Whats your view on Smart Meters?

rubin16
rubin16 Online Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 852 Championing
in Money and bills
I am having a smart meter fitted next month after a year of debating it as I heard alot of horror stories with them. My energy bill went from £53 to £132 a month this month and I only live in a single 1 bedroom flat but granted I do have my computer on all day as I do everything on it. I want to see what i'm spending and how much things are costing me so I think having a smart meter will really help.

What's your opinion on smart meters?

Comments

  • leeCal
    leeCal Online Community Member Posts: 7,537 Championing
    I didn’t want one but our old meter wasn’t working properly so we had a smart meter installed. I find it’s useful to know how much different appliances are costing, especially at this time with the energy rates being so high. 


  • rubin16
    rubin16 Online Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 852 Championing
    leeCal said:
    I didn’t want one but our old meter wasn’t working properly so we had a smart meter installed. I find it’s useful to know how much different appliances are costing, especially at this time with the energy rates being so high. 



    Yeah thats the main reason I want one in the end, as it'll show what things are costing what when I use them so it'll teach me to be more energy efficient. I just heard many bad things like some of them not working correctly or people paying more with them.
  • leeCal
    leeCal Online Community Member Posts: 7,537 Championing
    I haven’t heard any stories personally but I’ll take your word for it. With energy rates being so high at the moment it will be hard to tell if I’m being overcharged or not, though the smart meter has a record, a history you can check and add up if you wanted to. 

    We have a standing order for around £130 a month so we’ll see what difference it makes eventually. I must admit I haven’t had the heating on part from one experiment because it makes the bill go up so high. I ad it on for an hour and it cost £2.00 approx, but then I tried it for six hours and it balanced out to around £1 an hour. Good to know because I intend to have it on on Christmas Day at least, not to mention the really cold months of January and February to come.
  • Siwheels73
    Siwheels73 Scope Member Posts: 750 Pioneering
    tomm said:
    " SMART devices are designed  as a means of controlling  people  not for our benefit"
    I'm sorry but I completely disagree with you there. Smart devices can certainly train you in what is costing you money, and where you might make savings. If you choose not to, that is your decision. Smart devices cannot, and DO NOT control you, they just provide accurate information. That information is a huge benefit to most. 
  • L_Volunteer
    L_Volunteer Community Volunteer Adviser, Scope Member Posts: 7,922 Championing
    I have seen mixed experiences and, therefore, have mixed views about smart meters @rubin16. I like, and appreciate, that this thread respectively reflects that too. 

    How are you feeling about getting a smart meter fitted at the moment? Hopefully, it will help!  :)
  • SteveE
    SteveE Online Community Member Posts: 89 Empowering
    We don't have a smart meter. As far as I can tell, the smart meter does not provide a breakdown in costs for each electrical appliance. I'm guessing there's a lot of human monitoring involved. But I can do that just as well with an old (unsmart) meter, surely. Unless I'm missing something...
  • durhamjaide2001
    durhamjaide2001 Scope Member Posts: 12,331 Championing
    I had a workshop from Green Doctors from Groundworks that may be able to help.

    Groundwork's Green Doctors are energy efficiency experts who visit people in their homes across the UK, helping vulnerable households to save money and stay warm and well. With 1 in 10 households in the UK experiencing fuel poverty, it's a crucial lifeline for many residents.

    https://www.groundwork.org.uk/projects/green-doctor/ Here's the link. 

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