Not so smart meter

So far, I think that they have cost every household something like £450, which is added to the bills over the years, drip by drip. And no, the basic digital meters are not perfect either, actually very poor, but I have one, but would much rather have kept my big brass and aluminium thing with a spinning disc that I know was accurate, did not over-read. Should never have let the man in to change it.

Even thinking of putting my own one in again to challenge the spurious over-readings from the little digital box, which I distrust completely. Not that that would likely get me very far.

I don't trust these things at all, knowing a bit about what's inside them, and they cannot provide any benefit to me, since they cannot possibly work where I live.

Speaking as a well qualified electronics engineer, amongst other things, with quite some experience in at a level beyond most. In far more sophisticated stuff. A cynic ? well yes.
 
I just don't get this smart meter mallarcy (a Yorkshire term for wtf.)

If a light is on I don't need I turn it off.
If I'm too hot then I turn the heating down.

How does a smart meter help?

I don't have a smart meter bit I do have one of the monitors/display on the electricity meter tails.
It does help give people a better understanding of what things use the most electricity, like the washing machine when the water heater element is on. :)
 
Smart Ugh !
If people do not realise that any Leccy device that heats water is expensive...Then tough.. assuming they can read
Yes a smart meter will highlight your high cost usage. !
Yes some poorer people have little choice (eg prepay meters)..I can feel an anti-governmen (All parties) rant coming on

As others have posted..In future they MAY be able to charge you more if you use more at peak periods..
Economy 7 in reverse..
By and large with modern tech it is the responsibility of the Energy providers assisted by or directed by Government TO DO THEIR JOB without shafting us !
But then I am an idealist
 
I just don't get this smart meter mallarcy (a Yorkshire term for wtf.)

If a light is on I don't need I turn it off.
If I'm too hot then I turn the heating down.

How does a smart meter help?


Aha, that`s where we`re going wrong and my bloody electrickery bill is so high :mad:

When the sun is shining bright ( like it is now ) the wife will draw the curtains so it` doesn`t blind her then turn the lights on because the room is too dark o_O

Similarly when the windows are on the vent setting and it`s blowing a cold wind the wife feels cold so she turns the heating up o_O
 
I just don't get this smart meter mallarcy (a Yorkshire term for wtf.)

If a light is on I don't need I turn it off.
If I'm too hot then I turn the heating down.

How does a smart meter help?

smart meters are nothing whatsoever with energy saving or saving the planet. They are a sophisticated monitoring device which shows you how much you are using. You can see that if you get monthly bills and read your meters every month and send the readings through to your supplier. Since the privatisation of electric and gas the whole industry has become more and more shambolic. There are now dozens and dozens of utility suppliers. Half a dozen went bankrupt last year alone. Some of these were thieves pure and simple - and stole a lot of money from the vulnerable PAYG sector customers. The industry watchdog is fairly pointless and toothless. Some of the Big 6's records of complaints are horrendous. I think that smart meters are more about the utilities gaining control of what they supply and when and to whom. Big Brother...... i wont have one under any circumstances.
 
The trouble is when they inspect the meter they look for the burn marks.
Just asking for a friend you understand, can you have a second supply without a meter ?
Yes crawl under floor boards and chip a hole through to next door,then splice into there wall socket cables. 😂 (y)
 
I don't have a smart meter bit I do have one of the monitors/display on the electricity meter tails.
It does help give people a better understanding of what things use the most electricity, like the washing machine when the water heater element is on. :)
Yes i found the smart meter when it worked interesting we have a security light outside and when it came on I dipped the the whole national grid, the smart meter would rise rapidly. It was on a motion sensor and was on and off most of the night due to next doors cat, I now only switch it on when we go to peeps must be saving some money!
Also used to leave a number of electrical items on standby now i switch them off, When it starts working again i was going to hook up shirley and do a base test to see how much it costs to charge her up or how much power she pulls with all the 240v stuff working.
 
Yes i found the smart meter when it worked interesting we have a security light outside and when it came on I dipped the the whole national grid, the smart meter would rise rapidly. It was on a motion sensor and was on and off most of the night due to next doors cat, I now only switch it on when we go to peeps must be saving some money!
Also used to leave a number of electrical items on standby now i switch them off, When it starts working again i was going to hook up shirley and do a base test to see how much it costs to charge her up or how much power she pulls with all the 240v stuff working.
Why is it not a led unit or are you living in the past.
 
Why is it not a led unit or are you living in the past.
Good point just haven't got around to it, But have changed over to LED in the camper and i did not need a long ladder to do it, but now you have got me thinking it's on the summer to do list!
 
I just don't get this smart meter mallarcy (a Yorkshire term for wtf.)

If a light is on I don't need I turn it off.
If I'm too hot then I turn the heating down.

How does a smart meter help?
Set your living room stat to 21 and leave it there,the heating will always be correct and use less fuel.
 
Set your living room stat to 21 and leave it there,the heating will always be correct and use less fuel.
we had no heating on at all yesterday, evening a balmy 16 degrees in the living room , sat watching telly dressed in joggers ,shirt and jumper. sheets are a tad chilly to bare skin when hopping into bed but soon warm up. 14 degrees in living room this morning. quite comfy sat here dressed typing this. mrs is still pottering in just a dressing gown and no socks. heating only goes on in the eve if its below zero outside. only once this winter have we left a leccy oil filled rad on overnight.

last couple of mornings ive done a couple of hours gardening before lunch in the sunshine in shoes and socks.
 
The old adage is “if it gets hot it uses a lot”. Not too hard to understand. We have transferred a lot of our camper van habits to the home, only filling the kettle with what you want to use, we also have a flask we put excess hot water into and use for washing up later. As for the heating, wearing clothing appropriate to the time of year helps. It’s just common sense really. Also it needs you to think for yourself and make your own decisions, something which seems to be a bit out of fashion these days..........
 
We had one but do not now since we changed suppliers.

To be honest, I found it an innocuous little device which I could either look at or ignore. It was helpful a couple of times when I noticed that we seemed to have been using more than normal and a scout round the house showed devices left on or on standby, or we realised that we had used the tumble drier at the most expensive times. I now have to read the meter myself and email the reading to my supplier, but that's no real hardship.

All in all though, it doesn't really bother me now whether we have one or not.
 
we had no heating on at all yesterday, evening a balmy 16 degrees in the living room , sat watching telly dressed in joggers ,shirt and jumper. sheets are a tad chilly to bare skin when hopping into bed but soon warm up. 14 degrees in living room this morning. quite comfy sat here dressed typing this. mrs is still pottering in just a dressing gown and no socks. heating only goes on in the eve if its below zero outside. only once this winter have we left a leccy oil filled rad on overnight.

last couple of mornings ive done a couple of hours gardening before lunch in the sunshine in shoes and socks.
Tuff lot you Normans. ;)
 
I just don't get this smart meter mallarcy (a Yorkshire term for wtf.)

If a light is on I don't need I turn it off.
If I'm too hot then I turn the heating down.

How does a smart meter help?

Lets yer know how much lecky yer using every month - know worrah (Geordie term - sometimes for wtf) mean, like?

Trouble is they also tell Big Brother & his b*****d cousins - & most 'smart' meters give up the ghost when you change supplier...
 

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