Smart meter not communicating

[swill453]

see the article
remotely I assume
"Once a smart meter is installed, it is a much simpler process for a supplier to swap the customer into prepay mode at the push of a button, rather than having to apply for a warrant and install a physical box."

Yeah, but it doesn't explain how you top it up, which is what I don't understand.

Scott.

[pje16]

Yep remotely

Ofgem has sent an alarming warning over the growing number of households with smart meters that are being shifted onto more expensive plans remotely

https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/ ... ment-meter

PS I didn't mention topping up

[swill453]

PS I didn't mention topping up

I know. I'm asking. Otherwise I don't understand the concept.

Scott.

[pje16]

If you are metered it is cheaper
all I did was highlight a very good reason not to have smart meter (they can switch you to a dearer plan remotely)
WHY does anyone NEED a meter
How hard is it to switch things off you are not using and to read a meter
This is stitching the people who can least afford it

[kiloran]

see the article
remotely I assume
"Once a smart meter is installed, it is a much simpler process for a supplier to swap the customer into prepay mode at the push of a button, rather than having to apply for a warrant and install a physical box."

Yeah, but it doesn't explain how you top it up, which is what I don't understand.

Scott.

https://www.smartenergygb.org/smart-met ... -customers

With a prepay smart meter, you’ll no longer need to access your meters to top up – great if they’re difficult to reach!

This is because you'll be able to see how much credit you have left via your portable in-home display. So, your remaining credit will always be easily readable. You’ll also be able to top up remotely online - no more popping to the shops in your dressing gown when you run out of credit!

I've been resolutely refusing a smart meter. Can't be bothered with the potential hassle of installation and getting it to work (my gas meter is about 10m from the electricity meter and that can be problematic). But I now can't refuse one.... I got a letter from Eon to say that my electricity meter has reached end-of-life (10 or 20 years, I believe) so legally it must be replaced. And it will be replaced by a smart meter.

--kiloran

[bungeejumper]

I've been resolutely refusing a smart meter. Can't be bothered with the potential hassle of installation and getting it to work (my gas meter is about 10m from the electricity meter and that can be problematic). But I now can't refuse one.... I got a letter from Eon to say that my electricity meter has reached end-of-life (10 or 20 years, I believe) so legally it must be replaced. And it will be replaced by a smart meter.

I'm getting the same thing from Octopus, which says my electricity meter has exceeded its validation period (or something like that), and that they'll have to replace it with a smart meter because they're not allowed to fit old-style meters any more.

I emailed Octopus, pointing out:

1) That we don't have a 3G mobile reception, and even 2G doesn't work indoors. (We are in southern England, where the mobile network is used);

2) That our meter cupboard is very, very crowded with switchgear and suchlike, and that there is no way an area the size of an A4 document can be found in there for the smart meter thing. (I sent them a photo.) I took it that they'd replace or reposition everything at their expense, not mine? If so, I said, I might be persuaded.

3) That we also have our gas meter far away in the kitchen, and that there is at least a five foot thickness of solid stone walls between the two meters to get through, so there's no real hope of the two meters communicating through the ether, even if they get lucky with one.

I got a reply saying that none of this should present any problems, so would I please contact them to arrange the installation? Well, either their people are more capable than I had expected, or else they haven't got a clue and they're going to find out the hard way. I wonder which it will be?

Only one way to find out, I suppose? But I'm not making a move on smart meters till next summer. We had a bad enough experience last year with Bulb's smart meter people, who abruptly cut off our tenant because they'd failed to keep their own records up to date, so they were trying to read an extinct meter that their own people had thrown into a skip the previous month. Oh, the joys of technological progress.

