are they worth getting, I cannot see how they help. I would still use the same electric and gas TBH. Any of you out there have them and have they reduced your bills.
We had one and I unplugged it after 3 weeks, I was always checking it, got a bit OCD ,my Bill's didnt come down by having one, if your cold you put the heating on, if you leave a light on you turn it off, I'm now with bulb( brilliant btw) and they keep emailing me to have one, no thanks mate, I'm fine
thats exactly what I was thinking matey. As you said it seems it coulfd become an obscession. I would still use the same gas and electric for my requirements.
Really dont get them, you have to use energy to use them. Plus as a yorkshireman isnt it a case of " put a jumper on if ya cold" ha ha
When I worked, my job entailed buying Energy. The " mantra" was that the cheapest unit of energy was the one you didn't use. When the markets first de-regulated, the blight of the industry was that the majority of consumption ( apart from half hourly large electricity sites) was unmetered and therefore charges were based on estimated consumption. Given that the industry standard only required an actual reading to be made every two years, it was a safe bet that consumers were paying over the odds, because suppliers would over estimate any consumption levels in their favour. The benefit of Smart meters is that they accurately record actual consumption, meaning that you only pay for what you have used. As far as the customer is concerned, with the ability to interrogate the information being provided you can accurately work out your daily costs. Knowing that information has certainly helped my wife and myself control our daily usage and as a result , we are definitely more prudent in our use of gas and electricity than we were before we had our meter installed.
@Donny Red, I appreciate what you're saying but how is this different from simply reading your own conventional meter on a regular basis?
I had a Smart Meter fitted early December as part of signing a cheap online deal(with my present company).When the meter man came he couldn't fit the gas meter because he had to go in my attic to check my boiler. Because I hadn't got a fixed loft ladder he wasn't allowed to go up and check "Health and Safety".Fair enough I said tell EDF I'l have a fitted ladder installed if they'll pick up the bill. He then proceeded to fit the electric Smart Meter.The meter was fitted and it sends my readings straight to my supplier. When it came to having a meter reading device connected it wouldn't connect.So eventually EDF sent me a device with instructions how to connect it myself.After a few attempts it still wouldn't pick up a signal.The device now lives in a cupboard. The benefits for me are no longer going down into my cellar to read my electric meter.The gas meter is better located for me to send a monthly reading. All in all a lot of expense to the utility companies for not a lot of benefit.
Trouble with self reads for us, was that we never kept a record from one read to another, plus we had the jobof phoning the supplier to give our readings. An added complication was that the gas meter is in a run of units and is very difficult to read. We had to use an illuminated mirror to even see the figures on the meter. The Smart meter is on the kitchen worktop and is readily visible. Depending on the the accumulated total forany particular day, we are prompted as to whether or not we need to adjust the stat or turn our heating off for a time, whereas before, we might leave it on throughout the day. In short, we have become more acutely aware of our daily running costs.
Not sure about this but I read somewhere that you have to have a direct debit set up and when the smart meter says so they take that reading and therefore money from your account? Perhaps someone could confirm that who has one? My doubt about them is that it could take away your power to pay the bill when you're ready. In other words say you had an unexpected outlay such a car repair, in previous times you could delay paying the bill for a week or two, or wait till the "red bill" came before nipping up to the Post Office to pay it. What happens if you haven't enough in your account to pay the bill? Can you ring them up and ask to pay it the following week? A returned Direct Debit is charged at £20 by my bank, so you'd be even further in debt. to me there is no benefit to them and there are lots of stories of technical issues, I wouldn't want to give away my ability to pay a bill with some days leeway
I was told they allow the provider to alter the price at a whim. When the demand is greatest, like half time on cup final day, when we all use the bathroom or make a cup of tea etc.they can charge more
Going to be compulsory soon any way Also if you change supplier the smart meters won’t work with the new supplier so you have to get a new meter every time you change supplier
Smart meters are the equipment attached to your supply in the cabinets outside, not the monitor that tells you how much youre spending that's just supplementary. It gets rid of the need for having to give readings and ensures you're paying the right amount. You don't have to keep the monitor plugged in if you don't want to.
What a country we live in. We roll out Smart meters that don't work when you switch supplier. But don't worry we are taking back control so we can drop even more ********.
The SMETS2 devices do allow the supplier to change. The accuracy is the main benefit in the short term, no surprise bills. Once the smart network is up and running energy companies will be able to vary their prices according to demand, so you'll be able to turn the washing machine on at cheaper times of the day. There are also benefits for prepayment customers, the leccy won't get shut off at night when the shops are shut, for example.
Don't see any benefit myself and as someone who changes supplier every 12 months seemed pointless anyway. As others have said I wouldn't adjust my usage in any way. The things I have on I want on and I'm willing to pay the bill.