I am getting one next week - complete with wi-fi connection to my router.
Does anyone have such, and any comments on it?

On Wed, 01 Jul 2015 09:35:26 +0100, Bill Stewart wrote:

I am getting one next week - complete with wi-fi connection to my
router.

They want to use your WiFi and presumably net connection? Is this for
the meter operators useage upload and control of the meter?

F. that for a game of soldiers. If their system needs a 'net
connection they can jolly well provide their own or pay me £40/month
to piggy back on mine...

Even if it's only so you can see a pretty web page of useage WiFi APs
aren't free and your firewall/router will need a config change to
deny the the meter net access. You don't know how to do this (do
you...) so you are going to have "call someone out": £75 call out
charge (inc first hour and 50 miles travel) then £25/hour in 15
minute increments rounded up. Shouldn't take 'em more than a couple
of hours.

Only 1/4 in jest...

--
Cheers
Dave.

Bill Stewart wrote:

I am getting one next week - complete with wi-fi connection to my router.
Does anyone have such, and any comments on it?

Is this a fully smart meter ie one that lets OVO read it when they want
to or simply one to inform you of your personal consumption visa your
home network?

I used to be with OVO but got out when they wanted to charge me £60 to
change to one of their newer tariffs. The charge was the same to move to
another supplier and £30 cashback when I moved. Plain daft marketing
strategy on their part IMHO.

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Wed, 01 Jul 2015 09:35:26 +0100, Bill Stewart wrote:

I am getting one next week - complete with wi-fi connection to my
router.

They want to use your WiFi and presumably net connection? Is this for
the meter operators useage upload and control of the meter?

F. that for a game of soldiers. If their system needs a 'net
connection they can jolly well provide their own or pay me £40/month
to piggy back on mine...

Even if it's only so you can see a pretty web page of useage WiFi APs
aren't free and your firewall/router will need a config change to
deny the the meter net access. You don't know how to do this (do
you...) so you are going to have "call someone out": £75 call out
charge (inc first hour and 50 miles travel) then £25/hour in 15
minute increments rounded up. Shouldn't take 'em more than a couple
of hours.

Only 1/4 in jest...

HA! so if these are fully smart meters, then they can cut you off
remotely. Having done so (maybe in error?) then there will be no wifi
connection to enable them to switch you back on!
Brilliant-- not!

On Wed, 01 Jul 2015 09:35:26 +0100, Bill Stewart
wrote:


I am getting one next week - complete with wi-fi connection to my router.
Does anyone have such, and any comments on it?

Apart from the privacy concerns which, if they haven't been done to
death in this group have been elsewhere, I recently found out that if
you decide to switch suppliers you almost certainly will need to
switch smart meters too. It's a degree of hassle (and possible
expense) that in practice locks customers in to one supplier and
effectively knocks competition on the head.

Nick

On 01/07/2015 10:22, Bob Minchin wrote:

HA! so if these are fully smart meters, then they can cut you off
remotely. Having done so (maybe in error?) then there will be no wifi
connection to enable them to switch you back on!
Brilliant-- not!

AIUI a wi-fi connection is optional, for the LAN-side only - remote
display / on your tablet, etc. The meters phone home using
GSM/UMTS/LTE, appropriately enough.


--
Andy

On Wednesday, 1 July 2015 10:34:22 UTC+1, Nick Odell wrote:
On Wed, 01 Jul 2015 09:35:26 +0100, Bill Stewart
wrote:


I am getting one next week - complete with wi-fi connection to my router.
Does anyone have such, and any comments on it?

Apart from the privacy concerns which, if they haven't been done to
death in this group have been elsewhere, I recently found out that if
you decide to switch suppliers you almost certainly will need to
switch smart meters too.

But why is that ? Are yuo sure the hardware is dedicated to one supplier ?
Doesn;t seem to make much sense.

It's a degree of hassle (and possible
expense) that in practice locks customers in to one supplier and
effectively knocks competition on the head.

Nick

In article ,
Bill Stewart wrote:

I am getting one next week - complete with wi-fi connection to my router.
Does anyone have such, and any comments on it?

