My electricity bill has just tripled: how about yours? Alternative suppliers?

[Ranbay]

I've been offered a smart meter (2nd generation) Is there any reason not to have installed?

Had mine about 7 years now and still dont have cancer ....

 

[existentialist]

This is my stylish bench lighting it connects to

View attachment 315571

I do hope those tins are earthed

 

[existentialist]

I've been offered a smart meter (2nd generation) Is there any reason not to have installed?

From what I can tell, the only potential downside is that you're effectively giving your electricity provider a very fine-grained level of data on your electricity usage. That may or may not bother you.

 

[High Voltage]

And, going forward, they will be able to use the Smart meter for "surge pricing" and they can also disconnect you remotely, and they can sack all the meter readers

 

[Chz]

And, going forward, they will be able to use the Smart meter for "surge pricing" and they can also disconnect you remotely, and they can sack all the meter readers

There are meter readers still? I haven't seen one in at least 6 years! And I only got the new meter last year.
Surge pricing works both ways. Once variable pricing is in, you'll also be able to run the appliances all night for cheap without signing up for an Eco7 plan that's ruinous during the day.

 

[existentialist]

And, going forward, they will be able to use the Smart meter for "surge pricing" and they can also disconnect you remotely, and they can sack all the meter readers

Yep. As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing in it for me to have a smart meter installed, so I have been studiously ignoring Bulb's repeated entreaties to book a meter installation. My current meter is one of the old-school mechanical ones (but with a row of digits, rather than the dials).

 

[High Voltage]

How do they get the readings back at "head office" then?

Again, genuine question, I don't know

 

[existentialist]

How do they get the readings back at "head office" then?

Again, genuine question, I don't know

There's a variety of means, but the lowest common denominator seems to be a meter with some kind of SIM that can talk to some kind of mobile network. There are all kinds of other options, each with their own advantages and disadvantages, and you won't be surprised to learn that it's not exactly an "open" topic.

How do smart meters communicate? | emnify Blog

A smart meter is an IoT device that measures and transmits data about water, electricity, or gas consumption. It simplifies billing and improves resource management.

www.emnify.com

 

[skyscraper101]

My old one used to connect via my wifi, or if that was down, use some sort of 2G data.

 

[cupid_stunt]

As they start pushing lower tariffs for smart meter customers, people will be falling over themselves to get one installed, thus saving the government the trouble of making them compulsory.

Time-of-use tariffs: the benefits | Smart Energy GB

Find out how choosing a smart time-of-use tariff could save you money on your energy bill, and support a cleaner, greener energy system.

www.smartenergygb.org

 

[two sheds]

I do hope those tins are earthed

No it's ok gentlegreen earths them periodically when he touches them

 

[Ranbay]

I like smart meters cos then you dont have to let some cunt in the house and move all the shit from under the stairs so he can look at it

It's also handy if you grow weed, cos then they don't come around and smell the weed.... not that i grow weed obvs

 

[gentlegreen]

I like smart meters cos then you dont have to let some cunt in the house and move all the shit from under the stairs so he can look at it

It's also handy if you grow weed, cos then they don't come around and smell the weed.... not that i grow weed obvs

"could you please use your pottery kiln at a different time of day ?"

 

[gentlegreen]

No it's ok gentlegreen earths them periodically when he touches them

I was going to say I have a thermometer wired into the 12 volt supply in the bathroom and I'm always careful to remove it from the water before I get in just in case the interference suppressing "Y"capacitor is sub-par - you can often get a bit of a tingle off SMPSUs in any case ...

 

[Elpenor]

How is the rewiring going gentlegreen?

 

[gentlegreen]

How is the rewiring going gentlegreen?

That's a year off probably - I have to get all the stuff I'm keeping into my bed / living room first ...

 

[prunus]

I was going to say I have a thermometer wired into the 12 volt supply in the bathroom and I'm always careful to remove it from the water before I get in just in case the interference suppressing "Y"capacitor is sub-par - you can often get a bit of a tingle off SMPSUs in any case ...

What the...?


You're a wonder mate. Long life to you

 

[MickiQ]

I like smart meters cos then you dont have to let some cunt in the house and move all the shit from under the stairs so he can look at it

It's also handy if you grow weed, cos then they don't come around and smell the weed.... not that i grow weed obvs

You don't have to justify yourself to us.

There's a variety of means, but the lowest common denominator seems to be a meter with some kind of SIM that can talk to some kind of mobile network. There are all kinds of other options, each with their own advantages and disadvantages, and you won't be surprised to learn that it's not exactly an "open" topic.

How do smart meters communicate? | emnify Blog

A smart meter is an IoT device that measures and transmits data about water, electricity, or gas consumption. It simplifies billing and improves resource management.

www.emnify.com

The BG dude who fitted mine told me that the electric one had a built in SIM card and that the gas one (and the smart meter thingy in the kitchen) connected wirelessly to it.

