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I am switching utilities, and someone mentioned it would be a good idea to get smart meters installed. Do I have to pay extra for these, and is it worth it?
OVO looking to be cheapest for supply....need to steer clear of npower.
With Southern Electric and the ONzo meter is free on iPlan
Check all your basic insulation and low energy lights. No point in seeing it on a meter if its going out the walls đŸ˜‰
yep, new boiler going in, along with cavity/loft insulation. getting a power usage thing as well....
shock bill forced me into action!
A smart meter won't help you very much. But a power usage thing might.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/letters/letters-smart-meters-7216681.html
I'd be vary wary of getting one fitted at the moment. We had one fitted by First Utility last year, it took them months to get data from it, and more months to give us an accurate bill (which we only got because we left them). In total we went from Feb to November without [i]any [/i]meaningful billing.
I don't think the standards for transmitting the data have been finalised / standardised, so our meter won't work with any other supplier than First Utility. What is more significant is that having moved energy suppliers, we can't submit readings using any convenient method (automated phone, website, smartphone app). I have to phone and speak to someone and explain they we have a smartmeter fitted, but they can't read it, so update the readings manually...blah blah blah.
I can't get monthly billing as 'we have the smart meter' (!???), they won't update their records to mark it as a 'dumb' meter, because it's (apparently) illegal to do so. They won't take it out and put a dumb meter in, as the drive is towards smart meters.
It's been a nightmare, we tried to get readings so allow us to monitor gas consumption, but based on experience, your better with a conventional meter and using a smart phone to submit readings and use a home energy monitor for instant electricity readings.
Once the standards are in place, smartmeters will be OK, but until that happens, it’s best avoided, unless you stay with the smart meter supplier indefinitely.