I don't understand how a Smart meter will save me energy ?

BADGER.BRAD said:
The adverts telling me a smart meter will save me energy /money baffle me surely they are misleading ! If I use a 100 watt light bulb for an hour will it only use as much as a 75 watt light bulb if I have a smart meter fitted ?

Rant over , what do you think of them ?
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A smart meter does not magically lower the amount of electricity you use, and lower the costs.

A smart meter sort of show you how much you spent so far in a day, and hope to force you to turn off anything (lights, television, etc.,) in order to slow down the numbers going up.

As opposite to waiting 3 months for the next bill, found out that it's rather a bit high, and say "Okay! So who left the lights on all day?!"
 
I'm sure everybody who cares know this.... But agile prices are negative today. There is so much solar available the octopus are literally paying people to use it.

Of course I choose a different tariff otherwise I would be offering free ev charging on my drive to people visiting the beach :)

Question for the experts... What happens if all the UK's storage is full? Do we have to turn off solar farms? Where does the excess go?
 
For now EDF have stopped badgering me to have a smart meter fitted, but are now pushing these heat pump things.
Same answer ...
 
JonathanRyan said:
Question for the experts... What happens if all the UK's storage is full? Do we have to turn off solar farms? Where does the excess go?
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Not an expert, but a lot of the gas power-stations are very quick to turn on and off so they can simply turn them off in such a situation.

The under channel interchange cables are also two way so they can sell surplus to Europe.
 
Mozthecat said:
Not an expert, but a lot of the gas power-stations are very quick to turn on and off so they can simply turn them off in such a situation.

The under channel interchange cables are also two way so they can sell surplus to Europe.
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I think exporting to Europe may be out ATM - the price I saw for the Netherlands today was -€0.42 :)
 
And another way a smart meter could save you not energy but money....

octopus.energy

Octopus Power-ups | Free green electricity in East England

Get free electricity when there's spare green electrons in your area
octopus.energy octopus.energy

To save you a click.... This is a new scheme where people in certain "ultra green" power areas will get power up events to burn off excess green energy. All electricity used by people in the scheme for the duration of the event (typically an hour a day) will be free. They are encouraging people to use as much as they can in specific time periods.

You need a smart meter to apply, obviously. Also to be an octopus customer and live in the right areas.
 
I'm fine with a smart meter although there isn't really any advantage to us at the moment. I didn't realise until very recently that the tariff on the display can be changed remotely by the power company by sending a message to it . Nor did I realise that the readings on the display are completely irrelevant to your your actual bill which is calculated separately.
 
Cobra said:
For now EDF have stopped badgering me to have a smart meter fitted, but are now pushing these heat pump things.
Same answer ...
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Well, they've been badgering me for months to get one fitted, on the basis that the BBC will be switching off the radio service that tells E7 meters when to switch rates in April 24. So I eventually gave in and the guy came this morning to fit the 2 meters (Gas & Elec). He explained, only when asked mind you, that the Gas meter outside uses a proprietary version of Bluetooth to talk to the Electricity meter, which then uses the same bluetooth-type comms to talk to a little monitoring device that the resident has for seeing what is happening, and the Elec meter uses a GSM signal (sounded like 3G possible) using a sim card, to communicate to a Govt website that collects cosumptioon data from which the supplier pulls data for billing.

OK now I understand that. The trouble is, after doing the installations, he found that none of the devices were talking to each other, so they are in fact completely dumb devices at present, and I am going to have to google the meters to find out how to read the consumption data so that I can check they are working correctly. I am distinctly underwhelmed and annoyed.
 
lindsay said:
OK now I understand that. The trouble is, after doing the installations, he found that none of the devices were talking to each other, so they are in fact completely dumb devices at present, and I am going to have to google the meters to find out how to read the consumption data so that I can check they are working correctly. I am distinctly underwhelmed and annoyed.
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That confirms some things that I have seen reported else where.
Besides, aren't they switching off 3G shortly?

Since leaving EDF and going to Octopus, I've not been bombarded with such requests.
All I get now, when I log into my account, is a button to press if I want one.
Still no.
 