BJ

[Bouleversee]

My meters are in separate cabinets on the front wall of the house, separated by a few feet, but Eon-next, who forced me to agree to Smart meters a couple of years ago before allowing me to go on a fixed rate supply. They then kept me waiting for months before installing them and they didn't work. 3 or 4 different technicians had a go with long intervals between visits and eventually I was told that they were working and sending back readings but the Home Display device wasn't. Another visit and still no go. Then I spoke to a woman in the billing dept. who suggested I take the display device out and put it in the cupboard housing the elec. meter and leave it overnight, then plug it in back on the kitchen wall the other side of the wall where the meter is and then wait for another hour or so and see what happens. It lit up and said it was working and there was a tutorial course to follow.

I'm afraid I still haven't had time to follow all the course but I did clock that green in the strip at the bottom meant low usage orange medium and red high and I note that whenever the kettle is switched on (always with no more water than immediately needed) it leaps to red but when I have the gas cooker and 2 CH boilers working, it stays green. I wonder whether I should take the device outside again and let it spend a night with the gas meter.

The meters might be fine if the techiues knew what they were doing. My neighbour's meter is still not working even after another antenna was added.

[bruncher]

We had smart meters installed last week. The power supplier now has what they want - i.e. my data. But the consumer unit giving me access to the data hasn't worked yet. The fitter said it was down to a back office in India doing some stuff, he said give it two weeks! Another annoyance is that you don't get a new meter cover with a new gas meter, so if we want one we have to buy from a third party. Does this crap happen everywhere or just in the UK?

[pje16]

Elsewhere,

The 2G/3G cellular radio communications network is used by Telefónica (O2) in the rest of England and Wales. This system is commonly used by mobile phones. In a cellular system, geographical areas are divided into regular shaped "cells".

I didn't know that 2g was still around
BMW are dropping the traffic program for any of their cars that still have 3g Sims

[AF62]

Another annoyance is that you don't get a new meter cover with a new gas meter, so if we want one we have to buy from a third party.

What on earth is a “meter cover”?

We had smart meters installed last week. The power supplier now has what they want - i.e. my data. But the consumer unit giving me access to the data hasn't worked yet.

An alternative to using the IHD is to use the apps by Loop or Bright that source the data directly.

[bruncher]

What on earth is a “meter cover”?

The gas meter is fixed to external wall of house. The cover provides weather protection; it's a white plastic box with door at front which is opened to take physical readings.

What is

IHD

?

[staffordian]

Another annoyance is that you don't get a new meter cover with a new gas meter, so if we want one we have to buy from a third party. Does this crap happen everywhere or just in the UK?

The meter box is essentially part of the house, not the property of the supplier, so I can understand why they said no.

If you need a new one, these are not cheap, but seem to do a good job and are easy to fit with no need to disturb any of the cabling or pipework. A neighbour has just fitted a couple and they look far better than the broken, flapping in the wind meter box doors previously there...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meter-Box-Cove ... 834&sr=8-5

[BullDog]

We had smart meters installed last week. The power supplier now has what they want - i.e. my data. But the consumer unit giving me access to the data hasn't worked yet. The fitter said it was down to a back office in India doing some stuff, he said give it two weeks! Another annoyance is that you don't get a new meter cover with a new gas meter, so if we want one we have to buy from a third party. Does this crap happen everywhere or just in the UK?

I recommend you look at an app called Bright. It is far better than the piece of rubbish monitor the energy supplier gives you. And if you are on a variable tariff, it's the only real solution because the rubbish monitors the energy company give you can only do a fixed tariff. Bright works just fine with our EV off peak tariff. Other apps are available but I have only used Bright.

A mentioned above, the knackered meter box is your problem as it's part of your house.

[AF62]

What on earth is a “meter cover”?

The gas meter is fixed to external wall of house. The cover provides weather protection; it's a white plastic box with door at front which is opened to take physical readings.

Part of your house then, so not sure why you would expect someone else to pay for it.

What is

IHD

?

In Home Display.

[bruncher]

Part of your house then, so not sure why you would expect someone else to pay for it.

I suppose that attitude explains why so many houses in UK cities have unprotected meters, especially in HMO's where the landlord doesn't want to pay and the tenants aren't going to. The meter cover isn't part of the house structure, its only purpose is protecting the meter from weather, dog pee, falling objects etc. Seems reasonable that a new meter would come with a new cover.

