www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

Smart meter

I put in a request to my energy supplier for a smart meter but they said they were unable to install due my setup. They said I needed to replace the meter tails first, at my own cost, then request installation of a smart meter once again.
I am not an electrician but know what meter tails are and I think that the supplier is responsible for all equipment and cables previous to the isolation switch, me the consumer, being responsible for the switch and cables going to the CU. Can anyone qualified or familiar confirm this from the picture please? Also, for my future reference, do my tails look like 16mm or 20mm?

Forget it, the smart meter is not for your benefit it is for them so they do not have to read the meter or use your readings. When you have a smart meter you soon do not bother to watch the little monitor, most do not. The only benefit is if there is a power cut and they get an alert but that is of little consequnce. I would not put any money into sorting the wiring for them, they will probably do it in due course as they want everyone on a smart meter. Mean time sod 'em.

DWD

Has it been looked at by your supplier?

Changing the meter tails makes no difference what so ever to having a SM or not. Why do you want one? Oh, there is no such thing as 20mm meter tails, the next size is 25mm. The size of any cable is the cross sectional area of the core, nothing else.

What DWD said is true, but just to add, a lot of people with a SM still have to tell the supplier what the reading is, as often it doesn't work.

The meter supplier is responsible from the meter to the isolator

. So tell them to come and do the swap

When I had smart meter installed the installer used all new cables which he supplied, done by British Gas. As to advantage of smart meter, in the main two things, one you have have peak and off peak supplies, and two you can be paid for export. So need one with solar panels.

As to the multi-tariff, depends on your life style, my tariff before smart meter was slightly lower than my tariff now for peak, but standing charge went down, but I get off peak 00:00 to 05:00 at 8.95p per kWh and I have set my battery to charge at that time, which is 3.2 kWh so I am 10 am with no solar before battery runs out, by that time solar takes over, so depending on time of year 4 pm to 00:00 before my battery and solar runs out.

If I set dish washer, washing machine, and tumble drier to run 00:00 to 05:00 (winter only) then using even more electric off peak.

However as far as the "In home display" (IHD) goes, rather useless, and the app is not much better, the IHD shows when importing and exporting, but most of the time shows zero, as the battery charges with solar and discharges when a cloud comes over so the net result is the IHD shows zero most of the time.

The app shows the battery has charged, in morning, etc. But since it does not show in £ one has no idea of the cost without reading the smart meter direct and using some maths, so exactly the same as a non smart meter, and the display is hard to decipher it took me ages to find how to read, and get the info, no instructions when fitted, there are more windows some with my ID so not shown, but to find out what they mean some seem rather odd.
The solar panel software shows me what we are using so much better than the smart meter, so I never bother looking at it.

Thanks, lots to digest here!

All you need to know who is responsible for what
(technically tails from meter to cons unit is the property owners responsibility)

But the suppliers get rather twitchy if you cut the seals on the meter

Neelix wrote: ↑Sun Jun 02, 2024 8:02 pm But the suppliers get rather twitchy if you cut the seals on the meter

They can and, do but generally in my experience if they can see that there are new tails /tails are newer than the recorded meter install date / last time they inspected or read the meter, they use common sense and check nothing "suspect" is in place and just re seal once they have checked. It also wouldn't hurt if the house owner / occupier called or messeged their supplier to let them know they have had to upgrade the tails / cons unit (with no isolator switch between the meter and cons unit) whech meant their electrician cut the seals on the meter and cut out unit.
On a side note some dno's allow neceic, napit and select registered electricians to break seals and will provide them with batches of numbered seals registered to their name to do so.

Reading all the posts on here I would remind Corky of my earlier post. Do you need a smart meter for any reason? Why should you have to go to all this bother for the supplier's benefit? If you do nothing the supplier will either do the work for you or they will not. Where is your loss? Apart from a useless monitor, nothing. Do nothing, sit tight, and see what transpires.

DWD

Ps Just had a thought, is this for a cheap tariff?

No need for one yet but supplier keeps calling and emailing me about it. If I ever relent to an EV then I’ll have to get one. Thanks to all who took the time to reply

Well EV's are another con, buy a petrol self charging hybrid they are much better. Of late public has deserted private EV purchases and it is only those people with a company that can get the tax credits that bother now. The second hand value plummets as no one wants a used one either. Wait for a hydrogen fuel cell powered car.

DWD

As said, unless it helps you, why fit one, so how do they help you?
1) Split tariff as radio 4 time signal being turned off.
2) Payment for exported power.
After that I see no benefit for the user unless one want's to gamble on electric prices and go with Octopus and the like, but I got a smart meter, and still waiting for exported power to be sorted out. As to multi-tariff's I just can't be bothered working out when I can use power, yes can save money having a shower at 2 am, but I don't want to shower at 2 am.

As to smart meter or the IHD (in home display) or the phone app showing what you use, my phone still will not show in £, and is two days behind, so yes I now have a split tariff, so only 8.95p per KWh overnight when I recharge my battery, but it is only because I have a battery that the split tariff helps, if I did not have solar the smart meter would not help me one iota.

dont forget they can turn your power off remotely if they mistakenly think your in arrears or for any other reason
now whilst this is unlikely they can do it

What worries me about that is if some joker does it to either the wrong person or even worse, a whole load of people at the same time.