I think the install engineer is just saying Bluetooth because it sounds familiar.
The actual communication protocol for smart meter is Zigbee: https://www.smartme.co.uk/home-area-network.html

I use Zigbee extensively throughout my home for smart home stuff, Ikea, Xiaomi, Philips all use Zigbee and I can buy any Zigbee device to add to my HAN. Unfortunately the smart meters are on a different HAN to my smart home. So I bought a IHD that connects to my wifi and send MQTT messages to update my smart home about my smart meter readings.

This page may help you finding the right model to read the meter: https://www.smartme.co.uk/reading-my-meter.html
It may eventually come to life, it may not. Depends on how far between gas and elec meters and construction of your walls. Installer should have had some idea before installing. Either way, the electric smart meter should be functioning and sending data to your supplier in a few weeks time.
 
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@wyx087 Thanks for that - the guy did mention Zigbee, to be fair, and said bluetooth-like. I think you're right that he should have done a test of the comms between locations before installing, as the house is made of "Northampton brick" which is extremely hard, engineering-brick quality, and is a heavy attenuator of radio signals as I've found in trying to use Wifi throughout the building. If the signal from a device isn't strong enough, it won't get through the two brick walls between meters. The signal from the main meter to database should work though, just about.
 
lindsay said:
I think you're right that he should have done a test of the comms between locations before installing,
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Aha!

So: you're one of those troublemakers who thinks people should do the job they're being paid for...

:headbang:
 
It gets stranger.

Yesterday, octopus gave me free electricity for 2 hours. There so much green power in this area they literally give it away and encourage people to take as much as they can. Of course I charged the car and the batteries.

Today, they would like to buy it back at...£4 / kw :eek:
 
That's the grid's demand flexibility service in action.

My vehicle-2-home system is install just in time. I'll be able to shift my demand away from grid's crunch time. Getting paid £4/kWh for not using my usual amount whilst using electricity as normal, powered by 9 year old Nissan Leaf.

Batteries, they are an asset to de-carbonisation of grid. Both in creating demand when excess renewable and in removing demand when needed.
 
We have just signed up to a scheme which pays us for our ACTUAL export to the grid, rather than the deemed export to the grid of 50% of our solar generation. As we are pretty frugal with our electricity use I expect we'll do well out of it.

This would have been impossible without the smart meter.
 
Also impossible without solar panels, which we don’t have, this time of year although the sky is clear and the sun is splitting the trees due the low position of the sun neither side of my roof gets sunlight, is in fact in shade due to the position of the house relative to my neighbours, 1.20pm and her car is still frozen up on the drive, neighbours over the road have the blinds shut to stop the sun’s glare in the front windows.
 
JonathanRyan said:
It gets stranger.

Yesterday, octopus gave me free electricity for 2 hours. There so much green power in this area they literally give it away and encourage people to take as much as they can. Of course I charged the car and the batteries.

Today, they would like to buy it back at...£4 / kw :eek:
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You really do sound like a desperate Octopus salesman
 
jerry12953 said:
We have just signed up to a scheme which pays us for our ACTUAL export to the grid, rather than the deemed export to the grid of 50% of our solar generation. As we are pretty frugal with our electricity use I expect we'll do well out of it.

This would have been impossible without the smart meter.
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Be careful when signing up. You will move from deemed 50% export to "smart export guarantee" (SEG). This is a one way street. So you'll need to make sure to get on one of those 15p/kWh export tariffs. Check out my post on another forum for all the SEG export tariffs. https://www.speakev.com/threads/list-of-ev-tariff-for-2-5p-mile-motoring.179786/

I am now getting 6.7p/kWh for my deemed export, according to my FIT statement. I now have storage capability through V2H and utilise 99% of solar generation. This means it's better long term to stay on deemed export.

Not being on SEG means any export I do is not counted during grid's DFS saving sessions. So make sure you double check if any export you do are counted.
Otherwise I could have used my V2H bi-directional charger and dump 7.5kWh for almost £30 easy money at £4/kWh, charge it back up at 7.5p/kWh. Trading 101.
 
wyx087 said:
Be careful when signing up. You will move from deemed 50% export to "smart export guarantee" (SEG). This is a one way street. So you'll need to make sure to get on one of those 15p/kWh export tariffs. Check out my post on another forum for all the SEG export tariffs. https://www.speakev.com/threads/list-of-ev-tariff-for-2-5p-mile-motoring.179786/

I am now getting 6.7p/kWh for my deemed export, according to my FIT statement. I now have storage capability through V2H and utilise 99% of solar generation. This means it's better long term to stay on deemed export.

