Do I want a smart meter?

[Alex321]

If you have solar panels, or any other home generation system, and want to export energy to the grid, then you need a smart meter.

Otherwise, it has made no noticeable difference to us - we'd never had one in our old house, but when we moved 2 years ago, there was already one installed here.

 

[welsh dragon]

Bulb have an excellent ap. Every 3 months I take meter reading and it's sorted. They even remind me to do it. Simple and easy.

 

[PaulSB]

It's quite simple. You pay for each unit used and it's the same price per unit what ever way you pay.
They just like DD as they can profit from the overpayment investment.
When you atchually look deep it's no saving

This doesn't mirror my experience. I've been with more than one supplier where the unit price was the same but for direct debit payments there was an annual discount of £25 per fuel.

On an annual bill of £1000 this is a 5% discount. Yes, the supplier has one's money for a few months but show me where one can earn 5% interest for immediate access cash?

Personally I'm happy with the security of knowing the bill is always covered.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I've always refused to have a smart metre, I pay by direct debit, once a month they E-mail me for my metre readings, I upload them to their website and they E-Mail me the bill. In the summer when my usage is low I build up money in my account and it helps me pay the big winter bills, I'm happy with that, and if I need cash unexpectantly I can always draw some cash out of the account.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Someone mentioned that they stop working when you switch suppliers

This used to be true - happened to mine - but the new ones should not have a problem.
The old ones that 'went dumb' should be starting to work again as software changes are pushed out. If you have an old dumb one then contact your supplier and find out when they are going to update or replace it - they have to do so but I'm not sure what the deadline is!

 

[welsh dragon]

I also pay a bit more in the summer so that I will have leeway for the winter months when useage is heavier.

 

[MrGrumpy]

I also pay a bit more in the summer so that I will have leeway for the winter months when useage is heavier.

Most of us do, it irons out the peaks and troughs . I wonder if the money we pay in as customers for bills . Sits in account not accruing interest ?

 

[si_c]

This doesn't mirror my experience. I've been with more than one supplier where the unit price was the same but for direct debit payments there was an annual discount of £25 per fuel.

On an annual bill of £1000 this is a 5% discount. Yes, the supplier has one's money for a few months but show me where one can earn 5% interest for immediate access cash?

Personally I'm happy with the security of knowing the bill is always covered.

A further thought I'd had about DD payments is that for a lot of people they make a lot of sense, not least because it's a predictable payment, there was a long time when I was considerably less well off and if I'd had to settle a winter bill without levelling the payments over a year it would have put me in a financial hole. And that was before the most recent crippling rises in fuel cost.

The benefit here for companies I would assume is that they don't get so many unpaid bills.

 

[PaulSB]

A further thought I'd had about DD payments is that for a lot of people they make a lot of sense, not least because it's a predictable payment, there was a long time when I was considerably less well off and if I'd had to settle a winter bill without levelling the payments over a year it would have put me in a financial hole. And that was before the most recent crippling rises in fuel cost.

The benefit here for companies I would assume is that they don't get so many unpaid bills.

This is why we started to use DD perhaps 40 years ago. Young, first house, no money and a few years later three kids. Basically a budget was always needed for perhaps 25 years. Now we're retired and on a limited income a budget is again necessary.

 

[presta]

When I was a teenager in the '70s there was something on a TV consumer program that made my father turn to me and say "Let that be a lesson to you, never give anyone the authority to draw money directly from your bank account". He never did, and for 30-odd years I didn't either, until I got broadband in 2012, when DD was the only option with Plusnet. I then gave in and switched to DD for fuel in 2016. They're still the only ones I have, and given the choice I'd still prefer cheque.

once a month they E-mail me for my metre readings

Shell email me for readings (I've just put them in this morning), but the debits are still fixed at the same amount every month.

it's a predictable payment, there was a long time when I was considerably less well off and if I'd had to settle a winter bill without levelling the payments over a year it would have put me in a financial hole

This is why DDs overcharge slightly, so you don't get hit with a bill you can't pay if you use a bit more than you predicted.

 

[stephec]

Cheers everyone, I wondered if there was anything else other than being able to see exactly what I'm using, and being a tight northerner I don't need advising on how to save money, so I think it's a no from me.

 

[stephec]

On the subject of direct debit, does anyone claim the money back when they're in credit?

British Gas used to up our payments and we once got to about £150 in credit so I rang them up and asked for it back. I got the expected replies about it evening out over winter, blah blah blah, but still demand my money back, and surprise surprise, we never went too far into the red.

 

[Chromatic]

On the subject of direct debit, does anyone claim the money back when they're in credit?

British Gas used to up our payments and we once got to about £150 in credit so I rang them up and asked for it back. I got the expected replies about it evening out over winter, blah blah blah, but still demand my money back, and surprise surprise, we never went too far into the red.

In the past I've had credit balances repayed back into my account without asking for them.

 

[a.twiddler]

We were fortunate when we changed supplier from Igloo energy when our deal expired. They refunded our surplus literally days before they went bust as we had started with another supplier that month. If it had been a few days later, we might never have seen our surplus again.

 

[CXRAndy]

Having a smart meter allowed us to access 5p per kWatt during the night. There are no downsides to a Smets 2 meter. Upsides are you can easily see usage, make adjustments to use and your payments are not excessive because they are monthly and accurate