Slow heating oven

I cannot see either of these providing a conventional meter reading, Alan.

I've graphed my energy usage from meter readings for quite some time.

I can least-worse-bodge to their weekly/monthly totals - but I'm just surprised that an echo of the meter readings isn't provided.

Lack of imagination on Octopus/others' part, I guess.

I think that's deliberate. The meter on the wall is the thing that's certified, calibrated, etc. The IHD is not. If say the IHD got stuck and didn't update its reading, you might expect to be billed £0 but you won't be, because the real record that's being sent is the reading taken by the meter on the wall.

What the system does is reduce the need to stand on a ladder / etc to read the meter on the wall, because (assuming comms are working) the readings are sent through and available via the website. So you shouldn't need to read the raw meter, and graphs can be downloaded from your supplier (if they have a clue, like Octopus do).

If you like, the IHD is like a nautical chart labelled 'not for navigation'. Informational but not authoritative.

Theo

I think one of the reasons that they don’t just echo the meter reading is that with the present number of “time of day” tariffs (and the expectation that these will probably increase in number), the simple meter reading isn’t terribly helpful as a means of working out cost.

Octopus do show the monthly meter reading through their app but when you’re on a smart tariff you can’t simply look at the units used and infer the cost. It’s all about *when* you used the power.

Tim

The IHD doesn't need any calibration or certification to simply echo the meter - and anything can go wrong with everything.

This is uk.d-i-y. I like to do it myself.

Loads of assumptions in the above, Theo.

Good Point, Tim, well made.

I'm still on a non-smart tariff but with an unexpected bonus. As a result I've been pondering how Octopus would factor in the "free" 3kWh that they gave me from 2pm to 3pm on Saturday.

A whole new ballgame for this old dog to take on board!

Octopus provide 30 minute totals in a .cvs format for download when logged into the on-line account. Gathering the data prior to download may take 15 seconds for a month's worth of data but considerably longer for, say, a years worth but it will download eventually.

You can choose how we store the readings from your smart meter. Choosing to store your readings half-hourly, will help us better match the electricity you are using with renewable generation and reduce carbon emissions. Important: If you choose daily or monthly reporting, you will be removed from our Octoplus rewards scheme. [/quote]

It may not be as free as you think

With a smart meter they know your consumption during that hour in a previous week. The free electricity is that over and above what you used the previous day. It's much the same when they pay you to use less electricity when the "grid" offers payment to do so. From memory, they use an average of the past 10 days as the reference usage and pay you if you use less than that during the offer period.

As others have suggested, if it has multiple elements, possible one has failed.

Another possibility is the fan failing. They can get ‘gummed up’ with grease etc - the clearance in the motor tends to be small. You may be able to clean it.

The motors aren’t in an area accessible by normal cleaning, so even if she keeps the oven spotless, the motor can be gummed up.