Smart Meter Display on Computer

[Ron]

I have just had my electricity and gas meters replaced with smart meters which have now made my excel spread sheet redundant and I no longer need to read my meters every day.

However I will still update my spread sheet, I just won't need to go out in the rain to read my meter, just to the kitchen where the smart meter display is situated.

Then I thought, is there a way to get the smart meter display to automatically update my spread sheet or for me to view the output from the smart meters directly on my computer, by, in some way, capturing the output from the smart meters?

I have a wireless router but it does not show anything about the smart meter LAN.

[charles]

I think that smart meters use a dedicated wireless network - and, I suspect, encrypted data.

This doesn't answer yur question, but I have a question. How long did the changeover take? I don't wamt to be without gas in the winter = nor without electricity for any length of time. I need them both for the boiler to operate.

[charles]

A freezer kept shut will take hours to defrost.

[Chris Hogg]

SSE say the supplies to each meter will be off for about half an hour, and the total installation will take about two hours.

and scroll down to 'Here's how the installation process works'.

[Brian-Gaff]

I've been asking this question along with when can I have one for some years. it seems the only plan at present is to get at the reading after its been to your energy company. This seems to be really counter intuitive as if, for example you want to turn things on and off at high load times then the thing would need to signal your appliances somehow, and I'd not want the bunglers at EDF to be in charge of this even if it just went to them and aback again. The main reason why I cannot have a smart meter is because they say at least, because economy 7 is not supported on current meters as the want to move away from several meters. However in my view all they need to do is a calculation on the readings in real time, after all a simple time switch at each house is aallstorage heaters will need. Even now my normal electricity usage at the economy hours is charged at the lower rate, not just heaters and water. The mechanical switching from one meter to another seems archaic and stupid but its done so the ready can just read off two readings. In an electronic world this should be simple to do on any computer with a clock.

Brian

[Brian-Gaff]

I was told around an hour for my one electricity meter when they decide how to handle economy 7 that is. I also should expect to have to arrange clear access to their location or they will charge me waiting time. I guess a lot of people have meters in their 'for now' cupboards where they put stuff for now. Brian

[charles]

two meters at half an hour each only adds up to 1 hour

[Chris Hogg]

Yebbut that's just for the supplies. I assume the rest of the time is installing the control and comms stuff, setting it up and instructing the householder. I think there's more to it than just the physical meters.

[Another Dave]

In my case I was without gas for nine hours.

Apparently the main tap for the gas has to be able to fall to the OFF position and mine didn't for some reason. The fitter felt it necessary to bring in a National Grid team to replace the tap. When they eventually arrived they hadn't got the right part (the house is 90 years old) and they had to send for one.

Eventually, at 9 o'clock on Friday night I was able to cook my evening meal.

Also, it was pointed out that the electricity supply to the garage went through the same hole in the wall that the main gas pipe went through.

After all this, when I changed energy supplier (as we're exhorted to) they seemed to lose the ability to read the meters remotely and I'm now back to having meter readers calling.

Unless you really, really need to change to a smart meter I wouldn't do it.

Another Dave

[Robin]

less than an hour and half here to replace the 2 old meters with dials, including fitting an isolator between the meter and CU[1] - but that was

4 and a bit years ago and they may well have managed to make it slower since then. [1] the isolator was one reason for making the switch (sic) :)

[Davidm]

When they did mine (B Gas) they said allow 3 hours, in fact leccy was off for about 1 hour then gas for less than 1/2 an hour.

[David]

Not much consolation, but the clip on energy monitor I had from EoN has two options for reading; you can download the last month (or so) using their no longer supported software, or you can capture the raw data streamed in real time out of the serial port.

All you need to do then is write a bit of software to analyse it.(!)

Probably far too practical for smart meters.

Cheers

Dave R

[Chris Green]

Our, several years old, economy 7 meter is electronic with LED counters. It's all one meter, the built-in clock simply switches to total-1 or total-2 according to the time of day. There is actually a third counter which isn't used so, presumably, there are places that have three different rates.

[Chris Hogg]

We had an old meter replaced a couple of years ago by one similar to yours, electronic, digital read-out, box about the size of a large matchbox, except it still relies on the old mechanical clock to change from Hi to Lo rates. On ours the third display gives the total units, i.e. Hi+Lo. Nothing 'smart' about it, though.

[Chris Green]

Ours is all electronic, no mechanical timer. The third total is a separate one I think, it just sits at zero. Ours is much bigger than yours though, 6" x 4" by 1.5" deep I'd guess.

[Judith]

I guess it depends on what is offered: OVO will supply a device to link to your router instead of the readable display.

[Judith]

I had an Economy 7 meter. OVO removed the E7 meter and removed the electro-mechanical clock as it is not needed. They then installed the new smart-meter which copes with the E7 switch over at a time (which they can change remotely)

[harry]

The third counter is the sum of the day and night rates.

[Chris Green]

Not on ours it isn't, the third counter is unused and shows zero (well, actually, the 'reset' all on pattern).

[Brian Gaff]

Even more reason, then to be amazed that the meters cannot cope. surely all of this calculation is done in software so one would just need an app on a machine with a clock. Most conspiracy theorists would say of course that its not a good idea to let the subscriber loose on the actual raw data and control of gadgets, cos the energy companies and ultimately the government want to be able to over ride your choices with their own to ration electricity if things get bad. No good if they cannot turn off your hair dryer when the load is high good grief no! Also of course detailed data collection of appliances will, as the buzz word folk say, 'inform future policy, by which we mean cost and taxation etc I'd imagine.

Brian