Smart Meters: Should You Get One?

[John J]

I find the problem with any electricity meter is the demand for money that inevitably follows a increase in the meter readings.

[Brian Gaff]

Mine failed within a year, and the guy who came around to fit the new one said that they were no longer fitting the ones with the Toshiba Economy 7 boards as they had proved unreliable. I have forgotten which make of Economy

7 mine now has, but touch wood its been running for two years. I do often feel though that its always going to be the case that the more complex a piece of equipment is, the more chances there are for something to go wrong!

Brian

[Harry Bloomfield Esq]

Me too, now, after a late start realising about the tariff.

Absolutely, my first bill on the Tracker, is less than half what it might have been on the SVT.

[Rod Speed]

Brian Gaff [e-mail] wrote

That has always been a mindlessly simplistic line.

The Philips Hue bulbs are MUCH more complicated than the cheapest led bulbs as the teardowns show but are in fact VASTLY more reliable in reality.

[John Rumm]

We had an old dual rate one that got stuck on peak rate (the separate time clock bit died). They replaced it with an electronic meter.

[AnthonyL]

Ah, that lovely cosy feeling of walking into someone's house who had their Rayburn running and washing on the hoisted clothes horse.

Best venison I've ever had was from a neighbour's Rayburn, though I'm sure an Aga would have done just as good a job.

[S Viemeister]

Lovely - unless you're the one paying for the oil!

We have a Rayburn, but it's no longer in use, it's just sitting there, looking picturesque. It will eventually be removed, if and when we remodel the kitchen.

When fuel was relatively inexpensive, it was used for central heating, hot water, cooking, and drying laundry on the SheilaMaid. I summer, we had to shut it down, as the kitchen got too hot, so alternative cooking appliances were needed. Temperature control was...difficult.

We had an external oil combi installed over ten years ago, and it's more than paid for itself. The programmable thermostat keeps us comfortable, hot water is always available, and valuable storage space is no longer taken up by big tanks of water.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I can assure you it does. Friend has a house in Scotland which has a neighbour with a rifle...Guess what was Xmas dinner?

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[The Natural Philosopher]

To be honest its trivial.

600W for 9 months of the year. About £275 p.a. at today's prices. And far cheaper than gas or electricity to heat a kitchen even with a benighted heat pump.

I spend ten times that on heating the rest of the house easily.

You learn how to use one.

Good plan, surprised you didnt plan to keep the rayburn as well tho.

[Brian Gaff]

Well, we are getting into the use of cheap parts and the best designs. This will always be a variable, Take Wall Warts with USB A connectors, there are some awful examples and some good ones, but the Apple costlier ones are so much better than the el cheapo ones which usually have an awful electrostatic leak and are like radio Jammers yet are supposedly the same spec. Brian

[Andrew]

Yes, but with a daily standing charge that was far lower than it is now. Lots of people who only have gas fires are now paying more for the standing charge than for the gas they use.

[Tim+]

And feeling grateful that you’re not paying their fuel bills… ;-)

Tim

[Tim+]

EV, solar + battery but no electric heating (yet). Averaging under 9 pence at the moment. Would have been under 8 pence apart from a couple of cockups regarding car charging. ;-). That will go up when we get a heat pump but hoping that an extra battery will mostly tide us over peak rate times.

Tim