Interesting. Mate wanted one fitted (not sure what supplier he uses) and
was told he couldn't as they couldn't get a mobile phone signal where the
old one was situated.

--
*Heart attacks... God's revenge for eating his animal friends

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Wed, 1 Jul 2015 02:56:06 -0700 (PDT), whisky-dave
wrote:

On Wednesday, 1 July 2015 10:34:22 UTC+1, Nick Odell wrote:
On Wed, 01 Jul 2015 09:35:26 +0100, Bill Stewart
wrote:


I am getting one next week - complete with wi-fi connection to my router.
Does anyone have such, and any comments on it?

Apart from the privacy concerns which, if they haven't been done to
death in this group have been elsewhere, I recently found out that if
you decide to switch suppliers you almost certainly will need to
switch smart meters too.

But why is that ? Are yuo sure the hardware is dedicated to one supplier ?
Doesn;t seem to make much sense.

It doesn't make sense in a free market but it makes a great deal of
sense to a company wanting to lock their customers in. I've read about
it in various "money" page articles in places like the Grauniad, Indie
and Telegraph on line.

Nick

Nick Odell wrote:
On Wed, 1 Jul 2015 02:56:06 -0700 (PDT), whisky-dave
wrote:
But why is that ? Are yuo sure the hardware is dedicated to one supplier ?
Doesn;t seem to make much sense.

It doesn't make sense in a free market but it makes a great deal of
sense to a company wanting to lock their customers in. I've read about
it in various "money" page articles in places like the Grauniad, Indie
and Telegraph on line.

It makes sense from a support point of view. Since smart meters aren't
standardised and are much more complex than simply reading the numbers off a
variably-shaped box, they don't want to take responsibility for whatever
piece of junk your past supplier fitted. That includes not wanting to get
involved in whatever connectivity the past supplier arranged - the old
supplier contracted with some mobile network, but the new one won't have any
arrangements set up and would have to re-make them piecewise.

Really the meter needs to be provided by the infrastructure company
(National Grid or whatever) who take care of backhaul and maintenance, but
that isn't how the electricity market works. That would also result in a
one-size-fits-all approach, which isn't necessarily a good idea when the
technology isn't anywhere near mature.

Theo

On Wednesday, 1 July 2015 11:30:32 UTC+1, Nick Odell wrote:
On Wed, 1 Jul 2015 02:56:06 -0700 (PDT), whisky-dave
wrote:

On Wednesday, 1 July 2015 10:34:22 UTC+1, Nick Odell wrote:
On Wed, 01 Jul 2015 09:35:26 +0100, Bill Stewart
wrote:


I am getting one next week - complete with wi-fi connection to my router.
Does anyone have such, and any comments on it?

Apart from the privacy concerns which, if they haven't been done to
death in this group have been elsewhere, I recently found out that if
you decide to switch suppliers you almost certainly will need to
switch smart meters too.

But why is that ? Are yuo sure the hardware is dedicated to one supplier ?
Doesn;t seem to make much sense.

It doesn't make sense in a free market but it makes a great deal of
sense to a company wanting to lock their customers in.

It makes sense to a company that doesn't want to expand in the future, which seems strange to me. Which implies no one will ever change their supplier.

I've read about
it in various "money" page articles in places like the Grauniad, Indie
and Telegraph on line.

Do those journos know what they are talking about when it come to this is what I wonder.


Nick

In article o.uk,
Dave Liquorice wrote:
They want to use your WiFi and presumably net connection? Is this for
the meter operators useage upload and control of the meter?

F. that for a game of soldiers. If their system needs a 'net
connection they can jolly well provide their own or pay me £40/month
to piggy back on mine...

Sounds a very short sighted way to go. It depends on your system being up
and running when they want a reading or whatever - assuming you even have
one installed, as plenty don't these days. With a mobile phone type
connection, it will still work even with the house CU turned off.

--
*If all is not lost, where the hell is it?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Wed, 01 Jul 2015 09:35:26 +0100, Bill Stewart
wrote:


I am getting one next week - complete with wi-fi connection to my router.
Does anyone have such, and any comments on it?

