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johnny37 | 13:51 Wed 20th Jan 2016 | Home & Garden
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when browsing my latest energy bills I noticed a page for smart meters. Filled out the details and provider has given me an installation date in one month. I thought the roll out is going to take years! should i get it done?
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No. It costs. It gives you nothing of any use. And very likely gives them control of your supply without the need to get access orders. Why do something that benefits them and does nothing for you except add a cost that, being realistic) will get passed on to the consumer to ensure dividends remain ok some way or another. Tell them what they should do with their so called smart meters, and that is, of course, return them to the manufacturer for a refund. And to stop bothering you.
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A bit strong OG. We are all going to get them eventually whether we like it or not.

not relevant here Reminds me of resistance to water meters. Reduced my water bills by 50%!
Reduced your water bills as a bribe bribe to get the meter for the company's benefit, whist those who are community minded are abused as cash cows to fund it. Another immoral act being allowed by the government on the people.

No not too strong, probably far too weak. Being forced on people is an abuse of their rights, allowed by a government whose incentive we can only speculate about. The fact this is allowed to go on doesn't make it right, it makes it very wrong and the people don't seem to get it, or they don't care.

Give the people cakes and circuses and they'll allow you to do anything. Give them a sweet or similar and they'll tell you their passwords apparently.
Are they charging you to install the meter, johnny?
Not obviously. It'll be in larger future bills as costs go up before they otherwise would. That's so they can pretend it's free for you.
If there is no charge how can he demand a refund?
so that would be a “no” then OG?
Had ours fitted a month ago, free to install do not have to send in meter readings anymore and you can see exactly how much energy and money you are spending ..no problem.
A water meter saves me a fortune every year, too.
Cheer up, OG. I'm happy with my water meter and actually think having a meter makes you community minded because it discourages the waste we all see. I am sure the main reasons many haven't switched yet is either because they are large users/wasters of water apathy rather than because they are "community minded ".
I can see the advantages of smart meters when the prices make them worthwhile.
Why is it easier for the water companies to raise their prices when everyone has a meter, than under the old rateable value system, OG?

You have always been able to see how much energy you are using. Just take a reading at 10am and another at 11am, deduct the first from the second to get the number of KWhs used and multiply it by the cost per KWh to get the cost.

And in any case what are you going to do with this wealth of information? Sit in the dark because it costs too much to turn the lights on?

I have monthly meter readings and calculations (gas and leccy) going back almost 9 years. I take them to send to the energy companies (which I do online) and to check they are charging me correctly. I also use the figures to compare tariffs to make sure I am on the cheapest one I can get. It has not modified my use of gas or leccy at all and nor will a Smart meter. I'm not profligate with energy but I use what I have to use, no more, no less. If I want to make savings I know which are the "big ticket" appliances where I can make the most savings.

The energy companies make a big deal about "estimated bills". There is no need for anybody to receive an estimated bill. All energy companies provide facilities for customer readings which can be given online or by phone.

Smart meters suffer from a load of hype and claptrap which has spewed forth from the Green lobby. They do nothing for the consumer that he could not do himself and what they do achieve is of little practical use. If my energy company wants to fit one in my house free of charge they'd be more than welcome to do so. I've had new meters in the past and I appreciate that technology changes. But don't disguise it with a load of cattle excrement that tells me they are the best thing since sliced bread.
I agree with NJ.
I read my gas/electricity meters once a month and enter the readings on line. That way my bills are not estimates and I can get usage graphs and online reports to see if I'm using more than I need and I can do accurate price comparisons between suppliers periodically
It's not so easy to calculate the gas bill, though. I think it's very convoluted
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Ive no prob with the current system. It all balances out eventually. Some of the comments above remind me of something I said years ago when working in IT to the effect that I could not see the benefit of computers in the home!!
Yes, hc, deliberately so, I think
The roll out of Smart meters has had an impact already..the installers are not registered electrical contractors and as such cannot check connections within adjacent switchgear i.e.your distribution board.Many Smart meters have been installed and surprise,surprise adjacent switchgear main tail connections have become loose and overheated.The Fire service have been called out to many.The result is that now all distribution boards are required to be of steel construction and any moulded boards still in use will attract a strong advisory notice at the next scheduled test.

So get your wallets out!!
"It's not so easy to calculate the gas bill, though. I think it's very convoluted"

It's almost as simple, hc. Just needs an additional calculation.

Most gas meters measure gas consumed in cubic meters. The gas companies make a big deal about how this is calculated. They mention such things as "calorific equivalents" anad "conversion factors".

In fact, if you multiply the cubic meters used by 11.1 this will give you the KWhs used. It is true that the 11.1 figure may vary because the "calorific value" varies with regular tests. However, these variations are so small as to be insignificant for domestic bill calculations.
Thanks for that, NJ. Why the companies can't simply tell us how much each extra digit on the meter costs is beyond me.
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brightspark. Not registered? I thought electrical and gas installers have to have accreditation. Whatever the prob its been rectified now I guess.

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