[OT] Smart meters

[Jack James]

I don't believe that your kids have PE every school day. And even if your school does, that is very uncommon and so not relevant to electricity pricing.

[Jack James]

That's life. The alternative is to never have any incentive to use whatever resource when it isn't in peak demand and that would see everyone pay much more for those resources.

With electricity, it would actually be cheaper to have more than one set of PE gear for the kids.

[Roland Perry]

In message , at 20:23:07 on Sun, 22 Jul

2018, Steve Walker remarked:

But not uniquely to their energy requirement.

[Steve Walker]

Three children, each with PE/games twice per week.

2017 statistics show that the average family in the UK has 1.8 children and the most common number of children in a family is 2. So typically 4 PE/Games lessons a week, neglecting additional sessions such as being part of a sports team.

SteveW

[Jack James]

So no child needs to have their PE gear washed, dried and ironed overnight for the next day's PE/games even if they only have one set each.

[mechanic]

Maybe that's the point. Paying the price of using a limited resource at peak times seems sensible. Maybe it encourages people to think twice about their lifestyle, get more used to working night shifts like many of us do. Or just pay the price and get on with their lives.

[Mike Clarke]

[snip]

I expect that's what will eventually happen. It will probably be before everyone's on smart meters. By the time the majority have smart meters they'll probably start hiking up the the tariff for those of us who resist the move.

Also there's the scary prospect that, technically at least, they'll have the ability to change the tariff dynamically to match demand instead of on a fixed timetable. We'll then be in the situation where the smart meter will only be able to let us know what the energy we've already used has cost and be very little use in helping people to plan ahead for energy use. Whether they'd ever be able to impose T&Cs to enable them to do it remains to be seen.

[Robin]

There are other variables. Eg how many parents have time to wash overnight using a delayed start and dry while getting up and out? Or wash before bed then leave to dry overnight on a delayed start? How many of those will bother to do so if there is no incentive?

But there are indeed alternatives - some even DIY'able! Local storage - eg batteries - for your home so you can decide when and how to use the stored energy. But of course batteries aren't cheap and the more energy you want to use when the grid can't provide it the more battery capacity you'll need. So it leads back to much the same questions: does everyone get the capacity you want families to have (v expensive)? Or do people choose - and pay for - what they want above some minimum level? Or do parents get special treatment? Even if the parents employ a nanny, work from home and have an unemployed child aged 25 living with them? And with the storage taken away when the children grow up?

I'm glad I never did energy policy. It don't have easy options. And Ministers have dithered about the consequences of their fine words for what seems like forever.

But who knows - it may be a temporary problem while we wait for the promised "too cheap to meter" electricity from fusion.

[Marland]

They also offer those who have to travel in the peak regularly fares cheaper than those available on the day in the form of season tickets. Could a retailer of electricity or gas do something similarly? Probably by getting people to pay up front for a contracted amount of energy even if it has to be used in the periods of high demand. Like a season ticket if you decide to spend a day at home if you have a salad instead of a roast you may lose some of your savings.

GH

[Terry Casey]

Do you erver read the posts you reply to?

We have a smasll diswasher which is usually full at the end of the ray, so we run it.

If it isn't full, then we don't run it.

Presumably you don't cook proper food and just eat a load of instant microwaved muck and throw the packaging away after each meal. If we only put plates in our diswasher it would only run, perhaps, once or twice a week but saucepans and other cooking utensils have a habit of taking up lots of space in our (small) dishwasher.

[Jack James]

You couldn't be more wrong about that. I cook every evening meal and only ever use a microwaved dinner maybe once every few months when I have been out doing something at my normal dinner time and need a quick meal in that situation.

If we only put plates in our diswasher it would

[bert]

It's only limited because we f*** about with renewables.