Smart Meters

The hysteria around smart meter plans is confusing to me.
People are spending hours reading message boards convincing themselves that Smart Meters are the devil.
When 10 minutes research on the Energy suppliers site clears up all most of the misconceptions.
 
When the company's get enough people to switch to a 24 hour smart plan they will all discontinue the 24 hour smart plan and then everybody will go on Time of Use (ToU) - this is why although having a smart meter I'm still on a non smart meter plan until I'm given no choice and it does make it more difficult switching each year because they want to get you on a smart meter plan. Between 5pm - 7pm I just use whatever I want - this is why people won't switch.
 
theresa1 said:
Between 5pm - 7pm I just use whatever I want - this is why people won't switch.
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Don't understand your point. The whole point of avoiding usage between 5-7 p.m. is because it is peak time, putting extra pressure on the system and costing users more.
 


Good call! After ten minutes research it's abundantly clear that they are far, far worse than the devil!
 
Sue Ellen said:
Don't understand your point. The whole point of avoiding usage between 5-7 p.m. is because it is peak time, putting extra pressure on the system and costing users more.
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Her point is that because she (wisely, in my opinion) doesn't have a smart plan, she doesn't have to pay the very high rates that "smart" people do!
 
Does your friend use 4G, or a WIFI signal. Or did she ever have a 3G or 2G wireless telephony device.

I would be more concerned around the B field coming from the power flowing through 25x meters, than any weak radio waveform.
 
clinteastwood said:
Does your friend use 4G, or a WIFI signal. Or did she ever have a 3G or 2G wireless telephony device.

I would be more concerned around the B field coming from the power flowing through 25x meters, than any weak radio waveform.
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She uses a smartphone with 4G, perhaps she had had 3G or 2G wireless telephony in the past.

Do you think there could be a problem with the number of smart meters emiting signals on the external block concrete wall of her apartment. If so, is there anything she might be able to do? Not all of the older meters are yet replaced.
 
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I had a smart meter installed. The final meter reading was overstated and the information was transferred to my current supplier.

Luckily I took a photo of the final meter reading on day of removal. Ideally verify the date with a newspaper held to side of the meter.

I would not have had a smart meter installed but for the old mechanical meter was removed and replaced by an electronic non- smart meter five years ago.
 
A Yuno rep told me some time ago that a condition of joining them was that I moved to a smart plan so maybe it's in their T&C ? I declined in any event.

Has anyone seen the CRU come out and say definitively that you can/can't move from a smart plan to a non smart plan?
 
From my own experience and anybody I've talked to it's been a good transition that has resulted in cheaper electricity bills
I know from the 18 months I've been on a smart plan it has saved me hundreds of Euros compared to a non smart plan
Even if we were on a standard smart plan and making no changes to our routines I still would have saved compared to a non smart plan
And I'm guessing that the people who are papooing the whole thing are people who haven't made the switch and are focusing too much attention on the peak rate and nothing on the the night rate and actually haven't crunched their usage numbers properly

So I'm wondering at this stage if there is anybody out there who decided to make the switch to "Smart Plans" and regretted it??
 
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Reactions: Leo
theresa1 said:
When the company's get enough people to switch to a 24 hour smart plan they will all discontinue the 24 hour smart plan and then everybody will go on Time of Use (ToU)
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The regulator direction is that people should be incentivised to switch to time of use. Their goal of course is to reduce demand during that peak 5-7pm period as that will have the greatest effect on reducing the pollution associated with electricity generation here.
 
Marsupial said:
Good call! After ten minutes research it's abundantly clear that they are far, far worse than the devil!
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On what basis?

I work from home the majority of the time, my wife works part time, so our house is occupied more than the average during the day. During the colder months, I use an electric heater to bring my office to a comfortable temperature rather than use the oil heating. As we're home during the middle of the day, that's when the washing machine and dishwasher get used. So you'd imagine that a smart plan would be the worst thing for us, yet, last time I did a detailed look into the plans, I'd save €50 to €100 a year switching to a time-of-use plan.

In monetary terms, I'm not sure how to quantify 'the devil', but I'd imagine no one would consider savings as being worse than whatever cost you attribute to the devil.
 
why do you forget to mention Electric Ireland?

Including their discounts they have the lowest 24 hour rate and offer a 24 hour rate to all smart meter holders. https://www.electricireland.ie/switch/new-customer/price-plans?priceType=E

If the others won't offer a plan that suits, just don't use them.
 
I presume she also has a microwave, hairdryer and washing machine in addition to a mobile phone. All produce small levels of RF Radiation - but at a high rate than smart meters.

If she is on public transport or in a busy office she will be in close proximity to dozen of people with mobile phones constantly emitting rf radiation at several times the level of smart meters.

The problem is flat earth / covid denier types coupled with daily mail type sensationalism that you see far too often. Usually a non-peer reviewed piece of "research" by dubious "experts" add in the word CANCER to get headlines and notice.

Example was the headline a few years ago that "eating minced beef can cause elevated chance of cancer". This is actually true - HOWEVER, when peer reviewed they said you would need to be eating 1kg (7 quarter pounders) of minced beef every day for over 20 years for it to have a noticeable increased chance of cancer - an elevated risk of cancer will be the very least of your health issues if you consumed that many burgers. But the daily mail and flat earth types "forgot" to mention that part
 
peemac said:
But the daily mail and flat earth types "forgot" to mention that part
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More likely the person writing the article didn't understand the science and didn't bother consulting someone who did.
 

So a Smart meter suits you, whereas it categorically doesn't suit me*. That's often how life works out, so vive la difference!

* Living in an A1 home with underfloor heating. Retired; so at home almost all of the time. Have been using a day-night meter for the past 42 years and have been tracking my monthly electricity consumption ever since Michael D Higgins was in short trousers.
Switch my electricity supplier every year. Installed PV solar plus battery 8 months ago and am really enjoying the benefits.
(Am unlikely to switch to a smart meter unless (i) the supplier throws in a free e-car and a herd of dancing girls, or (ii) I can see a potential financial benefit.)
 
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Marsupial said:
So a Smart meter suits you, whereas it categorically doesn't suit me*. That's often how life works out, so vive la difference!
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Exactly, perhaps you should have said that instead of "After ten minutes research it's abundantly clear that they are far, far worse than the devil!" Only a tiny minority of people live in A1 rated homes with electric underfloor heating, so your experience won't translate to most people here.

Marsupial said:
Installed PV solar plus battery 8 months ago and am really enjoying the benefits.
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I'd be interested in the ROI calculations you did to ensure that was a good decision.

With the battery though, is it not more likely that a smart plan could be a lot cheaper for you? Fully charge your battery overnight for ~7c per kWh rather than using excess during the day that could be sold for 24c, make sure underfloor heating is on a schedule to avoid the peak hours and you're laughing.
 
you are probably aware but they are installing smart meters now that allow you to remain on a legacy d/n plan and indeed switch to a new d/n plan. We are also on a d/n plan, have ufh and an ev so works for us but have a smart meter.
 
Leo said:
I'd be interested in the ROI calculations you did to ensure that was a good decision.
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But I didn't claim that it was a good decision. I just said that I was really enjoying the benefits!

I'll probably be dead before payback is achieved - however, on the positive side, I'll be lovely and warm where I'm heading to!
 
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