[bungeejumper]

I didn't know that 2g was still around

It's all we've got in our area. (Five miles from one of Britain's biggest tourist towns.) 2G is okay for voice communication, when we can get a reception, but we've never been upgraded to 3G, so mobile internet isn't possible. Never mind, we can get the web as well if we walk a mile or so. 4G? Excuse me while I laugh.

BMW are dropping the traffic program for any of their cars that still have 3g Sims

That seems a trifle tough on faithful beemer customers who bought their cars a decade ago. And downright outrageous for parts of the country where 4G doesn't reach at all. Does every new BMW come with a sticker, warning the owner not to venture too far into the dark and dangerous terra incognita beyond the M25? Or are they still resorting to 3G communications but trying not to tell anybody about it?

But back to the topic. As mentioned last year, we are trying to get Octopus to tell us how it proposes to hook up a new smart meter to our non-existent 3G. Apparently they think there may be enough of our neighbours with 3G to be able to set up a local network that will enable them to wangle a signal. Guess again, guys, no chance of that in this postcode, because they're all in the same boat as us.

DCC will be coming some day, but I'm not holding my breath for another decade while some urban fathead declares that the world is ready to ditch an outdated technology standard that hasn't even been offered to millions of people yet.

Harrumph.

BJ

[AF62]

Part of your house then, so not sure why you would expect someone else to pay for it.

I suppose that attitude explains why so many houses in UK cities have unprotected meters, especially in HMO's where the landlord doesn't want to pay and the tenants aren't going to.

No, all it says is many home owners and landlords don’t give a damn about their properties.

The meter cover isn't part of the house structure,

It clearly is!

its only purpose is protecting the meter from weather, dog pee, falling objects etc. Seems reasonable that a new meter would come with a new cover.

And it seems entirely reasonable that home owners and landlords would want to stop weather, dog pee, falling objects etc.disrupting their electricity supply as they would be the ones mainly inconvenienced.

[staffordian]

Part of your house then, so not sure why you would expect someone else to pay for it.

I suppose that attitude explains why so many houses in UK cities have unprotected meters, especially in HMO's where the landlord doesn't want to pay and the tenants aren't going to. The meter cover isn't part of the house structure, its only purpose is protecting the meter from weather, dog pee, falling objects etc. Seems reasonable that a new meter would come with a new cover.

Snag is, there are many many different types of meter box, some plastic, some metal, often now obsolete, so fitting a new cover isn't the straightforward job it might seem. And to replace the whole box with a new one involves disconnecting (i.e, cutting) the pipes and/or cables where they enter and exit the box, then finding a new box with similar dimensions to the old one. Then you have the job of rejoining the cut pipes right up against the brickwork, or in the cavity. Not easy.

In other words, you're opening a can of worms (not just a meter box)

[AF62]

But back to the topic. As mentioned last year, we are trying to get Octopus to tell us how it proposes to hook up a new smart meter to our non-existent 3G. Apparently they think there may be enough of our neighbours with 3G to be able to set up a local network that will enable them to wangle a signal. Guess again, guys, no chance of that in this postcode, because they're all in the same boat as us.

Apparently the smart meter mesh networks don’t need a mobile signal - https://cyanconnode.com/telefonica-conn ... s-service/

[didds]

But back to the topic. As mentioned last year, we are trying to get Octopus to tell us how it proposes to hook up a new smart meter to our non-existent 3G. Apparently they think there may be enough of our neighbours with 3G to be able to set up a local network that will enable them to wangle a signal. Guess again, guys, no chance of that in this postcode, because they're all in the same boat as us.

my cynical take on that is that they don't actually care. They'll come up with whatever old rubbish to get you with a smart meter cos they are under pressure AIUI by govt to get them rolled out, and that program is years behind.

happy to be wrong about the govt -pressure thing - but ill replace that with <something else going on> and they still dont really care, they just want them rolled out.


didds