Not being on SEG means any export I do is not counted during grid's DFS saving sessions. So make sure you double check if any export you do are counted.
Otherwise I could have used my V2H bi-directional charger and dump 7.5kWh for almost £30 easy money at £4/kWh, charge it back up at 7.5p/kWh. Trading 101.
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This is the one we've signed up to - Looks like 15p per kwh........

https://www.goodenergy.co.uk/products/solar-savings/
 
my smart meter device has an odd issue in that it won't update the kw/h cpst for the leccy , all the other stuff is updating.
i used £10 of gas just yesterday alone
 
ecoleman said:
You really do sound like a desperate Octopus salesman
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This discussion seems to have fallen into two main camps: the greedy and the socially conscious - such is life under the current government... :exit:
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
This discussion seems to have fallen into two main camps: the greedy and the socially conscious - such is life under the current government... :exit:
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I don't see that at all i see the camps are , yes tech is great and i get benefits and possible cost savings and in today's times that is great,,, i then see generally old people that just see tech as an intrusion and would simply don't want to engage as has been said numerous time a smart meter will not save you money by default.

but if you engage with energy companies and certain schemes you can access cheap electricity and maybe gas at certain times and make savings by not using said energy at certain times, in or out is up to the individual.
 
Mr Bump said:
...and make savings by not using said energy at certain times, in or out is up to the individual.
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I disagree with that.

As a country, we have followed Thatcher and her band down the rabbit hole to selfishness. We were developing a practical form of social capitalism until the 1979 government derailed us (literally, by messing up the railways along with everything else). The idea that those who can afford the toys should pay the least is just another way of saying "every man for himself and devil take the hindmost". Not a game I want to play.
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
I disagree with that.

As a country, we have followed Thatcher and her band down the rabbit hole to selfishness. We were developing a practical form of social capitalism until the 1979 government derailed us (literally, by messing up the railways along with everything else). The idea that those who can afford the toys should pay the least is just another way of saying "every man for himself and devil take the hindmost". Not a game I want to play.
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you seem to disagree with everything in fact you seem very disagreeable in general a word beginning with W comes to mind.
 
jerry12953 said:
To call the latter neanderthals is being rude to neanderthals........
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You could be correct there.

The evidence is mounting that Homo neanderthalensis was more intelligent and less violent than Homo sapiens. There are also theories that the genetic heritage of those whose ancestry is mostly in the northern lattitudes, includes Neanderthal material.

It may therefor be the case that calling someone a Neanderthal is complimentary, rather than insulting.
 
Sorry to break up the little party, but throwing insults around just because you don't agree with someone or their stance on something,
doesn't give you the right to attack them ...
2 people are on a short thread break.
Your'll find out if its you when you try and reply...
 
Some years ago I was subjected to repeated pleas from EDF to install a smart meter. When it got to us getting a letter every month, I found the email address of the Chief Exec of EDF and sent him snottygram pointing out that I regarded their behaviour as tantamount to harassment and that if the letters continued I would consider what (legal) steps to take next.

I had a very apologetic response, agreeing to put a marker on my account to note that I did not wish to have a smart meter and that I was not to be chased regarding the installation of one. The badgering ceased and has not returned.

If you are suffering from a deluge of exhortations, it may be worth considering this approach.
 
With SSE I put in a complaint that I classed their campaign as marketing, which I had opted out of, and it was therefore a misuse of my data under GDPR. They didn’t confirm or deny but did suppress the letters, texts and emails regarding fitting one.

That property was a ground floor flat and the meter was in the middle of the block and a mobile dead-spot(all networks due to building design so one was pointless).


Our current house had them already when we moved in, and they make no significant difference to day to day life.
 
The energy companies are now offering incentives to users of smart meters but ultimately they save you nothing. What they do is make obvious the ways of using electricity to save money. Whether or not you take any notice of it is entirely up to the user. I can’t see how they are particularly targeted at the older, younger, pro change or anti change user.
 
It looks, more than ever, to be another "ministerial enthusiasm" that has cost a great deal, provided government money to the friends of the officials involved and given little or no advantage for the customer.

