Smart meters

[d000hg]

Aside from sensationalist stories "man billed £14bn" what are the pros and cons? The nerd in me thinks it's cool to have the data, but I see a very negative view of them online and I'm not sure why.

[CoolCat]

Aside from sensationalist stories "man billed £14bn" what are the pros and cons? The nerd in me thinks it's cool to have the data, but I see a very negative view of them online and I'm not sure why.

One obvious disadvantage is that you have to pay the electricity to power the remote meter monitor they give you for inside your house.

Where as previously power to drive the meter was their problem.

Since they can be read remotely via radio they are probably easy to intercept the signal and anyone can find out usage.

Lots of people just put the remote monitor in a drawer and since there is no longer a visual reading at the point power enters the house, in practice many people end up with less clue about their usage than they did before.

[PerfectStorm]

There is a concern that having them in place could eventually lead to a situation where peak pricing is used. Whereas now the meter generally doesn’t know when you used your electricity.

There is also a concern among ‘those people’ that they can cause ill health along the lines of phone masts, WiFi etc. Which to me would sound like justification for mandatory rollout.

[Antman]

It's mainly for the generation of electricity, if you have real-time data about usage you are less likely to waste millions generating electricity that no-one uses.

I suppose that if you were able to modify behaviour, people washing their clothes at night etc. then it could lead to a reduction in dependency on coal.

As mentioned, no one really cares about their usage, the IHDs go straight in a drawer and to be honest if you are cold you are going to put the heating on, so I think claims about energy-saving are over-estimated. I think, it's been rounded down to saving you £11 per year or something ridiculous.

[DaveB]

The other major concern is that so far the smart meters deployed have had serious security issues that could allow a remote attacker to hijack te connection, steal personal data, modify the consumption details, cut off supply or subvert the device to attack the upstream infrastructure.

Smart Meters Pose Security Risks to Consumers, Utilities: Researcher | SecurityWeek.Com

[Lance]

I've heard tales of smart meters interfering very slightly with audio equipment. Mind you these people are the same people that spend thousands on cables.

I was going to have one fitted, but Siemens wouldn't give me a more accurate time that between 0800 and 2000. And then told me I'd be fined £160 if I wasn't in. I told them to foxtrot oscar.

[d000hg]

As mentioned, no one really cares about their usage, the IHDs go straight in a drawer and to be honest if you are cold you are going to put the heating on, so I think claims about energy-saving are over-estimated. I think, it's been rounded down to saving you £11 per year or something ridiculous.

People definitely care about their usage. Getting angry when you leave a light on or leave a door open or boil a whole kettle for one cup, swapping lights to LED, adding better insulation.

I don't particularly see how a smart-meter will help you reduce usage though. It would let you check quickly how effective your energy saving measures are though; I recently put in an EvoHome smart heating system and some secondary glazing so not having to trudge to the gas meter in the rain would be nice... but hardly revolutionary.

They sell those aftermarket usage monitors anyway, that you just wrap around the supply. Are they any good?

[Dark Black]

The other major concern is that so far the smart meters deployed have had serious security issues that could allow a remote attacker to hijack te connection, steal personal data, modify the consumption details, cut off supply or subvert the device to attack the upstream infrastructure.

Smart Meters Pose Security Risks to Consumers, Utilities: Researcher | SecurityWeek.Com

This, and fire risks...

https://utilityweek.co.uk/watchdog-e...fety-concerns/

Happened to my local Newsagent, fortunately someone was there at the time or it could have ended badly.

Get regularly pestered by British Gas to fit one - always tell them to foxtrot oscar.

[original PM]

Whichever way you slice and dice it my view is that these items exist more for the benefit of the supplier than the user.

[Uncle Albert]

If you have the old style dial meter for your electricity and then install solar panels, the dials will go backwards and you can wind up paying very little indeed.

This does not happen with the new ones.