Smart Meter question

[bradburyd]

Having now read the comments on the link posted by Mart ‘n’ Al, it would seem many more are against than for.

If the government are prepared to allocate all those billions of £s, then I suspect there is something we don’t know yet and when we find out we won’t be at all happy.

A smart meter would allow the electricity company to vary (ie. increase!) its charges during peaks in demand.

[BumbleB]

Exactly - so why would anyone go for this "smart" device?

We have a fixed monthly income - pension - and so we have opted to spread our payments to the energy supplier over the year.  We therefore, obviously, pay more in the summer than we use (especially as we are usually away from home for 2 months), but this is counteracted by our winter bills. 

Or have we lost the plot? 

[Retriever]

I was thinking more of things neither presently known or suspected, totally out of the blue.

[ReadyDale]

There was an item on BBC Breakfast this morning too.
Their "expert" said every home will save £x if they have a Smart Meter, but unless I'm missing something, unless you watch it intently, see what is on when it is flying round and turn that off, you won't save anything. The device itself won't save you money, as was implied.

Interestingly, my stepson had one installed a few months back (fell for the "it's compulsory" line). Apparently, theirs keeps losing it's change very quickly, so they now use more electricity charging the thing up then they would have if it hadn't been installed. 

[BumbleB]

Slightly off-topic, sorry.  We also have solar panels.  If I submit the readings by e-mail, then we may or may not get a correspondingly accurate payment.  If, however, I ring the company and give the reading verbally, then it is accurate!   

[Guy Etchells]

Exactly - so why would anyone go for this "smart" device?

We have a fixed monthly income - pension - and so we have opted to spread our payments to the energy supplier over the year.  We therefore, obviously, pay more in the summer than we use (especially as we are usually away from home for 2 months), but this is counteracted by our winter bills. 

Or have we lost the plot? 

Not at all but with a smart meter you can check your power company is not taking more in direct debits than is required and change the amount of the direct debit online.

There was an item on BBC Breakfast this morning too.
Their "expert" said every home will save £x if they have a Smart Meter, but unless I'm missing something, unless you watch it intently, see what is on when it is flying round and turn that off, you won't save anything. The device itself won't save you money, as was implied.

Interestingly, my stepson had one installed a few months back (fell for the "it's compulsory" line). Apparently, theirs keeps losing it's change very quickly, so they now use more electricity charging the thing up then they would have if it hadn't been installed. 

The point you miss is unless you keep track of things for example bank accounts, money can be deducted in error or by fraud.
Smart meters allow you to check what energy has been used and what is owed, reductions can be made to stay comfortable but still save money.

The smart meter does not use any more energy to run than a dumb meter. I take it the thing your stepson has to charge is the home display. This only needs to be plugged in when you want to check in real time what energy is used, not all the time.

Cheers
Guy

[GrahamH]

Not at all but with a smart meter you can check your power company is not taking more in direct debits than is required and change the amount of the direct debit online.

We pay a standard amount by DD each month for gas & electricity (much like the previous poster). The company can not charge more than we have agreed to without our further agreement. When necessary (I have done it) I can vary the monthly payment myself on-line already (up or down).

Until the company can provide us with satisfactory answers any answers regarding data security, the data they will take from the meter and how they will use that data in conjunction with other data they hold then we will not agree to a so-called smart meter being installed.

[Nic.]

The current roll out of Smart Meters being pushed by the Government and Suppliers.  They tell you that it saves you having to submit meter readings as the meter sends it for you.

BUT they fail to say that if you switch suppliers regularly then the Smart Meter you've had fitted probably won't work with your next supplier. 

I wasn’t aware but my parents were talked into having one fitted a few years ago.  They’ve since changed supplier twice and this meter hasn’t worked with either of the new suppliers so they’re back to reading the meter and submitting.  So it’s not so smart.

I understand that somewhere in the system is a universal one, until this is available I will not be getting one. 

Nic

[bykerlads]

Worryingly, a friend had the smart meter installers turn up uninvited at her door, saying that a booking had been made to install the meter. She had not made any booking. It appears that it had been made by the people who had serviced ner cenfral heating boiler a few weeks earlier. All very odd.