Mine, gas and electricity, were installed in May 2014 and the
changeover was completed in May this year; they say they installed a
lot of meters last year. I have today emailed for the second time to
complain about the lack of month-by-month data, which apparently they
have, because they rolled up a year's charges into a single bill, and
to ask for an explantion about last month's bill being estimated. I
did get 3% interest on the credit balance, of course, which was higher
than if they'd billed me monthly.

They also gave me a little wireless (not wifi) display that shows
consumption remotely but is useless for any practical purposes. The
cost estimates on it are way out as well.
If the router link is to an app or a web page then it would probably
be an improvement.

On Wednesday, 1 July 2015 13:03:04 UTC+1, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article o.uk,
Dave Liquorice wrote:
They want to use your WiFi and presumably net connection? Is this for
the meter operators useage upload and control of the meter?

F. that for a game of soldiers. If their system needs a 'net
connection they can jolly well provide their own or pay me £40/month
to piggy back on mine...

Sounds a very short sighted way to go. It depends on your system being up
and running when they want a reading or whatever - assuming you even have
one installed, as plenty don't these days. With a mobile phone type
connection, it will still work even with the house CU turned off.

--
*If all is not lost, where the hell is it?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

We have an OVO Smart Meter on the electric and gas. Uses it's own WiFi. Happy with OVO, so no idea what hassle it will be if we ever decide to change.

The initial hassle was that after they had done the electric, but before the gas (they needed a different interface to the meter) was that their billing system wasn't seeing our meter. We paid them, but they didn't charge us! It took them 9 months and their engineer finally fitting the gas interface (long story) to work out that somewhere in Cumbria an installation engineer has misread the meter number and there were two meters with the same number on their system. We pay monthly, so it wasn't a big issue, in fact they pay 3% interest on positive balances so as they didn't take make any charges for 9 months, we ended up with a healthy interest payment as well!

Cheers

Peter

In message , at 12:24:16 on Wed,
1 Jul 2015, Theo Markettos remarked:
Since smart meters aren't
standardised and are much more complex than simply reading the numbers off a
variably-shaped box, they don't want to take responsibility for whatever
piece of junk your past supplier fitted. That includes not wanting to get
involved in whatever connectivity the past supplier arranged - the old
supplier contracted with some mobile network, but the new one won't have any
arrangements set up and would have to re-make them piecewise.

Don't be daft, there are millions of meters and only a dozen or so
mobile networks (assuming you count MVNOs as well). Every energy company
having some sort of deal with every mobile network is trivial in the
grand scheme of things.
--
Roland Perry

On Wed, 01 Jul 2015 10:16:36 +0100, Bob Minchin
wrote:

Bill Stewart wrote:

I am getting one next week - complete with wi-fi connection to my router.
Does anyone have such, and any comments on it?

Is this a fully smart meter ie one that lets OVO read it when they want
to or simply one to inform you of your personal consumption visa your
home network?


It is a fully functional Smart Meter.
Having the connection to my wi-fi was an option which I chose.
I understand that *all* smart meters have the facility to use mobile phone
network for transmitting half-hourly data back to base. I don't know if it
will use my internet connection to transmit meter readings or the phone
network.
I am not actually bothered: it is not costing me anything (despite what some
seem to be wanting to claim). I was hoping that someone had one and could tell
me what facilities it provides to the user. OVO web pages are very sparse on
such info.
(I personally think that they are a total waste of time and money: I really do
not believe that they will save people money. The companies are having to fork
out millions for buying and installing them so that everyone has one by 2020
(I think it is) : I can't guess who is going to pay those costs)

In message , at 13:47:45 on
Wed, 1 Jul 2015, Bill Stewart remarked:
I am getting one next week - complete with wi-fi connection to my router.
Does anyone have such, and any comments on it?

Is this a fully smart meter ie one that lets OVO read it when they want
to or simply one to inform you of your personal consumption visa your
home network?

