Anyone smart enough to talk about 'leccy meters?

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Tim Holman
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Re: Anyone smart enough to talk about 'leccy meters?

Post by Tim Holman »

We can't have one and don't want one. My dad would have said "It's their fingers in your pie". Like Mick we have wood burners and solar panels as well as normal things like radiators.
tatanab
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Re: Anyone smart enough to talk about 'leccy meters?

Post by tatanab »

Crikey, it is not many decades ago that coin in the slot meters were common or even usual, nothing to do with poverty. I clearly remember the stack of half crown coins kept by the under stairs meters. In the mid sixties we had coin in the slot (6 penny piece) operated TV too, but that was a matter of "poverty" because we could not afford to buy and needed to rent a set.

I got smart meters fitted 2 weeks ago. I was waiting for second generation to be the norm, and after that I eventually got fed up with the "invitations" from SSE which were almost monthly. The monitor device is optional, you don't have to have it let alone use it, and the installer told me that 2 weeks seems to be duration of interest before people unplug them - if they know they are not essential. I wonder what our local meter reader will do now for employment.
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Mick F
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Re: Anyone smart enough to talk about 'leccy meters?

Post by Mick F »

Glad we're not the only ones thinking like this.
"Their fingers in your pie" sums it up for me.
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thirdcrank
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Re: Anyone smart enough to talk about 'leccy meters?

Post by thirdcrank »

BITD, slot meters landed a lot of people in the criminal courts for breaking into their meter and stealing the contents or just recycling the same coin. Even worse in Scotland as it constitutes "opening lockfast premises" or OLP. IIRC, there's no equivalent of offences being taken into consideration (TIC) so a criminal record might have stacks of OLP listed for not very much. Slot meters might also be a target for burglars.

At the very least, key meters stop people from stealing coins / abstracting electricity in this way. Payment upfront helps prevent an unexpected bill, but AIUI that comes at a price in that AFAIK, this is generally the most expensive tariff available.
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gaz
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Re: Anyone smart enough to talk about 'leccy meters?

Post by gaz »

simonineaston wrote: 18 Apr 2021, 8:39pm... anyone know about smart meters and their benefits?
Allegedly there are tariffs only available to smart meter customers. Whether such a tariff would benefit you is anyone's guess or complex calculation.
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Jdsk
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Re: Anyone smart enough to talk about 'leccy meters?

Post by Jdsk »

simonineaston wrote: 18 Apr 2021, 8:39pm... and their benefits?
As above the implementation has been very poor.

But they're going to be very important in the future power economy which has domestic and community renewable sources and batteries in houses and cars which are connected to the grid and can sell energy back to other users. Doing it that way allows optimal load balancing and will help in the move away from fossil fuels towards inherently intermittent renewable sources.

Jonathan
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al_yrpal
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Re: Anyone smart enough to talk about 'leccy meters?

Post by al_yrpal »

Doesnt a Smart Meter allow your supplier to read your meter from outside your house without having to enter? Which is why the energy suppliers are so keen to see these devices installed.

Al
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Re: Anyone smart enough to talk about 'leccy meters?

Post by rjb »

Here you are. This guide answers most questions without lot of technical stuff.

https://www.smartme.co.uk/index.html#nav.
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Jdsk
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Re: Anyone smart enough to talk about 'leccy meters?

Post by Jdsk »

al_yrpal wrote: 20 Apr 2021, 8:51am Doesnt a Smart Meter allow your supplier to read your meter from outside your house without having to enter? Which is why the energy suppliers are so keen to see these devices installed.
Yes, it does.

But there was also a very pushy programme from the government.

As above, in the future grid they'll also have other important functions.

Jonathan
Jdsk
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Re: Anyone smart enough to talk about 'leccy meters?

Post by Jdsk »

rjb wrote: 20 Apr 2021, 8:59am Here you are. This guide answers most questions without lot of technical stuff.

https://www.smartme.co.uk/index.html#nav.
Who runs that site, please?

Thanks

Jonathan
kwackers
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Re: Anyone smart enough to talk about 'leccy meters?

