The RECs themselves called them smartmeters. Retrospectively the first wave of them have been re-christened ADMs (Advanced Domestic Meters) amid concerns of lack of portability between suppliers ...
They look the same as mine, but they have different software and it can't cope with export (or couldn't when it was fitted).
That is one of the facilities I asked for but it hasn't happened yet.
Prepayment ones?
Sounds like it ...
"The disconnect function within the meter is used to open circuit when the customer runs out of credit, it can also be used to support the tamper functionality of the meter. The meter also supports Holiday Dates and Friendly Periods to ensure that the meter will only disconnect the customer at a period that is sociable to the consumer."
But if you make it user tweakable the great unwashed would tweak it so that loads less than 10kW were shown as green. They could then brag to their neighbours that the meter was always green so all the electricity they used was carbon free.
It would also make any sort of simple "keep you meter in the green" energy use advertising meaningless.
Bloomin' marketing speak.
What is sociable about disconnecting anyone, at anytime.
Whilst disconnecting at a time when paying for more might be described as particularly anti-social, I don't think it is anti-sociable except if it cuts you off from your twitbook.
And cutting off someone who is very ill can surely NEVER be called soci? (Except, maybe, sociopathic.)
Sure, it might be necessary in some sense. I.e. you do have to have the ultimate sanction. And it might be a better system that at some arbitrary time the things goes "clunk" and cuts you off. It is the wording that was done by a pack of weasels.
The supplier may well have subcontracted the REC to do the work. A supplier at one end of the country isn't going to want to send an engineer to the other end of the country just to change a meter...
I hope it has a reliable way of knowing what time and date it is that survives an external power cut. Our E7 cheap rate period started about 30 minues ago. Not my kit, not my responsibilty, meter readers come every 6 months or so...
Do these switching smart meters have a non-switched output as well? That would make far more sense and be easier to impliment selective load shedding. In the home have a seperate switched circuit(s) for things that won't object to not having power for a few hours, fridges, freezers.
Not on mine, just a 100A contactor on the leccy one I 'spect. and some sort of powered valve on the gas one.
Exactly! When I come home, it's time for the evening meal, if we delayed it, the kids would be too late to bed and too tired at school the next day. If they've managed to get their school coats covered in mud, they'll have to be washed and dried before we can go to bed (and I need to get up at around 5:45, so waiting for cheap electricity is not an option.
Peak times are peak times because that is the sensible (sometimes only reasonable) option for most people and charging significantly more, cutting people off or cutting power to certain items will rapidly lead to mass anger with whichever government is in power at the time.
Rolling blackouts will be a lot harder to do these days than they were in the 70s - there'll be a lot of complaints of corrupted data and operating systems on PCs and the like.
SteveW
Maybe a better idea would be to keep people connected, but keep dropping them out above a certain load, thus allowing those who are struggling to keep a small amount of function, while preventing someone who is intent on getting something for nothing from enjoying full facilities.
SteveW
If they implement selective load shedding, will they be responsible if they cut power to your freezer just after you've put a month's food into it and need to get the temperature down rapidly?
SteveW
The electronics is probably consuming a couple of microwatts in sleep mode and waking up for a few tens of milliseconds as the mechanical meter registers each litre. Take a look at Zigbee nodes for for an idea of such systems - I don't know what system they are using for water meters, but I'm sure it'll not be too far different.
SteveW
Hopefully they'll also have some sort of NVR to prevent unexpected reapplication of power...
I like that, bit like Italy with 1.5kW domestic supplies...
You could also base it on the source mix of the tariff. So if you choose a nuke based tarrif you power essentially never goes off but if you choose a "green" one you only have power when it's day light or windy.
Our freezer doesn't warm up to "dangerous" levels when it has a load of "warm" food placed into it. Fresh food wouldn't be a problem anyway, it's the thawing of previously frozen stuff.
In our case anything frozen from the supermarket has already been "out of the freezer" at least an hour before it gets put back into a freezer here.
But do you not put it into an insulated bag (or whatever other physical form of container) to carry it home?
We have got an insulated picnic bag which we use to keep food cool between shelf and refrigerator/freezer. Use it even in winter because it simply works as our main food shopping bag.
Goes into an ordinary woven plastic check shopping bag. All the chilled/frozen stuff into the same bag.
Bag? Singular? Four minimum for the normal shop, six plus if the stocks have got a bit low or if there are a few bulky items.
Well, yes, we are but two people. And we also carry a couple of reusable bags in an outer pocket of the cool-bag. And grab the odd carrier bag for bin-lining purposes.
But much of the time, we simply pop out to a close shop and the one bag is enough - or almost so.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.