Smart Meters Good Or Bad?...

Good plan! Just wear your head out instead








PS: I'm going to beat you to it because I can guess your reply: ... you never leave home without it!

 

Is that the modern name for a quill? Cant be having these new fangled things on GC!

 

As I only use the energy I need to use in order to keep warm and cook, the amount I'm using is a bit immaterial, and being constantly reminded that I'm paying the earth for it, by a so called smart meter, is a bit like rubbing your nose in it.
So they can poke their smart meters.

 

Nice to see the real identity of @WeeTam has been finally revealed

 

I remember them well..and the little ink wells near the corner of the desk that some kids used to drink from. I'd left school by the time I realised one classmate didnt have a blue tongue!

 

Our last quarter's total energy consumption (including heating) was £102. This quarter's bills will come to slightly more as we've used half a bag of coal when it was very cold and our daughter will be home from uni at Xmas whinging about the cold. Total for the 2016 will be around £700 and should be less for 2017 with a new stove reducing heating bills for Jan - Apr.


EDIT: I forgot to mention that we live in an old Victorian semi with solid walls, old (original) thin glass single glazed draughty sash windows and a very high external wall to floor area ratio (long and thin).

 

Ya'll sure do have some low energy bills. I have utility bill envy.

 

I was reading a letter from a correspondent in the paper a couple of days ago. He said that he had a smart meter which automatically signalled his meter readings to his energy provider. However when he changed provider the meter signalling stopped. Apparently there is no signalling standard and energy providers are often incompatible with other providers. Smart or what?

I had a Google to check my info. On the OVO energy site I found this:-

Will my smart meter still work if I move to a different energy company?

With some suppliers, your smart meter could lose its functionality and become a traditional meter. In that case, you might need to start giving regular meter readings to your new energy company. There could also be difficulties if something goes wrong, as your new provider may not be able to sort out problems with your brand of smart meter. If so, they might need to replace your smart meter with a standard model.

 

Since we got a smart meter our bills have risen. Our bill is now £175 per month. Yes, s month.

This is the cost of no longer having coal power generators and getting punished for using power during the day.

And I have not used my clothes dryer in over 4 years. We only used our air conditioner this past summer a total of 10 days. And those were days where the high humidity along with 95f plus tempuratures made it impossible to sleep without it.

I do not use the oven between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. during weekdays because the time of use rates are double during the day.

What items I power in the greenhouses are totally run with pv collected power.

If you are given a choice to decline a smart meter, I urge you to decline.

 

We are on an electric co-op. As I understand it, Co-ops were formed to bring electricity to rural areas. They are not for profit, owned by the consumer, and pay out dividends to the consumers once a year. I've been on a co-op before and my dividend was less than $2. So I guess operating expenses were high, huh? I find the service to be good and the rates aren't bad. In many areas, you can choose your electric provider, but not areas served by a co-op. For our 1500 square foot double wide mobile home, in the hottest part of the summer with temps over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, our highest electric bill runs $170-$200. Mostly it barely busts over $100. We set our thermostat at 72 degrees F at night in the summer, as sleeping in the heat just ain't fun. I run a dishwasher, freezer, electric clothes dryer, hot water heater, washing machine, we have ceiling fans throughout the house and on the porch, plus the other accoutrements of electric living. Wish we had a wood burning heater......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_cooperative

 

Yes, the availability of coal fired power plants does make electricity inexpensive. We are also about to get hit with a carbon tax on everything as well including natural gas which most of us use to heat our homes. We cannot do without our central heating in the winter so the government is taxing essentials to life.

@Baymule you are lucky to have such cheap electricity. I don't know why our government is choosing the carbon tax route as up here our forests and greenspaces reduce our carbon footprint to near zero and we are insignificant in our greenhouse gas contribution compared to your country, China and India! Stupid government...

 

We often moan in Britain about the weather. But really we are very lucky. Our winters never get that cold and we never need air-conditioning in the summer, which can be very expensive.