Smart Meters

[Evans Electric]

Talking to a guy on site today , replacing meter for a Smarty Pants one .      Two points .

1.         Forget them fitting an isolating switch ,not going to happen .

2.         He reckoned the system would recognise if the power went off , say for a board change under the seal fairy system , so back to getting them out to pull main fuses.

 

[ProDave]

And just what would the meter do when it noticed the power went off?

Please explain in simpleton terms for me, exactly what is "smart" about these meters?

Remote reading?

Different rates depending on usage?

Or just "different"?

 

[wozz]

Remote reading as long as u get can Vodafone reception I think. 

Customers also get a energy usage monitor so tht must be the smart bit. 

 

[ProDave]

Waste of time up here then. you have to hang out of an upstairs window to get any mobile reception. Do they have outside aerials connected via a cable?

 

[Evans Electric]

The guy placed a device on the cut out , size of a mobile phone ,  when I asked  it was a mobile phone network finder , he said the meter will find a network and send data to their computer .    I'm not sure what other wonders come with these things other than remote meter reading but when I asked  he said their computer would record  the power loss along with everything else,  what occurs after that he had no idea.        

He did say a power outage wouldn't affect the meter as such .     

 

[ProDave]

Well I won't cancel a visit from Amelie if I see one.

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Back in 2008 e-on our supplier were offering free smart meter installation as part of their trial...

cant remember exactly when it was installed but certainly since some time in 2009.. (maybe even back end of 2008??)

we have had smart meter fitted at our house...

The two main reason I chose to go along with it was ..

1/ it was free

2/ No more arsing around with estimated meter readings and letting meter readers in at inconvenient times of day!!!

So we have been smart meterified for a good 4&half or 5 years now..

Gas meter has a lithium batt and short range transmitter device that sends its data to the electricity meter.

Electrical meter has mobile phone network gubbins inside...

The electric meter transmits the gas & electric data back to e-on goodness knows how often..

But also transmits daily consumption data to the little table top wiresless display that has buttons you can press to scroll though..

daily / 7day / 28 day & 12 month data of gas & electric consumption   kwh's

and

yesterday / 7day / 28 day data of gas & electric costs £ . p

and some carbon CO2 emission per kg for day/7day/28day/12months   (whatever they mean??????)

Other than that it does bugger all

 

[Evans Electric]

Ah  yes    I thought I heard that the idea was to transmit the gas reading too ... but that wasn't happening on this job . 

 

[Barx]

When I had mine fitted I quizzed the installer for all he had. The electric meter has a tamper switch on the cover which will 'report back' if opened. He also said, 'i've heard there are very localized power cuts round here every now and again ; )'. i.e. pull the bullet first.

As for not being able to fit an isolator after meter because they will detect power cut. Load of rubbish, what do you think the main switch in the existing CU does? send a signal back saying 'it's ok, he turned the board off, not the tails'. As and when it comes to me fitting a new board in my property I will be > bullet out, iso fitted with new tails from the meter, bullet back in and re-seal. If they ask, the power went out for 10 minutes and no idea why. simples

 

[Chewbacca]

might finally push some action to either let qualified sparkies pull main fuses, or fit isolators to every house.

 

[wozz]

might finally push some action to either let qualified sparkies pull main fuses, or fit isolators to every house.

Bet it just carries on as it is and blame the installer! 

 

[ProDave]

might finally push some action to either let qualified sparkies pull main fuses, or fit isolators to every house.

If they had got the design right, there would be an isolator inside the smart meters, like there is in 90% of ordinary single rate meters up here.

 

[Technician]

The big reason for pushing these is so that the suppliers

can increase their "green" credentials.  Having folk driving

about in vans reading meters is something they want to drop.

 

[m4tty]

Surely if these use mobile networks to transmit big brother data then some wont work where there is no signal or if meter is in a metal cabinet then this will block signal ?

 

[batty]

They came out to a job I was doing the other day to fit a dumb meter but as there was no phone signal they declined.

 

[Evans Electric]

When I had mine fitted I quizzed the installer for all he had. The electric meter has a tamper switch on the cover which will 'report back' if opened. He also said, 'i've heard there are very localized power cuts round here every now and again ; )'. i.e. pull the bullet first.

As for not being able to fit an isolator after meter because they will detect power cut. Load of rubbish, what do you think the main switch in the existing CU does? send a signal back saying 'it's ok, he turned the board off, not the tails'. As and when it comes to me fitting a new board in my property I will be > bullet out, iso fitted with new tails from the meter, bullet back in and re-seal. If they ask, the power went out for 10 minutes and no idea why. simples

 Barx.  I was refering to the meters having a built in isolator,  not fitting an isolator after the meter.     I know I waffle on a bit but I'm not that stupid .  

 

[Barx]

Barx. I was refering to the meters having a built in isolator, not fitting an isolator after the meter. I know I waffle on a bit but I'm not that stupid .

No worries sausage...

 

[ProDave]

Memo to one's self:

Line my utility room in my new house with aluminium foil before the plasterboard goes on, so there's no chance of a mobile signal there (not that there is anyway) so I don't get lumbered with one of these smart meters.

 

[Evans Electric]

No worries sausage...

Ta !

 

[Barx]

Memo to one's self:

Line my utility room in my new house with aluminium foil before the plasterboard goes on, so there's no chance of a mobile signal there (not that there is anyway) so I don't get lumbered with one of these smart meters.

Or maybe just use foil backed plasterboard. Half the labour.