New ESB Meters being installed by KN Group.

Odea said:
The ESB are upgrading their meters in my area. They are using a company called KN Group to install these new meters.

I received a couple of letters from them and then a phone call to say that they would like to call to my home and replace meter. They would need to turn off our electricity for about 45 minutes to do the work. I am not sure if they can disconnect our electricity from outside our house where the meter box is located or if they need to call in to our home and switch it off from our internal fuse box?

Anyhow they phoned me and I said that I was not ready to have this work done. Three days later I had another call asking me if I wanted the job done. I declined.

Now we have a pretty persistent person call to our door and ring and ring our bell from the KN Group.

I am happy with my existing meter. I read some articles last year where people who got these new meters found that their electricity bill increased after they were installed.

Have you had this job done and are you happy with the result?
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Following on from my above post I had yet another person call to my door today from the KN Group. He couldn't remember calling to my home last week. He had no record of it. He had no record of the phone calls that were made to me. He also stated that he was from the ESB when he wasn't. He got an earful because I thought that 4 contacts in less than two weeks was over the top, especially after I had told them that , for the moment I was not interested in having my meter changed.

Apparently they are starting the upgrades in the DunLaoghaire Rathdown area. I referred to the fact that there were reported problems in the UK when these were introduced. He said that we won't know for a few years how they will work here?
 
Odea said:
for the moment I was not interested in having my meter changed.
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It's not your meter though, it remains DSO property and they are entitled to replace it if they so choose. Failing to provide them access to repair or replace as they deem necessary entitles them to cut off your service.
 
Odea said:
Apparently they are starting the upgrades in the DunLaoghaire Rathdown area. I referred to the fact that there were reported problems in the UK when these were introduced. He said that we won't know for a few years how they will work here?
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I'm not sure much more can be said on your query Odea. From a bit of looking around it seems like you do (or did in the past) have the option to refuse a smartmeter if you want to do that - "Regarding right of refusal, I have been informed by the Commission for Energy Regulation that a customer that does not want an upgraded meter will be able to decline to have this new meter installed." Minister for Communications, Climate Action & Environment, Denis Naughten, 2016

I've posted above some of the feedback from the UK smartmetering programme. There will be issues in any technology and any rollout of this scale, so to see that the vast majority of people are happy is enough for me to suggest it is not an unmitigated disaster.

This article is also worth a read if you have a minute - https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2018/...city-meters-are-coming-so-what-can-we-expect/ - where you'll see the meters have been trialled in Ireland shown energy reductions and generally been successful.


I'd also caution that smartmetering is very much tied up in the conspiracy theory nonsense going around about 5G, so you need to treat what you read online with a strong dose of critical analysis at this point.
 
Zenith63 said:
I'd also caution that smartmetering is very much tied up in the conspiracy theory nonsense going around about 5G, so you need to treat what you read online with a strong dose of critical analysis at this point.
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The smart meters are 2G though:(
 
Itchy said:
The smart meters are 2G though:(
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I believe that despite this, the new meters are still being read manually.... rather than automatically....only in Hi tech Ireland eh?.

Something to do with unease from some quarters about the ability of utilities to know when a person is in or out.?

No such uneasiness from same Facebook/google/apple loving folk sharing their each and every detail to the US wall st. corporates rather than ESB networks company.

Ah well...
 
Itchy said:
The smart meters are 2G though:(
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Sorry I wasn't too clear in my wording, I meant that the same people pushing 5G conspiracies are also pushing smartmetering conspiracies, not for all the same reasons though. I'm not really keen to link to the sites as it just perpetuates it, but these are Irish sites that appear at the top of Google results. Some of the things you may be concerned about ;) with smart meters are apparently:

  • Headaches, Insomnia, Fatigue, Tinnitus, Heart Palpitations, Irritability, Decreased Immune Function, Decreased Cognitive Function
    • They can operate autonomously or as part of a wireless ‘mesh’ network with neighbouring Smart Meters and transmit information to the utility companies using biologically unfriendly bursts of microwave radiation, 24 hours/day.
    • NOT HEALTHY: Acute health problems reported where smart meters are installed include heart palpitations, chest pain, inability to concentrate, feeling faint, headaches, dizziness, irritability, nosebleeds, nausea, sleep difficulties, tinnitus and auditory problems, “microwave hearing” (the hum).
  • Fire Risk
  • Safety and Security Issues
  • Detrimental to Animals, Wildlife and the Environment
  • Not Green
  • No Cost Savings
  • Your Private Data Sold
  • Dirty electricity
    • It is not just wireless radiation that is causing problems. Smart and digital meters are also a major source of dirty electricity (electrical interference of high frequency voltage transients typically of kilohertz). These frequencies on your home’s wiring also contributes to many illnesses. Dirty electricity is a spiky, pulsed, highly variable electrical current that rides through all the circuitry of a building. It has devastating health effects. Many people are already experiencing those effects, which include high blood pressure, tinnitus, insomnia, and cognitive difficulties.
Please note, the companies will tell you that the radiation is low-frequency, minimal and safe. They may also give confusing information about levels of frequency and power. Whatever they say, they will all transmit digital wireless pulsed microwave radiation and cause dirty electricity, over which you have no control, you can not turn off, and is detrimental to health.

