SMART meter understanding

My Octopus IHD displays then current consumption (updated every 30 seconds). For instance if I turn off my TV and AV amp I can see within

I don't have the same model of IHD that is showing the "misleading readings.

The gas meter uses a nominal 10 year lithium battery and therefore they all only communicate every 30 minutes to stop the battery being depleted too fast.

My IHD shows real time consumption to a resolution of around 30 seconds.

It tends to be fridges, freezers, routers you may leave on 24/365.

When away from home my average consumption is around 2.5kWh a day

When away I still have the above 3 items running plus 4 mains powered security cameras, a PVR 95% of the time in deep standby, a mains powered answerphone and 2 dusk to dawn security lights (but each running at around 2W)

When away everything else is turned off at the socket mains switch or just unplugged. I do leave the boiler on but if away in the warmer months there will be no call for heat or domestic hot water. If away in colder months the thermostat is set for frost protection plus the boiler will attempt to protect itself from being to cold.

It’s certainly A point, but not the whole point. It’s fair to say that power companies are more concerned about meeting their target for fitting the meters than actually explaining the other benefits that can accrue from having one. So whilst your comment is understandable, you are not acknowledging any of these other benefits, either because you’ve not been made aware of them of, quite simply, because you’re not in a position to take advantage of the other potential benefits.

Tim

The figures may be something like car miles per gallon figures.

Many fridges/freezers are not installed in ideal locations such under a counter worktop with barely enough free air ventilation at the back of the unit to allow it to work at optimum efficiency.

Indeed, but I suppose there's a specified way of testing fridges and reporting their power consumption, so comparisons can be made across makes and models.

True - I sometimes wonder how they work at all with just a few mm gaps top and side. My FF is a freestanding one with fridge at the top and freezer at the bottom, and plenty of space at the top and side.

Mine sits proudly as the Big Item in my study, as it was too big to get through the doors to its intended destination! Easy if I need something from it while I am computing.

The free pink gadget, addresses that. It uploads, via the internet, and makes the electrical consumption data available instantly, every 10 seconds

If it's working properly, you can.

It works quite well for me. If you have a smart phone, maybe try Hildebrand Bright. It'd at least establish whether the meters themselves are working. If they are, maybe the IHD has a fault of some sort.

I guess that an issue here is semantics - how "background" is defined. To me it's something just perceptible, even though it might be there continually (rather than continuously - and that's another point of contention!). YMMV.

Yes, I'd count anything that's switched on 24/7/365 as 'background', bit like a standing charge.

Surely "background" has to be near-constant power drawn 24h a day. Certainly nothing to do with the actual amount of power.

SO, as Prof. Joad would have put it: It depends what you mean by "switched on" ;-}

Continued in thread: Was SMART meter understanding - Download data

Yes, I've got exactly that in mind, for both gas and electricity. Could save a few bob, particularly on gas, where I don't use any between start of May and late September.

I await developments. ;<}

Of possible interest to you, considering your low electricity usage, there was a news item this morning that Ofgem are to force domestic energy suppliers to offer a tariff that is free if standing charges, possibly as early as this coming January.

Ofgem’s site has more details, dated February this year, so you might already be aware of this development.

HTH

They will probably factor that in to their unit price, or where the first X kWh is priced at £+ and once reaching a threshold consumption priced at £++++++ to stop high winter users taking advantage of not using during the summer. My guess these tariffs will come with a heavy exit fee to stop people switching mid contract.

Many years ago (I think late 1970s) I did have an electricity supply with just that arrangement: so many units at £X and £Y thereafter. Being electricity, there wouldn't be any time of the year with no usage.

I have never heard of a similar arrangement for gas.