Tuesday 12 October 2021

On Smart Meters

Our new home has smart meters.....and we were provided with a display thingy which has been sitting in a drawer until  yesterday when I decided to have a play.   This was triggered by a letter from the power provider asking me to register online and informing me that we are on the standard tariff which is bound to be expensive. The monitor was plug and go so hassle free to set up but it's a bit scary when you see energy consumption in real time 😱

When we woke up this morning this was the reading:



Last night it read:


I assume it is the combined gas and electricity cost but I'm not sure if it includes the standing charge. I would guess not, so need to watch consumption closely and stop G from boiling kettles of water for endless cups of tea which don't get drunk 🙄. We are on a standard tariff and have a dilemma.... do I try to change tariff now or wait for the first bill?  Martin Lewis says to 'do nothing' but I'm not sure. Meanwhile I'll try to keep useage as low as possible whilst I do a bit of research.   Does anyone know if the standing charge is taken into account in the figure quoted?

If useage over the year averages £2.00 per day the annual cost could be £730  How low can we go and still remain warm and clean 🤔?

We were called into the surgery at our old GP on Saturday to get our flu jabs.  I guess that will be the last time we visit there.  Next day I woke with with a headache and ached all over but by Monday felt perfectly fine.  How weird is that 😏

Stay safe everyone x





7 comments:

  1. Our smart meter only shows the cost of the fuels used, I recorded the daily figure when it was 1st installed and our bills were higher, after the charges were added, I hope that helps.

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  2. We haven't gone to smart meters here as of yet, and we have two different meters. One for electric and one for natural gas. We also only get one price as there is only one company in the whole province, no shopping around for a lower cost here in Saskatchewan.

    Hope you find a happy place for your usage.

    God bless.

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  3. We have had a smart meter since we moved to our current house three years ago. There are six of us and I find we average at £1 per person a day.

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  4. I think They always ignore the Standing Charge. My Water provider is always on about saving water but even if I try very hard it makes such a little dent in the final bill twice a year that I feel there is little incentive - other than being smug!

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  5. I hope you can work it out so you stay warm and comfortable. We have smart meters here, too. I turn down my hot water heater at night, which seems to really help.

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  6. We have refused a smart meter on the basis that we'll use what we need and take our usual steps to save money, so a smart meter wouldn't be advantageous to us. My flu jab made me feel a bit achy this time but ok the next day like you.

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  7. It looks as though that is a combined charge for gas and electric. Ours used to scroll through showing a flame for gas and the zigzag for electric, and no I don't think the standing charge is included just your actual consumption of fuel.

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It's OK.....

  Angie 💓 xx