I wonder how long it will be until everyone involved starts pointing fingers and shouting "it was him! I had nothing to do with it".
 
Tringa said:
From this - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-67591320 - having a smart meter might not save you.

Dave
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I find it curious that its EDF that is cited here as the "screw ups"
I've mentioned before that I was paying them well over the top @£233 / month.
and was just about breaking even at the end of every year.
I joined Octopus ( other energy company's are available) a few months ago, @ £166 / month
And I'm in almost £300 credit.
(No smart meter here just manual readings every month)
 
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I do the same - readings every month(I usually remember but have a calendar reminder too). It doesn't give the real time data that smart meter do but it works and is easy to do.

Dave

That is quite a change from £233/month and breaking even to £166/month and well in credit.
 
Tringa said:
I do the same - readings every month(I usually remember but have a calendar reminder too).
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I get an email a couple of days before the reading is due.

Tringa said:
That is quite a change from £233/month and breaking even to £166/month and well in credit.
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When I questioned at one point, why I was paying well over the price cap, they seemed to think that I was using a lot more than that :thinking:
 
I still don't really understand how a meter is going to save me money ( I fully accept that for some people it will) I don't have an electric car , Having one at least at this point would be a major inconvenience. I get up at 4.30am have a quick shower ( gas) and then get off to work I get home at about 4 pm then go about the usual business of living as we all do. Then I just repeat the cycle. I'm not keen on leaving things on as a friends house set fire whilst they were in bed in which they narrowly escaped death this would have killed me and mine as I'm at least 8 miles down little country lanes away from the nearest fire station. The point I'm making is for a lot of people their energy use times are fixed by their routine which is not flexible. I only use what I need/want to and don't leave things turned on when I'm not using them. I don't have Solar as my house faces the wrong way to make them efficient and my heating is by free waste wood.
 
Cobra said:
It seems that you made a right call at the right time (for you)
But I wonder how much your average person actually spends on a second hand car.
I certainly don't. My previous car cost me a little over £3000, I kept that for 5 years, and it cost me very little in maintenance.
less than £1000 in replacement parts, fitted, over the 5 years I owned it. 2x front springs, exhaust,( That was bloody expensive) water pump.


Should the worst happen, from the figures quoted, a replacement engine seems a lot cheaper than replacement batteries.
Everyone to their own, but they (EV's) are not for me, well not in this life time anyway.
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I think even £3000 is a generous amount. There are a great many people who can only just afford to par £1000 for a car to get them yo work etc.
About 5 1/2 years ago my wife bought (well I did with her money) a Picanto, no rust and 12 months MOT, for £850, about 3 1/2 years ago it had a clutch, and this year I didn't do the work for MOT, so that is about £700 in the time we have had it.
She doesn't want to get rid of it but understands that any major expense needed will mean scrapping it
( the most economical cars in terms of capital are those cheap ones that have 12 months MOT :) )

I am no longer working, and if my car gave up, I would have to buy a similarly priced car.

There isn't even the faintest possibility we could afford an electric car, and my guess is that there are millions in the same position.

There will come a stage when a second hand petrol car and a second hand electric car will cost about the same, but unless that cost is much lower than now relative to earnings, there will be a major problem, as "public transport" doesn't exist, and what bus services there are are expensive and unreliable.

The other side of it I have been saying for years, is how is everyone going to charge their vehicles?
We are often now near to having little generation capacity in reserve, and the national grid needs a lot of upgrading.

Governments have dragged their heels in building new nuclear power plants, and looking at modular plants, either the RR one or pebble bed, both of which would solve the generation and distribution problem, but even if they woke up now, there will still be problems before they are ready.

It seems Sunak had seen it (or openly seen it, as others must have seen it) when he has been back peddling on the ending of ICE vehicles.

Every time there is an "answer" it just raises more questions.
 
Blimey Steve, where did you drag that up from? :D
Sangoma said:
I think even £3000 is a generous amount. There are a great many people who can only just afford to par £1000 for a car to get them yo work etc.
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But yes I agree and understand what you are saying.
My £3k car ( + £1K expenses) over 5 years isn't too outrageous IMO.
But then again, you only have to look at some of the "My car" images posted here, that spend far more than that, and way out of my price range, and they could easily afford an electric one, but seems they choose not to.
 
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