I moved to smart meters a few years ago simply because all the cheapest deals were conditional on me getting a smart meter, watching the amount used by various devices on the kitchen smart meter thingy was fascinating at first but not really telling me anything I couldn't figure out by looking at the plate on the bottom/back of devices and doing a bit of mental arithmetic.

 

[existentialist]

You don't have to justify yourself to us.

The BG dude who fitted mine told me that the electric one had a built in SIM card and that the gas one (and the smart meter thingy in the kitchen) connected wirelessly to it.

I moved to smart meters a few years ago simply because all the cheapest deals were conditional on me getting a smart meter, watching the amount used by various devices on the kitchen smart meter thingy was fascinating at first but not really telling me anything I couldn't figure out by looking at the plate on the bottom/back of devices and doing a bit of mental arithmetic.

That last bit would be the main motivation for me having one, although I've done an end run around that by putting my own gadget on the supply (as mentioned upthread). Open source and configurable in a way I suspect the smart meters aren't...

 

[Artaxerxes]

"could you please use your pottery kiln at a different time of day ?"

No

 

[Kevbad the Bad]

We were on a fixed rate tariff with Octopus until last month. £91 per month, gas and electric. Then went onto their standard tariff. £109 per month. Just now got an email saying next month it will be £179. Hmmmnnn.

 

[panpete]

I'm with octopus, I should do a meter reading, I had loads of credit, im not doing too bad.
Not sure if I should change tariff.
I pay £53.92 a month but it's 63 days since I read my meter, so I should do it tomorrow.
Thankfully I have a few hundred in credit to absorb these rises.

 

[High Voltage]

I'm just starting to bottom the whole "how much electricity do I use and on what" conundrum

After switched off completely the central heating and resorting to one hours manual over-ride for hot water (GAS boiler but rest, obviously using electricity) I ended up with a new daily electrify consumption low of 4.8KW - so this is what I need to break down as to how it's being used

This morning I looked at the meter and the consumption was 5.6KW and I'd predicted that the usage would be between 5.5 - 6KW so pretty much bang on . . . the difference was one ECO dishwasher cycle with a published energy usage of .74KW, so that checks out

Back to the 4.8KW - well I know that the fridge freezer uses 1KW / day - so that's 3.8KW to account for

The TV "plug" uses about .3KW during the day

The router "plug" uses about .15KW during the day

The central heating / hot water (all things on this), I'm estimating uses .1KW for 1 hours usage

Kettle, again, guessing it's a 2-3KW kettle, used twice during the day, only filled as to what's needed, say 15minutes total, best guess .6KW

Toaster, used once a day, best guess .2KW

Various light bulbs around the house, they are now all LED bulbs, quick count up 15-20 bulbs some not used at all, some on most of the day (it's a dark house built into a hill so the living room has no direct sunlight) . . . maybe .8-1KW in the day

Now I'm hunting round to find around 1.75KWs of electrical consumption in a 24 hour period

Things that have so little consumption that you can't actually get a reading in a 24hr period but will still use electricity:-

2 x cats feeders
1 x cat water fountain
These look like they're only using 4watts combined, so maybe .1KWh

1 additional land line phone base / charger
There's a plug on the landing that is "used" for various things - but again, I'm guessing that's usage will be below .3KWh for a 24hr period

Getting there, maybe around 1KW left to account for

There's 2 extractor fans, one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom, the kitchen one can certainly be on for quite some time, but again, I don't think that they are "that" power hungry, but when you're looking for "around" a KW of energy consumption, every little counts, I spose

 

[Leafster]

There's 2 extractor fans, one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom, the kitchen one can certainly be on for quite some time, but again, I don't think that they are "that" power hungry, but when you're looking for "around" a KW of energy consumption, every little counts, I spose

If it's any use I have two Manrose Mixflow extractors and they're 25w each.

 

[High Voltage]

If it's any use I have two Manrose Mixflow extractors and they're 25w each.

We have one Xpelair and one Greenwood - can't remember the exact models but looking on their websites for similar they both "look" to be about 30-50watts each max - the bathroom might be on for 1hr a day(??) the kitchen for 3hr a day(??), so max on both .2KW usage, again, every little helps, as they say

 

[High Voltage]

As neither of these are "plugged in" and will only have a tiny amount of power usage the best I can do for these is guesstimate

But from starting out with an estimated annual usage from Bulb of 5200KWh against an average for a 3 bed / person household of 3200KWh and not having a fucking clue where the extra 2000KWh were miraculously coming from I'm now trying to track down "around" 1KW usage in 24hrs, I'm feeling a lot happier

 

[two sheds]

I'm just starting to bottom the whole "how much electricity do I use and on what" conundrum