It is a fully functional Smart Meter.
Having the connection to my wi-fi was an option which I chose.
I understand that *all* smart meters have the facility to use mobile phone
network for transmitting half-hourly data back to base. I don't know if it
will use my internet connection to transmit meter readings or the phone
network.
I am not actually bothered: it is not costing me anything (despite what some
seem to be wanting to claim). I was hoping that someone had one and could tell
me what facilities it provides to the user. OVO web pages are very sparse on
such info.
(I personally think that they are a total waste of time and money: I really do
not believe that they will save people money. The companies are having to fork
out millions for buying and installing them so that everyone has one by 2020
(I think it is) : I can't guess who is going to pay those costs)

What facilities does it have for doing things like switching off your
deep freeze temporarily when there's very high demand elsewhere, or only
powering up the dishwasher overnight?

Do functions like that require a "smart appliance", or have they sent
you some "smart plugs" to put in between the relevant appliances and the
sockets they are plugged into.
--
Roland Perry

On Wed, 1 Jul 2015 10:39:58 +0100, Andy Wade wrote:

AIUI a wi-fi connection is optional, for the LAN-side only - remote
display / on your tablet, etc. The meters phone home using
GSM/UMTS/LTE, appropriately enough.

That would make sense but still assumes there is a GSM/UMTS/LTE
signal where the meter is loacted. There isn't here, something to do
with the meters being in the boiler room with two sides 18" stone
walls the other two block but interior with the exterior walls being
18 thick stone. Also the signal is poor in the first place, reliabel
phone calls can only be made upstairs by a window on the right side
of the house... If they want to start drilling holes, running cables
etc for an external anntenna they can pay rental for the support
services. £50/year may be?

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Wed, 1 Jul 2015 14:31:46 +0100, Roland Perry wrote:

What facilities does it have for doing things like switching off your
deep freeze temporarily when there's very high demand elsewhere, or only
powering up the dishwasher overnight?

Bugger all I expect that would require rewiring fro thos circuitsa nd
switching module or similar. So knowing how well (not) this smart
meter roll out has be thought about and implimented such function
will require the meter to be replaced again...

Do functions like that require a "smart appliance", or have they sent
you some "smart plugs" to put in between the relevant appliances and the
sockets they are plugged into.

That would avoid the rewiring/switch module problem but probably not
the meter change one. Apart from E7 E10 etc I don't think there are
any dynamically variable rate tariffs. Even if there are does the
current Smart Meter technology have a means of telling the meter what
the rate is going to be in each of the 30 min blocks for the next
6hrs? It needs that information so it can pick the best time to turn
things on or off.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Wednesday, 1 July 2015 14:37:01 UTC+1, Roland Perry wrote:

What facilities does it have for doing things like switching off your
deep freeze temporarily when there's very high demand elsewhere, or only
powering up the dishwasher overnight?

I've not seen anyhting with this functionality built in and I doubt it'd be worth doing on a deep freeze anyway. Maybe on 2KW+ kettles.
I doubt they'll bother with fridge freezers as they'll be little power to save
by doing this.



Do functions like that require a "smart appliance", or have they sent
you some "smart plugs" to put in between the relevant appliances and the
sockets they are plugged into.

why would you buy a smart plug if all it does is switch off the appliance it's connected too, I assume few would eb that stupid.
If they are inbuilt I would expect there be some indication on the device.

Smart kettles exist but I don't think they can be turned off by smart meters.

In article , Andy Wade spambucket@max
well.myzen.co.uk scribeth thus
On 01/07/2015 10:22, Bob Minchin wrote:

HA! so if these are fully smart meters, then they can cut you off
remotely. Having done so (maybe in error?) then there will be no wifi
connection to enable them to switch you back on!
Brilliant-- not!

AIUI a wi-fi connection is optional, for the LAN-side only - remote
display / on your tablet, etc. The meters phone home using
GSM/UMTS/LTE, appropriately enough.



Yep thats what one of them said when they came to replace a meter out in
a remote radio site "we use the mobile phone networks"..