Post by kwackers »

I don't understand the backlash against smart meters, makes no sense.
Ultimately it's their system so they can meter it however they like. Knowing how much energy you use is hardly an infringement of privacy, if anything it's a plus point in your favour.

As for the old "they can disconnect you remotely" - so what?
Assuming it's actually true when it comes to disconnection the process is the same and the end result is the same regardless and at least you wouldn't have the embarrassment of a random bloke and bailiff turning up at your door demanding access to physically disconnect your supply.

The main point though is that they enable tariffs that are potentially beneficial and as EV's and their ilk become more common a smart meter becomes even more desirable.
As tech moves on and home batteries or EV to grid systems, home solar etc become more prevalent then an intelligent system that can dynamically monitor and adjust where you get your power from becomes a necessity for a majority.

The smart meter discussion is a thing of its time, in ten years time it'll have ceased to be a thing of contention.
Tim Holman
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Re: Anyone smart enough to talk about 'leccy meters?

Post by Tim Holman »

My old dad also said that "It's their fingers in your pie" also applied to Direct Debits.
Tim
Jdsk
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Re: Anyone smart enough to talk about 'leccy meters?

Post by Jdsk »

kwackers wrote: 20 Apr 2021, 11:12amThe main point though is that they enable tariffs that are potentially beneficial and as EV's and their ilk become more common a smart meter becomes even more desirable.
As tech moves on and home batteries or EV to grid systems, home solar etc become more prevalent then an intelligent system that can dynamically monitor and adjust where you get your power from becomes a necessity for a majority.
Agreed.

kwackers wrote: 20 Apr 2021, 11:12amThe smart meter discussion is a thing of its time, in ten years time it'll have ceased to be a thing of contention.
Probably.

Except for the few still resenting it, and writing letters in green ink.

Jonathan
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Anyone smart enough to talk about 'leccy meters?

Post by [XAP]Bob »

kwackers wrote: 20 Apr 2021, 11:12am I don't understand the backlash against smart meters, makes no sense.
Ultimately it's their system so they can meter it however they like. Knowing how much energy you use is hardly an infringement of privacy, if anything it's a plus point in your favour.

As for the old "they can disconnect you remotely" - so what?
Assuming it's actually true when it comes to disconnection the process is the same and the end result is the same regardless and at least you wouldn't have the embarrassment of a random bloke and bailiff turning up at your door demanding access to physically disconnect your supply.

The main point though is that they enable tariffs that are potentially beneficial and as EV's and their ilk become more common a smart meter becomes even more desirable.
As tech moves on and home batteries or EV to grid systems, home solar etc become more prevalent then an intelligent system that can dynamically monitor and adjust where you get your power from becomes a necessity for a majority.

The smart meter discussion is a thing of its time, in ten years time it'll have ceased to be a thing of contention.

The hazard is in limited protection of that data, and the rapid speed at which it is acquired. You can tell from looking at electricity usage when a house is unoccupied - and that is potentially useful for ne'er-do-wells. Of course you can also identify empty houses by walking along streets, but the scale on which that can be done is limited.
I am not currently aware of any large scale data leaks of this kind, but they will happen.

Remote disconnection isn't too much of an issue, and for those who can install battery systems might even be a way to reduce electricity cost (similar to the way that various organisations with large usage and sufficient backup capability pay less to have power, but the the proviso that they get dropped if the grid needs to reduce load for balance reasons).

What irritates me is their insistence on not using existing connectivity, or indeed having any local connectivity. If I could get one with an ethernet port as well, so that I could have the meter reading sent as an MQTT message on a regular basis then I would probably get one. But at the moment economy 7 metering is perfectly good enough.
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Oldjohnw
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Re: Anyone smart enough to talk about 'leccy meters?

Post by Oldjohnw »

I welcome smart meters in principle. But there has been some dreadful incompetence in rolling them out. In my case, the thing simply doesn’t work and no one takes any responsibility for it.

So their use is, as far as I am concerned, limited to the potential and theoretic.
John
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