After switched off completely the central heating and resorting to one hours manual over-ride for hot water (GAS boiler but rest, obviously using electricity) I ended up with a new daily electrify consumption low of 4.8KW - so this is what I need to break down as to how it's being used

This morning I looked at the meter and the consumption was 5.6KW and I'd predicted that the usage would be between 5.5 - 6KW so pretty much bang on . . . the difference was one ECO dishwasher cycle with a published energy usage of .74KW, so that checks out

Back to the 4.8KW - well I know that the fridge freezer uses 1KW / day - so that's 3.8KW to account for

The TV "plug" uses about .3KW during the day

The router "plug" uses about .15KW during the day

The central heating / hot water (all things on this), I'm estimating uses .1KW for 1 hours usage

Kettle, again, guessing it's a 2-3KW kettle, used twice during the day, only filled as to what's needed, say 15minutes total, best guess .6KW

Toaster, used once a day, best guess .2KW

Various light bulbs around the house, they are now all LED bulbs, quick count up 15-20 bulbs some not used at all, some on most of the day (it's a dark house built into a hill so the living room has no direct sunlight) . . . maybe .8-1KW in the day

Now I'm hunting round to find around 1.75KWs of electrical consumption in a 24 hour period

Things that have so little consumption that you can't actually get a reading in a 24hr period but will still use electricity:-

2 x cats feeders
1 x cat water fountain
These look like they're only using 4watts combined, so maybe .1KWh

1 additional land line phone base / charger
There's a plug on the landing that is "used" for various things - but again, I'm guessing that's usage will be below .3KWh for a 24hr period

Getting there, maybe around 1KW left to account for

There's 2 extractor fans, one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom, the kitchen one can certainly be on for quite some time, but again, I don't think that they are "that" power hungry, but when you're looking for "around" a KW of energy consumption, every little counts, I spose

mind the kW vs kWh to avoid confusion, but interesting

 

[prunus]

I'm just starting to bottom the whole "how much electricity do I use and on what" conundrum

After switched off completely the central heating and resorting to one hours manual over-ride for hot water (GAS boiler but rest, obviously using electricity) I ended up with a new daily electrify consumption low of 4.8KW - so this is what I need to break down as to how it's being used

This morning I looked at the meter and the consumption was 5.6KW and I'd predicted that the usage would be between 5.5 - 6KW so pretty much bang on . . . the difference was one ECO dishwasher cycle with a published energy usage of .74KW, so that checks out

Back to the 4.8KW - well I know that the fridge freezer uses 1KW / day - so that's 3.8KW to account for

The TV "plug" uses about .3KW during the day

The router "plug" uses about .15KW during the day

The central heating / hot water (all things on this), I'm estimating uses .1KW for 1 hours usage

Kettle, again, guessing it's a 2-3KW kettle, used twice during the day, only filled as to what's needed, say 15minutes total, best guess .6KW

Toaster, used once a day, best guess .2KW

Various light bulbs around the house, they are now all LED bulbs, quick count up 15-20 bulbs some not used at all, some on most of the day (it's a dark house built into a hill so the living room has no direct sunlight) . . . maybe .8-1KW in the day

Now I'm hunting round to find around 1.75KWs of electrical consumption in a 24 hour period

Things that have so little consumption that you can't actually get a reading in a 24hr period but will still use electricity:-

2 x cats feeders
1 x cat water fountain
These look like they're only using 4watts combined, so maybe .1KWh

1 additional land line phone base / charger
There's a plug on the landing that is "used" for various things - but again, I'm guessing that's usage will be below .3KWh for a 24hr period

Getting there, maybe around 1KW left to account for

There's 2 extractor fans, one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom, the kitchen one can certainly be on for quite some time, but again, I don't think that they are "that" power hungry, but when you're looking for "around" a KW of energy consumption, every little counts, I spose

Are you sure you don’t have any incandescent or halogen bulbs still in use somewhere unobvious? Outside light or garage or basement or something? A 100w bulb on for 17 hours would cover your excess.

 

[High Voltage]

Are you sure you don’t have any incandescent or halogen bulbs still in use somewhere unobvious? Outside light or garage or basement or something? A 100w bulb on for 17 hours would cover your excess.

Absolutely positive. The only "outside" light we've got is a flame effect LED bulb which is switched off and is super low wattage any way

There is no garage, there is no basement. Mrs Voltz has her "woman cave" and that has one Sonos speaker in it, low energy LED lighting and a heater, but she's pretty scrupulous in making sure everything is switched off.

That KW is "somewhere" in the house, of that I'm sure. But looking at my potential annual consumption now being less than 2000KWh, certainly or the spring, summer, autumn months I feel we can cut ourselves a fair bit of slack in the winter months

 

[gentlegreen]

So my PC consumes 180 watts when running at 100 percent CPU...
So 2.16kwh over 12 hours...