Started off then said that the mobile phone network did Notwork so he
put the old one back in!..

N wi-fi there so couldn't use that either..
--
Tony Sayer

In message o.uk, at
16:14:11 on Wed, 1 Jul 2015, Dave Liquorice
remarked:
What facilities does it have for doing things like switching off your
deep freeze temporarily when there's very high demand elsewhere, or only
powering up the dishwasher overnight?

Bugger all I expect

So not a "fully functional" smart meter after all.

that would require rewiring fro thos circuitsa nd
switching module or similar. So knowing how well (not) this smart
meter roll out has be thought about and implimented such function
will require the meter to be replaced again...

Do functions like that require a "smart appliance", or have they sent
you some "smart plugs" to put in between the relevant appliances and the
sockets they are plugged into.

That would avoid the rewiring/switch module problem but probably not
the meter change one. Apart from E7 E10 etc I don't think there are
any dynamically variable rate tariffs. Even if there are does the
current Smart Meter technology have a means of telling the meter what
the rate is going to be in each of the 30 min blocks for the next
6hrs? It needs that information so it can pick the best time to turn
things on or off.

Dynamic pricing is a future thing (especially one that the consumer can
set preferences for). In the short term being able to turn of deep
freezes for the ten minutes people are boiling kettles during the advert
break in Coronation Street, or letting people do their washing off-peak
(using current "White meter" criteria) would be enough.

But it would be criminal negligence not to make the system capable of
more sophisticated control later on.

--
Roland Perry

In article ,
Roland Perry wrote:
What facilities does it have for doing things like switching off your
deep freeze temporarily when there's very high demand elsewhere, or only
powering up the dishwasher overnight?

How can a smart meter do that? Would require a house rewire - or RF linked
sockets scattered around the place. Or the machines themselves controlled
by Wi-Fi.

--
*Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
tony sayer wrote:
Yep thats what one of them said when they came to replace a meter out in
a remote radio site "we use the mobile phone networks"..

Started off then said that the mobile phone network did Notwork so he
put the old one back in!..

Just what happened to a pal in Tooting. Terraced house built in the 30s so
loads and loads the same. All with their meter in a cupboard under the
stairs. No mobile signal. Looks like they need a Plan B.

--
*WHY IS THERE AN EXPIRATION DATE ON SOUR CREAM?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In message , at 17:01:45 on Wed, 1 Jul
2015, "Dave Plowman (News)" remarked:
Yep thats what one of them said when they came to replace a meter out in
a remote radio site "we use the mobile phone networks"..

Started off then said that the mobile phone network did Notwork so he
put the old one back in!..

Just what happened to a pal in Tooting. Terraced house built in the 30s so
loads and loads the same. All with their meter in a cupboard under the
stairs. No mobile signal. Looks like they need a Plan B.

Plan B, based on my research of USA-ian initiatives, is some sort of
lower-frequency transmission to special relay-stations. Which might be
affordable if there are several streets which they cover; not so much if
it's one farm in the middle of the Yorkshire moors.
--
Roland Perry

In message , at 16:58:25 on Wed, 1 Jul
2015, "Dave Plowman (News)" remarked:
What facilities does it have for doing things like switching off your
deep freeze temporarily when there's very high demand elsewhere, or only
powering up the dishwasher overnight?

How can a smart meter do that?

A good question. The proponents don't often explain how it's supposed to
work.

Would require a house rewire - or RF linked sockets scattered around
the place.

The latter is the only think likely to work in the short term. But often
the sockets for kitchen/laundry appliances are hugely inaccessible,
and/or if you stuck a wart in the socket behind, the appliance would
stick out two inches it the room.

Or the machines themselves controlled by Wi-Fi.

More likely something closer to Bluetooth, but in the absense of any
such appliances at the moment, this whole Smart Meter thing sounds likek
science fiction.
--
Roland Perry

On 01/07/2015 10:56, whisky-dave wrote:

But why is that ? Are yuo sure the hardware is dedicated to one supplier ?
Doesn;t seem to make much sense.

