Scottish Power want to install a Smart Meter – do I have to have one?

Smart meters are awesome. Means we can take advantage of better power deals. Not sure if something similar exists in the UK but here we pay the spot price (ie wholesale electric price) plus 10% and a smartphone app shows you the current price. Right now I’m paying 20c/unit, at 11pm tonight that’ll drop to around 10c so my dishwasher and washing machine are set to come on then 🙂

And if you’re environmentally inclined you can also see where you power is coming from, athough this isn’t a function of smart meters it’s still pretty cool:

I’m with British Gas and get Nectar points when I read the meters every month, I can’t see any point in changing to a smart meter as long as that carries on.
I also have a display in the kitchen that shows how much electric we’re using, so I don’t see how a smart meter is going to benefit me as a consumer.

I’m not against smart meters, just the lack of foresight that means what’s being offered isn’t useful to 1000’s

If the problem is in the thousands, then the problem is statistically insignificant

Some of the points about compatibility and smartness after switching supplier up there ^^ are a little bit out of date.

There’s a company called DCC who are rolling out a network that all meters will (eventually) talk to. It’s been a long time in coming though, and a lot of the early adopter meters won’t talk to it.

So, if you decide to have it installed OP, ask if it’s DCC compatible, and if not then that’s a reasonable reason to defer.

I’ve got a smart meter, I never look at the display as I’m not that interested in it, I do however get accurate bills and would hate to go back to the old estimated bills carry on of years ago.

Smart meters are awesome. Means we can take advantage of better power deals. Not sure if something similar exists in the UK

I just wish it did 🙁

I’d refuse ATM as the current technology doesn’t link to smartphones

Ovo app gets its data direct from the meter, so not strictly true.

I’ve got one from SSE, but they won’t bill on usage like your phone bill so I still have to whine at them once a year to get a refund of credit on the account.

Would be more concerned about them being used to build an advertising profile as it’s not difficult for them to figure out what you’re watching on TV based on the power usage (Shazam but for power fluctuations).

Not particularly sold one way or the other on Smart Meters.

But I think the “accurate bill” is a bit of a red herring. I have the phone app for my leccy (and gas) and I just take a reading myself and submit it through the app. Literally a ten second job.

Would be more concerned about them being used to build an advertising profile as it’s not difficult for them to figure out what you’re watching on TV based on the power usage

How’s that work with so many channels to choose from?

How much elec do smart meters use? If every house in GB has one aswell- seems self defeating.

How much elec do smart meters use? If every house in GB has one aswell- seems self defeating.

What do you think the current (ancient in some cases) meters run on? Fairy Dust?

No one’s mentioned yet that these meters are costing us (the consumers) an estimated £11Bn. That could fund a lot of extra doctors, nurses and teachers.