not caving in to those endless calls threatening to fit a smart meter

AFAIK read each of the top five dials to the number lower than the pointer.

Yup, same as the hour hand on a clock. The one underneath the others is a fraction and should be ignored when taking a reading, as BBSB said.

I had a near-identical meter for donkeys’ years, it was replaced with a modern one a few years back as part of some scheme or other. I’m surprised there’s still some around.

is it not 55091

third dial hard to see, needle looks like its exactly on the 1 but the next dial is on the 9, so if third dial was to be read as a 1, wouldnt that pointer be closer to the 2?

always hated those dials used to take me ages to read them!

I’d love a new meter but no one knows how to fit it.

The reading should be 50912 going by our weekly usage.

If you zoom in on the 1 the needle is just before.

55091(.2)

is it not 55091

third dial hard to see, needle looks like it’s exactly on the 1 but the next dial is on the 9, so if third dial was to be read as a 1, wouldn’t that pointer be closer to the 2?

Absolutely correct, I’m swapping allegiance to 55091

good spot. I retract my earlier answer.

wouldn’t that pointer be closer to the 2?

Not if it only moved in ‘whole’ tenths (i.e. not gradually like an hour hand) Ahh, see what you mean.

Not if it only moved in ‘whole’ tenths

It doesn’t.

It moves

gradually like an hour hand

Also kudos for not caving in to those endless calls threatening to fit a smart meter

Probably had the same genius as us who came round to fit the smart meter; didn’t listen when we said there was no mobile coverage; fitted the smart meter; found there was no mobile coverage; removed the smart meter; and refitted the old meter.

Does anyone know why the hands alternately go clockwise and anti-clockwise? Is there a proper reason for it or is the designer a lunatic?

55091

55091.

is it not 55091

third dial hard to see, needle looks like its exactly on the 1 but the next dial is on the 9, so if third dial was to be read as a 1, wouldnt that pointer be closer to the 2?

Ooh, good spot. You’re right I think.

Also kudos for not caving in to those endless calls threatening to fit a smart meter

I fail to see why this should be lauded, but in any case: If you’re thinking about a smart meter it’s worth knowing that there are two generations. The second generation (called “SMETS2”) is designed to work with a centralised network and so should continue to work if you change providers, the older one isn’t and probably won’t.

Does anyone know why the hands alternately go clockwise and anti-clockwise? Is there a proper reason for it or is the designer a lunatic?

Opposing gears, I’d guess. </wild speculation>

I fail to see why this should be lauded

well mostly because

designed to work with a centralised network……the older one isn’t and probably won’t.

Made the hassle of a meter change a pointless waste of time and effort.  Once the meters work across the board my opinion will change

The reading should be 50912 going by our weekly usage

In that case you have a problem; your bill is going to be £550-£600 more than you expect…
Are you sure of the previous reading your estimate of 50912 is based on?

Also kudos for not caving in to those endless calls threatening to fit a smart meter

My electric company have massively pissed me off so I’m currently being super awkward about fitting a smart meter. Our case is currently with the ombudsman.

Does anyone know why the hands alternately go clockwise and anti-clockwise?

All the hands are mounted on a train of gears with a 10:1 ratio at each stage so each one rotates in the opposite direction to its predecessor as per Cougar’s speculation.

This thread would go viral all over the world if you had simply added “99% will get this wrong”.

Also, surely one of the benefits of a smart meter is that you don’t need an internet forum full of people just to take a meter reading…

55191 to me.

Made the hassle of a meter change a pointless waste of time and effort. Once the meters work across the board my opinion will change

No it won’t. Because they stopped fitting the smets1 last year and your still saying it.

OK, I’m not up to date with my info.  Last time I checked there were still smets1 meters being installed

Edit: here is a quote from money saving expert

Technically, the deadline for suppliers to stop installing SMETS 1 meters and only install SMETS 2 was 5 December 2018 – though this has passed and suppliers still appear to be installing SMETS 1. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy says some suppliers have been granted an extension until 15 March 2019 to ensure that the roll-out “remains smooth”.

So I will hold off for another week

I too have refused a smart meter. Once there is s universal model that works with all suppliers I’ll do it. Tend to change suppliers every other year depending on who has the best fixed deals.

suppliers have been granted an extension until 15 March

Beware the Ides of March!

55091; as said with the tens being nearly all the way through if the hundreds dial was really a 1 it would be almost at the two, as it is it’s almost at the 1

Made the hassle of a meter change a pointless waste of time and effort. Once the meters work across the board my opinion will change

I still object to them! They should be saving a significant cost the billing provider because a person no longer has to appear to take a reading periodically (and for reasons best known to the companies one person doesn’t take all the readings in the street). Do I save that cost? No. Apparently I will save money by using less electricity when I have one; I doubt it – my Son will still leave the TV on with no one watching it, my wife will still leave the hall light on at night, etc.

Also, surely one of the benefits of a smart meter is that you don’t need an internet forum full of people just to take a meter reading…

It saddens me that such elegant technology as this, and vernier scales will largely be unknown to our children’s generation. If it doesn’t have at least a digital display, and most likely a web interface our children will be unable to measure stuff.

Kids of today, don’t even know how to use a slide rule or wire a plug. I blame the EU.

Also kudos for not caving in to those endless calls threatening to fit a smart meter

My “old” meter is a lot newer than that, and yet mine may be “dangerous” because it’s old and thus needs replacing. This one must be ready for a full meltdown level of danger!

And yeah, if it actually works “smart” and you can switch providers and stay smart, they’re still not a money saving in themselves and probably future cost. If you want to save energy, just switch stuff off and use more efficient gadgets. Don’t need a smart meter to tell you that.

A smart meter doesn’t itself save energy, it just shows you saving energy, maybe, except they have problems and may show you saving energy when you aren’t or vice versa, doesn’t tell you what exactly is costing more/less money, and you need to be checking it constantly, and people may give up when the novelty has worn off. Plus once you’ve made changes to be more efficient, your savings are going to be mostly nothing from then on. Yet, the meter has to be paid for. It’s not free. You pay for it in your bills.

On top of that, they’re a foot in the door of peak rate charging with peak set per customer.

55191

I still object to them! They should be saving a significant cost the billing provider because a person no longer has to appear to take a reading periodically

Well if your supplier is saving money and not passing on the saving, then switch to another supplier who charges less, probably partially because they’ve reduced their costs by fitting smart meters.

On top of that, they’re a foot in the door of peak rate charging with peak set per customer.

How would that work or benefit anyone? The whole point of charging for peak usage is to discourage use when the supplier does not have access to cheap energy! i.e. they want you to use the economy 7 rate as they’ve got loads of cheap energy paid for and cans till make a profit (probably even more than the daytime rate) even at a reduced rate.

As a supply and demand calculation individual domestic users use so little that it’s not going to impact on the price. What might be of benefit in the future is more resolution in the pricing and peaks. For example the energy company could send a signal to set the price at 5p/kwh and all your smart devices would come on (freezer, tumble dryer etc). Then in the evening when usage peaks in the ad breaks they could put the price upto 50p/kwh and those devices would cut out for 5 minutes.

Leveling out the load should save everyone money as peak generation is generally very inefficient and expensive (open cycle gas turbines, pumped storage).