Up until now, I thought the meter was the property, and responsibility
of the local (monopoly) electricity supplier (Electricity Board in old
money). Is that no longer the case ?


--
Mark
Please replace invalid and invalid with gmx and net to reply.

In article ,
Mark Carver wrote:
On 01/07/2015 10:56, whisky-dave wrote:

But why is that ? Are yuo sure the hardware is dedicated to one
supplier ? Doesn;t seem to make much sense.

Up until now, I thought the meter was the property, and responsibility
of the local (monopoly) electricity supplier (Electricity Board in old
money). Is that no longer the case ?

mine states: property of SEEBOARD.

In message , at 17:33:38 on Wed, 1 Jul
2015, Mark Carver remarked:
But why is that ? Are yuo sure the hardware is dedicated to one supplier ?
Doesn;t seem to make much sense.

Up until now, I thought the meter was the property, and responsibility
of the local (monopoly) electricity supplier (Electricity Board in old
money). Is that no longer the case ?

Maybe there's still that unsmart-meter (which probably belongs to
"National Grid") with the smart one the consumer's side of it?

Otherwise I can't see how you can move into a property and switch the
supplier to a new one, if you have to wait for someone to replace the
smart-meter. In the interim, everyone could rely upon the
unsmart-meter's readings.
--
Roland Perry

In article , Roland Perry
scribeth thus
In message , at 17:01:45 on Wed, 1 Jul
2015, "Dave Plowman (News)" remarked:
Yep thats what one of them said when they came to replace a meter out in
a remote radio site "we use the mobile phone networks"..

Started off then said that the mobile phone network did Notwork so he
put the old one back in!..

Just what happened to a pal in Tooting. Terraced house built in the 30s so
loads and loads the same. All with their meter in a cupboard under the
stairs. No mobile signal. Looks like they need a Plan B.

Plan B, based on my research of USA-ian initiatives, is some sort of
lower-frequency transmission to special relay-stations. Which might be
affordable if there are several streets which they cover; not so much if
it's one farm in the middle of the Yorkshire moors.


Ackershualy I think someone I know who runs a consultancy company said
that either were or are looking at doing just that it might have been
the same company who do streetlight control systems..

http://www.telensa.com/technology/ultra-narrow-band/

or their parent company..


http://www.plextek.com/design-servic...tive/metering-
a-utilities.html
--
Tony Sayer

In article ,
Roland Perry wrote:
Just what happened to a pal in Tooting. Terraced house built in the 30s so
loads and loads the same. All with their meter in a cupboard under the
stairs. No mobile signal. Looks like they need a Plan B.

Plan B, based on my research of USA-ian initiatives, is some sort of
lower-frequency transmission to special relay-stations. Which might be
affordable if there are several streets which they cover; not so much if
it's one farm in the middle of the Yorkshire moors.

Given the population density round Tooting, it's some crap design that
doesn't work on the ground floor. Many older properties round here have
the meters in the cellar. Sound like they need to investigate fitting an
aerial to the unit.

--
*Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article , Dave Plowman (News)
wrote:
In article , Roland Perry
wrote:
Just what happened to a pal in Tooting. Terraced house built in the
30s so loads and loads the same. All with their meter in a cupboard
under the stairs. No mobile signal. Looks like they need a Plan B.

Plan B, based on my research of USA-ian initiatives, is some sort of
lower-frequency transmission to special relay-stations. Which might be
affordable if there are several streets which they cover; not so much
if it's one farm in the middle of the Yorkshire moors.

Given the population density round Tooting, it's some crap design that
doesn't work on the ground floor. Many older properties round here have
the meters in the cellar. Sound like they need to investigate fitting an
aerial to the unit.

Perhaps they are now cupboarded in with foil backed plaster board.

On 01/07/2015 17:51, Roland Perry wrote:

Maybe there's still that unsmart-meter (which probably belongs to
"National Grid") with the smart one the consumer's side of it?

Otherwise I can't see how you can move into a property and switch the
supplier to a new one, if you have to wait for someone to replace the
smart-meter. In the interim, everyone could rely upon the
unsmart-meter's readings.

