Smart meters

I plug mine in occasionally, if it were on all the time I think I would become obsessed with it and end up sitting in the cold reading by candlelight to get the usage down as low as possible.

Ours got unplugged and put in a drawer the day we got it, I can check our usage online, if I want to. Never owned a tumble-dryer, it’s either outside or on a clothes airer in the spare bedroom.

8dragonfly* may I ask why you had two meters fitted? I have one and it is sufficient.

I have always either dried clothes on a rotary drier outside or on a line indoors. What I have done, which I know is OTT is to switch off everything on the wall and that includes the oven, hob, dishwasher and w/machine.

I have been cushioned until now but in July my fixed energy rate will finish so I am preparing myself for then.

I would not have one of these if they paid me to have it.

Have you not read the warnings that it gives greedy power companies to turn it into a pre-payment meter at the flick of a switch? This has happened to many people, including some of those who are vulnerable. If you dont have a smart meter they have to apply for a warrant to enter your home and the courts are rammed at present.

You may think well no danger here, I can afford my bills. However there is an old saying that we are only one banana skin away from disability.

I prefer not to put more power into the hands of these greedy corrupt companies.

My husband won't entertain one.

Like you dragonfly having the smart meter has really made me aware of how much things were costing to run.

I still use the tumble dryer for bedding and towels unless the weather is good enough for them to dry outside.

Before we had the smart meter the heating and water were on timer and would come on regardless of whether we were in or needed them on.I now just have them on when needed.

I’m sure lots of you did this all along but I’ve found the smart meter really useful in reducing our usage.

Biglouis I so agree. I’m also concerned to read that so many smart items which have Chinese chips in, that is, most of them are open to surveillance by the Chinese.

We have a smart meter. The in house display unit sits in a corner of the living room. I find it useful to monitor our power usage.

Don’t need one, don’t have one and I don’t need a device to tell me that any item with a heating element in it costs money to run.

I won’t have one, I am careful, but I use what I use.. 1 1/2%

Shinamae

I won’t have one, I am careful, but I use what I use.. 1 1/2%

I have no idea with the figures came from 🫣

Yes it’s very handy to check how much it costs to use things. Much more careful now than I was.

I find it useful to see what my monthly payment will be. I don’t have to worry too much about the meter which, originally was accessible to the meter reader, but is now enclosed.

I was curious about those who put it in a drawer and take it out occasionally. Is it still plugged in and, if not, does it still know what has been used when plugged back in?

Charleygirl I had a gas and electric one fitted outside. They were the two and they came with a countertop display unit.

Tweedle24 the figures for usage are sent to your provider from the actual meters, not the display box, so it doesn’t matter if the display is off.

Don’t have one don’t want one I’m as frugal as I can be.

Just before smart meters were introduced, we had a gadget called an 'Owl' stuck on the wall that recorded our electricity consumption.

All it did was confirm that are basic consumption was quite low and it went up if we switched on the dishwasher or washing machine. Since I have always been economical in my use of both, only switching them on when the relevant machine is full. and I have never had a tumble dryer. It didn't really tell us anything we did not know.

Wewould like some smart meters, we did have one, but for some reason when it needed moving they replaced it with a standard meter, but not for monitoring our heating use, but for the control of bills and payments.

25Avalon

Biglouis I so agree. I’m also concerned to read that so many smart items which have Chinese chips in, that is, most of them are open to surveillance by the Chinese.

I'd be surprised if anybody in China is interested in how much energy I use.

I have never seen the need for one. Our electrical appliances are on for as long as they need to be on, eg to cook food, wash and also dry clothes if necessary, as well as everything else.

I can’t see how having a smart meter would affect my useage at all.

If you don't currently have a smart meter - don't get one !! If you do,,,,,,,,,, you are assisting these greedy giants who gain the benefit more than you.

We had to have these fitted, (apparently it was a condition of our contract, (in the small print!), both here, at home & at our caravan/holiday home).
We are lucky that we are still in a "fix" rate until the summer at home, The caravan is on the very high variable rate.
I remember when the fitter installed ours, he said that he & his wife had their biggest argument after their own meters were installed, so his solution was to throw the monitor in a drawer!!
When ours are on display & looked at it, is saying that we are over budget, that's scary, I turn our heating down, DH keeps turning it UP...!

The actual meters are useful in that they transmit usage to supplier, (handy when we are away from the coast).

I did not have any choice re a smart meter. This house was 4 years old when I moved here in Feb. 2019. The builders had the "marvellous" idea of siting the gas meter outside on the earth.
Reading the gas meter was difficult during the summer months of 2019, I had to crouch down and take a photo on my phone to obtain a reading. By the Autumn it became impossible, because where the meter was sited filled with rainwater and the actual meter could not be read due to condensation.
I would not have opted for a smart meter, but the thought of receiving a bill perhaps for hundreds of pounds for my gas usage was enough to make me switch.
The electricity meter is sited on the wall at the side of my house. Why the gas meter could not have been put there, goodness knows.

The concept makes me quite unhappy. Ignorance to our use of much needed appliances seems far better than knowing the bill in advance. We only use needed for lighting, dishwashing, washer/dryer, et al - can't cut back.

I don’t get this budget thing. You are supposed to set your budget, but I never have set one. It tells me constantly I’m over budget but I just ignore it.