Energy bills

[wraymond]

It gets worse, much worse. My 'new' supplier British Gas, put me on their tariff and I got a later tele call to 'finish off the details'. I was asked about what is laughingly called a smart meter and I made it quite clear I would not have one.

Now had an email telling me it is compulsory. I've told them to try and get into my house if they want the police called. Just what are we turning into?

[wraymond]

Well waddaya know. 24 hours later received a fulsome apology for the incorrect information. Surprising what a mention of a higher authority does. Just so there is no wool being pulled - one is not required to have a smart meter other than voluntarily. Yet.

[Phil th Barrow]

To be honest i like my smart meter. Its saved me money. It told me my coal effect fire was robbing us blind. So heat house with 94% efficent, now 2 year old boiler. Thats been a saving too. Whats wrong with a smart meter. Am i missing something?

[macafee2]

Originally Posted by Phil th Barrow

To be honest i like my smart meter. Its saved me money. It told me my coal effect fire was robbing us blind. So heat house with 94% efficent, now 2 year old boiler. Thats been a saving too. Whats wrong with a smart meter. Am i missing something?

yes, they will give you palpitations when you see how much you are spending on electric
The smart meter has helped us slash our electric bill, we know which method to heat water is the cheapest. Have reset timer for hot water so it is on and off before we normally cook. This allows the solar panels to have a chance to generate electricity to run one/part run at a time. Whilst it may seem obvious we had not previously considered how much electric we were using and so never considered how to make changes. At 5.15 pm we have used today £3.49 in electric, no gas or oil.

macafee2

[torque2me]

Originally Posted by wraymond

Well waddaya know. 24 hours later received a fulsome apology for the incorrect information. Surprising what a mention of a higher authority does. Just so there is no wool being pulled - one is not required to have a smart meter other than voluntarily. Yet.

Hmmmm, they don't like to be thwarted as no doubt the upper chain of command will receive bonuses for achieving the target for each year.

They could do what the water companies did and charge a higher tariff for no meter as against their being one on the premises. What a country.

Kev

[mileshawk56]

Im with you Ray and the insolence of them trying it on! never was able or willing to use power in a prodigal manner so have no need for a machine to tell me when to switch on or off or down or up or what to set temperature set. Its what had to done long before the talking heads found a new toy. Chris.S.

[MSS]

Originally Posted by Phil th Barrow

To be honest i like my smart meter. Its saved me money. It told me my coal effect fire was robbing us blind. So heat house with 94% efficent, now 2 year old boiler. Thats been a saving too. Whats wrong with a smart meter. Am i missing something?

The same question I asked in another thread. I have had a gadget that performs the same function as a smart meter for years and have found it really useful. I now have a smart meter and cannot see any downside.

Perhaps people are attached to their bakelite classics and just don't like change?

[wraymond]

I have a confession to make. I don’t want to spend what’s left of my life crawling under the stairs to see how much ‘energy’ I’m using. Taking and supplying a reading is one thing but trying to work out how much I can’t pay for is quite another. We are not stupid - we know when we are cold and when we need hot water. After all, that’s what the thermostat and programmer are for.

It’s only smart, for the supplier, because it allows them to avoid the trouble of taking those unable to pay the exorbitant rates to court before they can gain access to your home for a termination of supply. Of course, it also allows the unbroken stream of profit and huge salaries. So, the meter can be turned off remotely with absolutely no fuss or palaver. That’s not very smart for the customer.

Now, if we had a recovery from this madness of responding to activists with new world fantasies and being held to ransom by the likes of Russia et al for oil and gas, and returned to using our own vast resources once again, we might regain some independence. We could even export it. Only to worthy customers, of course. Talk about sitting on a gold mine...

Doesn't it seem a bit odd, after all that hype about electric cars being the way out of a looming Doomsday, that they are now seen as rather poor value? Talk about sitting on another gold mine.

[3disco]

Originally Posted by macafee2

yes, they will give you palpitations when you see how much you are spending on electric
The smart meter has helped us slash our electric bill, we know which method to heat water is the cheapest. Have reset timer for hot water so it is on and off before we normally cook. This allows the solar panels to have a chance to generate electricity to run one/part run at a time. Whilst it may seem obvious we had not previously considered how much electric we were using and so never considered how to make changes. At 5.15 pm we have used today £3.49 in electric, no gas or oil.

macafee2

Have you thought of a unit that puts excess energy into heating the water works very well!

[Borg Warner]

Further explanation of standing charges.

Why do I have to pay standing charges on my energy? https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...re_article-top