There's far too much common sense and pragmatism in that idea.

On 01/07/2015 17:48, Charles Hope wrote: In article

mine states: property of SEEBOARD.

Just looked at mine (that was replaced about 5 years ago) 'Prop of S+S',
presumably, Southern and Scottish.



--
Mark
Please replace invalid and invalid with gmx and net to reply.

In article , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes
In article ,
Roland Perry wrote:
What facilities does it have for doing things like switching off your
deep freeze temporarily when there's very high demand elsewhere, or only
powering up the dishwasher overnight?

How can a smart meter do that? Would require a house rewire - or RF linked
sockets scattered around the place. Or the machines themselves controlled
by Wi-Fi.


Or perhaps by a LAN running over the power circuits.
--
bert

In article , Bill Stewart
writes

I am getting one next week - complete with wi-fi connection to my router.
Does anyone have such, and any comments on it?
OVO smart meters are not compatible with others so if you want to change
suppliers you will need to have your smart meter changed.
--
bert

In article ,
whisky-dave writes
On Wednesday, 1 July 2015 10:34:22 UTC+1, Nick Odell wrote:
On Wed, 01 Jul 2015 09:35:26 +0100, Bill Stewart
wrote:


I am getting one next week - complete with wi-fi connection to my router.
Does anyone have such, and any comments on it?

Apart from the privacy concerns which, if they haven't been done to
death in this group have been elsewhere, I recently found out that if
you decide to switch suppliers you almost certainly will need to
switch smart meters too.

But why is that ? Are yuo sure the hardware is dedicated to one supplier ?
Doesn;t seem to make much sense.

It's a degree of hassle (and possible
expense) that in practice locks customers in to one supplier and
effectively knocks competition on the head.

Nick

Yes There is no universal standard and the OVO ones are known to be
incompatible with the majority.
--
bert

On Wed, 01 Jul 2015 17:33:38 +0100, Mark Carver wrote:

Up until now, I thought the meter was the property, and responsibility
of the local (monopoly) electricity supplier (Electricity Board in old
money). Is that no longer the case ?

Incomer, main cutout (fuse) and MET are the network operators.

Tails from cutout and MET to and including the meter are meter
operators (ie who ever you happen to be paying for electricity this
week).

From the output of the meter on is the property owners responsibilty.
I'm not sure who has responsibilty for the MET to CU connection I'd
assume the property owner.

Donno when it split like this but it's a PITA if you want things
moved. As you have to arrange the DNO and the MO to attend at the
same time. Nothing common sense like the MO subs the DNO to do the
work on their behalf.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Wed, 1 Jul 2015 17:18:25 +0100, Roland Perry wrote:

Plan B, based on my research of USA-ian initiatives, is some sort of
lower-frequency transmission to special relay-stations. Which might be
affordable if there are several streets which they cover; not so much if
it's one farm in the middle of the Yorkshire moors.

Don't be daft they'll just use piggy back on the broadband that the
farm has. After all Universal Access means that *every* home or
business should have a *minimum* of 2 Mbps.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Wed, 1 Jul 2015 16:54:02 +0100, Roland Perry wrote:

But it would be criminal negligence not to make the system capable of
more sophisticated control later on.

You better start briefing your lawyers then as I don't think the
current "smart meters" are anything but usage reporting devices. ie
the only difference between them and a Curentcost or Owl is that they
have a mobile phone module that sends the usage to the MO.

--
Cheers
Dave.

In message o.uk, at
19:57:57 on Wed, 1 Jul 2015, Dave Liquorice
remarked:
Plan B, based on my research of USA-ian initiatives, is some sort of
lower-frequency transmission to special relay-stations. Which might be
affordable if there are several streets which they cover; not so much if
it's one farm in the middle of the Yorkshire moors.

Don't be daft they'll just use piggy back on the broadband that the
farm has. After all Universal Access means that *every* home or
business should have a *minimum* of 2 Mbps.

Every home should be capable of 2Mbps, in extremis by putting a 3G
dongle in their laptop.
--
Roland Perry