As well as Smart Meters being installed across the world with implications for health and safety, our exposure to dangerous pulsed microwave radiation is to be increased by the introduction of 5G Technology.
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"Your Private Data Sold" is a concern - found on a Google search engine - nice irony. The Kremlin must be delighted with their work.
No mention of:
microwave ovens,
xray /mri scanners/
1G/2G/3G/4G mobile
/walkie-talkie/TV/radio "high frequency kHz" - lets shut down RTE (252kHz/88-90MHz) / BBC

In that extensive list - thank goodness for our experts of "dirty electricity".

The lunatics are running the asylum.
 
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I wouldn't fancy my chances in a microwave and it has long been accepted that Xrays are harmful, that is why they are used sparingly and with protection - please do not include them in the list above.
 
I have always had a sensitivity to electrical noise. For some reason I can hear it. Wires on street etc. Looked at a lovely house to buy but there was one of those ESB mini stations located beside it. The humming sound was very high to me.
I can hear a slight humming sound coming from our fuse box in the house but I can close a door and I cannot hear it.

I have even become used to my neighbours central heating sound reverberating through our walls (despite being detached houses). :)
 
I had no idea this meter replacement was going on. The alleged health effects are the usual conspiracy theory nonsense that can be ignored. What would interest me is the financial effects. (This is Askaboutmoney after all.)

So, let's assume the new meters are accurate and calibrated correctly. CER should be looking after that. Now, an existing meter is basically a tiny electric motor that turns a dial. And it's turning that dial 24 hours a day for decades. Over time it's not entirely impossible that the meter motor becomes a little bit less effective, the mechanism a little harder to turn and - hey presto - it's underreporting the energy used.

Is this a realistic scenario or am I completely off the mark?
 
seamless said:
Does the smart meter support feed-in tariffing ?
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Yes, though not a requirement for FIT necessarily.

mathepac said:
Has anyone costed the replacement programme? New meters purchased, new meters installed (transport costs including diesel and labour costs), disposal of old meters? Has anyone looked at alternative proposals? If I install one, will I save €50/€100/€200 per year or per bill?
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Looks like PwC were engaged to do a cost analysis during the decision phase, they came up with something around €16 per year saved on electricity and €18 on gas, but they comment that given the costs of rollout were a bit unknown at the time they recommended interpreting their findings as it basically being cost neutral. That was obviously 5+ years ago and I'm sure things have changed, but to the question has anybody fully costed it, looked at alternative proposals, what savings we might see the answer is an entirely unsurprising yes. https://www.thejournal.ie/smart-meters-2532282-Jan2016/
 
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Mrs Vimes said:
I wouldn't fancy my chances in a microwave and it has long been accepted that Xrays are harmful, that is why they are used sparingly and with protection - please do not include them in the list above.
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Odea said:
I have always had a sensitivity to electrical noise. For some reason I can hear it. Wires on street etc. Looked at a lovely house to buy but there was one of those ESB mini stations located beside it. The humming sound was very high to me.
I can hear a slight humming sound coming from our fuse box in the house but I can close a door and I cannot hear it.

I have even become used to my neighbours central heating sound reverberating through our walls (despite being detached houses). :)
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yes mains 50Hz is well inside human ear frequency range. Nothing special there, I hear humming especially in humid days. And what about it, yes the substations can be sightly , I wouldnt sleep on top of one though if I had a choice . I wouldn't like to live beside a traffic junction either. Big deal
 
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PaddyBloggit said:
I have the new meter installed and I do think my wattage usage has increased in bills since.
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The meters use integrated solid state circuits. I can assure you the accuracy of these devices , for sale to Siemens, ABB and Schneiders world wide electrical engineers is far far superior over lifetime and temperature than any spinning mechanical dial installed in 1970s.
Put it this way would Auginish Alumina pay 1% more for their electricity , if they knew the devices were not accurate compared to a spinning dial
 
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Mrs Vimes said:
I wouldn't fancy my chances in a microwave and it has long been accepted that Xrays are harmful, that is why they are used sparingly and with protection - please do not include them in the list above.
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Precisely.
But we employ these devices safely. The wattage and exposure of X Ray is much much smaller than you lying on the sofa surrounded by naturally occurring radiation viz radon. The wattage of the microwave is designed, tested and measured to deliver maximum power via its magnetron to the oven, not the surrounding environment ie your kitchen.

X ray at the dentist s directed at your tooth, not your toe.
 
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