Had one fitted a couple of weeks ago. Checking my weekly cost the meter shows £75 usage last week. I phoned to check out if it was faulty as our normal monthly bill is around £120. I was told that it takes up to 28 days for the meter to start working properly! Is this true? Surely it just reads what you are using, how does it need a “settling in” period?

We had one fitted 10 days ago, we’ve averaged £1.48 per day so far

I won’t be fitting having a smart meter fitted!

There has to be a period to adjust the overpayment system to ensure you’re still overpaying. It’ll settle down and then reflect the true amount you’re overpaying.

Or you could get an independent energy monitor or just read the meter and see how much you are truly using.

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They are talking crap, no settling in period. However if £120 is your average usage, summer will be lower and winter higher so sounds sensible?

I’m not going to have one of these bloody things till I am actually forced to. Which won’t be long now I’m sure.😁

Who you with Trailwagger?

That sounds odd.

They are talking crap, no settling in period. However if £120 is your average usage, summer will be lower and winter higher so sounds sensible?

I think you missed the part about the £75 being per week not per month…

Who you with Trailwagger?

Did a comparison and switched to First Energy. Part of the deal for the lower tarrif was you had to have a smart meter. 2 months after I switched First Energy became Shell Energy.

Shirley You can easily work it out on paper. Presumably the meter started at zero, what does it read now? Times it by your tariff and add on your per day standing charge.

Shirley You can easily work it out on paper. Presumably the meter started at zero, what does it read now? Times it by your tariff and add on your per day standing charge.

The actual meters are blank… the only reading I get is on the monitor thingy in the kitchen.

trailwagger

Member

Shirley You can easily work it out on paper. Presumably the meter started at zero, what does it read now? Times it by your tariff and add on your per day standing charge.

The actual meters are blank… the only reading I get is on the monitor thingy in the kitchen.

you should still be able to take a reading as normal, on mine I press A and cycle through the screens it shows until I get to the one showing the units.

https://help.bulb.co.uk/hc/en-us/articles/115001232832-How-do-I-read-my-meter-#h_823d3aac-d839-4df1-956b-58f948cc820a

Is the meter calculating cost with the right tariff info? Could be that needs time to be updated.
My meter reads in kWh correctly, but displays bonkers numbers in £.

I won’t be fitting having a smart meter fitted!

+1 but am anticipating a struggle to find a good deal without one once my contract ends. It will involve reading lots of small print no doubt.

Why are people against having one?

Why are people against having one?

Conspiracy theories and pseudoscience mostly from what I’ve seen, with a side order of Luddism. Something something radiation something, y’know, as if things like radio and sunlight don’t exist.

Why are people against having one?

Potential for them tracking supply & demand, & increasing the price of electricity accordingly. Similar to the costs of holidays when the kids are off school.

Personal choice as well as worrying about misaligned chakras. Quite simple really.

Potential for them tracking supply & demand, & increasing the price of electricity accordingly. Similar to the costs of holidays when the kids are off school.

They only need a small % of customers to have one to enable that, so that ship has already sailed.

I resisted as there were issues when switching suppliers on the 1st Gen smart meters.  Seems that 2nd Gen are now finally being rolled out that are much more portable.

Potential for them tracking supply & demand, & increasing the price of electricity accordingly. Similar to the costs of holidays when the kids are off school.

Hate to break it to you but National Grid know supply and demand already else the grid wouldn’t work and electricity prices are set in half hour blocks, a dumb meter just means your paying an average usage price. Meanwhile I’ll happily fill my EV, run dishwasher and washing machine for 5p/kWh

I resisted as there were issues when switching suppliers on the 1st Gen smart meters. Seems that 2nd Gen are now finally being rolled out that are much more portable.

The only issue with SMETS1 meters was that you could lose the “smart” functionality if you changed providers, essentially turning it into the meter you’d have had anyway if you didn’t upgrade. There was nothing stopping you changing providers.

SMETS2 meters use an agreed standard, so should continue to work whoever your provider is.

Conspiracy theories and pseudoscience mostly from what I’ve seen, with a side order of Luddism. Something something radiation something, y’know, as if things like radio and sunlight don’t exist.

Is about what I figured

The only issue with SMETS1 meters was that you could lose the “smart” functionality if you changed providers, essentially turning it into the meter you’d have had anyway if you didn’t upgrade. There was nothing stopping you changing providers.

Yup, I have a SMETS1 meter, have swapped multiple times but need to read it and submit the readings non-smartly. In fact completely non-smartly now, as the inside-the-house unit has stopped working, so I have to go out to the garage and look at the meters themselves.

Exactly, so SMETS1 meant that if you changed supplier and you/they still wanted a smart meter then you might need to get another one installed.  That’s enough of a disincentive for me not to bother, especially when SMETS2 was announced that solved the problem, but then it’s taken a while for SMETS2 meters to be the default for installers (earlier this year) so I might look at it again when I next change supplier.  But my gas meter can be read by opening a cupboard under the stairs and I walk past the leccy meter every time I go to my car, so if there’s no incentive to install a smart meter then why bother?

so SMETS1 meant that if you changed supplier and you/they still wanted a smart meter then you might need to get another one installed. That’s enough of a disincentive for me not to bother, especially when SMETS2 was announced that solved the problem

That was exactly my thinking, and the reason I don’t have one. After mithering me for the best part of a year to have a SMETS1 meter installed, Scottish Power emailed me a few weeks ago saying “hey, we’ve got the new ones now!” so really the only reason I’ve not said yes now is apathy.

Actually, that’s a point. Does anyone know, does having a meter installed tie you in to a new 12-month contract? Or can you have it installed and then jump ship a month later?

In slight defense of the naysayers, if I had smets1 there’s a very good chance I wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the 5ppkwh tariff mat303uk aludes to above. Therefore I have to presume many other tariffs I’m not yet aware of would also not be available with a dumb smart meter.

I’ve got one of the original ones, and it’s now in a cupboard that’s got shelves that are a PITA to remove, so I won’t be changing until legislation or severely harsh contract terms force me too.

Eon were asking the other day I told them to go away.

Exactly, so SMETS1 meant that if you changed supplier and you/they still wanted a smart meter then you might need to get another one installed.

I don’t think you can have multiple installs tho, you’re stuck with what you get/got afaia. Hence people waiting for smets2. I don’t know that for sure just presume it costs a fortune installing one per household without many

SMETS 1 meters should be being moved onto the DCC network which means they’ll still work if you change supplier, I’m not sure how you can tell if yours has already migrated though…

So are SMETS2 smart meters physically smaller than the original meters and if so is a much smaller external cabinet provided? Or can the owner retro fit a smaller cabinet?

I don’t think you can have multiple installs tho, you’re stuck with what you get/got afaia.

Presumably one would remove the old one before fitting the new?

SMETS 1 meters should be being moved onto the DCC network

IIRC this is entirely dependent on the meter being able to or not. Could be wrong though.

i CBA as it would mean taking time off work while they installed it.

Presumably one would remove the old one before fitting the new?

What I meant was, if you already had a smart meter installed a couple of years ago, you can’t then decide you want another newer one installing again next year because the old one doesn’t do what you want it to anymore. I would imagine it’s one per household and then you’re stuck with it for it’s life span.
Thepurist seemed to be suggesting that if you wanted you could get another smart meter installed when you change supplier, which I think is very unlikely

Our meter is in the cupboard under the stairs which is full of shite.
So it’s out of sight and I won’t be rushing there to look at the smart meter move when I’ve switched on an LED lightbulb.
Load of ……..