smart meters

[Non-Believer]

2 hours ago, hissingsid said:

Do we have to have one ?   I have a relatively new meter, about five years old, and it would be wasteful to replace this besides which the smart meters are not getting a very good press from people who have them.

Fitting a new meter regardless of the serviceability or remaining lifespan of the old one will all be part of somebody's Very Good Idea.

And as we are all well aware, there are no price tags on Very Good Ideas on the IoM.

[Roger Mexico]

3 minutes ago, Happier diner said:

I think the law is not explicitly stated but in my interpretation it is certainly the law both here and in the UK. The key paragraph is in the electricity Act

(1) No meter shall be used for ascertaining the quantity of electricity supplied by the Authority to a customer unless the meter is of an approved pattern or construction and is installed in an approved manner.

If a lifespan of the meter is stated by the manufacturer and that life is expired would that put the Authority in breach of the Act.

I think it would be pushing it to say that approving the pattern and installation of a meter then extends to following every arbitrary rule of a particular manufacturer.  And if they are saying that their meters will stop working after a certain period then we shouldn't be buying from them.  Or upgrading to smart meters at all.

We could presumably be employing a lot of meter-readers and -menders for the cost of £20 million every ten years.  But it's the dream of modern management to have as little as possible to do with actual physical work, the latest version of the fantasy of becoming aristos.

[Happier diner]

11 minutes ago, Non-Believer said:

Fitting a new meter regardless of the serviceability or remaining lifespan of the old one will all be part of somebody's Very Good Idea.

And as we are all well aware, there are no price tags on Very Good Ideas on the IoM.

What a strange comment. 

[Happier diner]

Just now, Roger Mexico said:

I think it would be pushing it to say that approving the pattern and installation of a meter then extends to following every arbitrary rule of a particular manufacturer.  And if they are saying that their meters will stop working after a certain period then we shouldn't be buying from them.  Or upgrading to smart meters at all.

We could presumably be employing a lot of meter-readers and -menders for the cost of £20 million every ten years.  But it's the dream of modern management to have as little as possible to do with actual physical work, the latest version of the fantasy of becoming aristos.

I  didn't say that. I said that, in law, that the Authority needs to make sure meter readings are accurate. If I was questioning the accuracy of my meter, and it was older than the manufacturer said it was meant to last, I reckon I would have a good case.

Therefore electricity companies have the right to protect themselves from such challenges and so they seem to do this by observing the manufacturers instructions. They are of course free to take risk if they so determine but not our job to manage that for them.

[Non-Believer]

17 minutes ago, Happier diner said:

What a strange comment. 

Only in the view of ardent Govt apologists such as your good self.

[Roger Mexico]

9 minutes ago, Happier diner said:

I  didn't say that. I said that, in law, that the Authority needs to make sure meter readings are accurate. If I was questioning the accuracy of my meter, and it was older than the manufacturer said it was meant to last, I reckon I would have a good case.

I deliberately didn't say that you said that, but we wouldn't say expect insurance companies to refuse to cover cars that were older than their expected life.  And as for accuracy, utility companies will be obliged to have procedures that examine individual meters to check they are recording accurately, no matter what their age.  In fact a newly installed one is more likely to be incorrect than one that has been running for some time.

[Roger Mexico]

31 minutes ago, Non-Believer said:

And as we are all well aware, there are no price tags on Very Good Ideas on the IoM.

It's more the mindset across the Isle of Man Government that all capital spending is virtuous and essential to the economy, while revenue spending on things like maintenance is an inessential frippery that provides no economic benefit and should be the first thing to cut when budgets require.  So new projects get little scrutiny, even as to whether they are needed, never mind if they are good value.

[Happier diner]

12 minutes ago, Non-Believer said:

Only in the view of ardent Govt apologists such as your good self.

Not just me. Not just other government apologists, not just Isle of Man. and not even in the UK and Europe. Smart meters are being fitted across the world and indeed have been around over 10 years in many places. More likely to be a 'good idea' not to fit them

https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/global-smart-meters-market-industry

That's why it thought it was a strange comment

[P.K.]

1 hour ago, Roger Mexico said:

It's more the mindset across the Isle of Man Government that all capital spending is virtuous and essential to the economy, while revenue spending on things like maintenance is an inessential frippery that provides no economic benefit and should be the first thing to cut when budgets require.  So new projects get little scrutiny, even as to whether they are needed, never mind if they are good value.

Every buying decision should include cost of SMs, MTBFs, EOL etc.

If they're not or they are unknowns (like the replacement radar system) then no buying decisions should be made.

[Banker]

Smart meters are very common across Europe & there doesn’t seem to be any real issues with them, they provide a detailed breakdown of usage so you can see where peaks are 

[Happier diner]

1 minute ago, Banker said:

Smart meters are very common across Europe & there doesn’t seem to be any real issues with them, they provide a detailed breakdown of usage so you can see where peaks are 

There is a lot of hysteria about smart meters. Partially caused by their name combined with general ignorance.

They are basically a meter with a logger attached which collects the readings at regular intervals. They can be linked to a communication device. There is nothing actually smart about them. All that has changed is that instead of a dumb counter that has to be read, they reading is logged electronically. 

The router is your house probably holds a zillion billion units of information about you that any 'smart' meter.

 

[Two-lane]

If electricity meters are replaced every 10 years or so (because they need to be), and given the probable age of the average Manx Forumer, there must be some here who have experienced more than one meter change.

[Major Rushen]

I got one fitted as the 1970s one died, but it does not have a brain just an empty space. It has the flashing red light so I can see how much we are using vs the monthly standing order. Using a monitor. Quite useful to see what stuff burns the most kWhs.The guy still has to ‘read it’.

Edited November 21, 2022 by Major Rushen

[Andy Onchan]

11 minutes ago, Two-lane said:

If electricity meters are replaced every 10 years or so (because they need to be), and given the probable age of the average Manx Forumer, there must be some here who have experienced more than one meter change.

I checked with 'She' earlier and she confirmed what I thought..... that a property we occupied for 23 years had the same meter installed from the start of our occupancy until the day we left. So someone has screwed up if the meter was supposed to have been changed.

[Twitch]

As usual, our friends in Jersey are years ahead.

https://www.smart-energy.com/industry-sectors/smart-meters/jersey-electricity-completes-51000-smart-meter-rollout/