Smart meters to be compulsary?

[Robin]

We've had 2 IHDs, both from firms other than the meter manufacturer, which have displayed meter readings.

[Dave Liquorice]

Well HMG has got to get the (substantial amount of) money they currently get from fuel duty from somewhere...

[polygonum_on_google]

As I have previously posted, the meters that might most helpfully be remotely readable are water meters. Whether smart or dumb, but preferably with a mechanism for alerting if flow is continuous or excessive.

We can easily wander out and open the gas and electric meter enclosures. We have a very good idea as to our gas and electricity usage. We have next to no idea if there is a water leak between meter and house.

[Dave Liquorice]

Leaks tend to "sing". A bad leak will be audible where the rising main enters the building. To listen for a small one press the handle of a long screwdriver against you ear and the other end against the rising main. With nothing taking water you shouldn't hear anything a leak will be a sort of hissing noise. Also listen to the street stop c*ck.

[Robin]

While that's still one of the ways Thames Water /locate/ leaks, if a user is fit enough to listen for leaks then with a water meter they can probably just turn off every tap and see if the meter shows a flow*. But that does require the ability/willingness to kneel on the pavement (or worse) and peer at a meter. I'd thought Polygonum's point was more that it'd be nice to check for leaks in comfort from an in-home display.

Could be worse though: I wonder how the many water meters in Oz are home to a dangerous spiders and snakes.

*all the meters I've seen were analogue with a "low flow indicator" so it's not a matter of spotting a needle move round the numbers. I think the digital ones switch the display to a direct reading of flow rate.

[polygonum_on_google]

When we had a serious leak, about four years ago, in a previous house. It had probably been going on for several years before we noticed.

We didn't, at the time, have a meter.

There was no evidence at the surface of any leakage at all.

The leaks were located under our driveway, far enough away that we'd never have heard any singing.

Thames Water staff had been around the area listening in the months before we found the leak. They didn't find anything. There again, our driveway is private property so they had no right to wander in and listen.

Eventually, we saw water coming into the garden. That was a bit of a giveaway. :-)

Had to dig a minor ditch and, when that was deep enough, all the water simply disappeared. We had exceptional drainage and were more or less on top of a hill.

Once Thames fixed the leak, they forced us to have a meter. It was at that point we started to think about the implications of another unnoticed leak and the potential cost in water alone.

Reading the meter from inside, and, as I said, an alert mechanism, would have been welcome. Though no need (in our view) for it to be a significantly smart device.

[The Other Mike]

Almost every commercial user in the UK with a max demand over 100 kVA will have been on electronic metering, with remote 'dial-up' access, for around 20 years.

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[bert]

They already have.