Average Temperatures

[Brockett]

2024: a monthly record of the average daily temperature at 1300 on the north east Essex coast.  Data taken from a weather app.  It's not been as warm nor as cold as I thought. This may be attributed to the temperature of the sea which is warmer than the air in the winter and cooler than the air in the summer.  The seasons seem to centre about a month later than I thought. (Nothing to do with climate change) but does explain why I never like the period from Christmas to Easter. As it takes far too long to warm up. My home heating is set to my ideal comfort range 18 degrees    There is a correlation between the temperature data and KWHs of gas consumption. Smart meter readings taken 0800 daily. Yes I have a spreadsheet recording all this data because I am a pensioner and it's my job to know such stuff.
January     06.6
February     09.9
March     10.1
April        12.0   
May        16.0      
June        17.0
July        19.0
August     21.0
September  18.0   
October     14.6
November     10.0
December     08.5

[Upt North]

Your dedication to such data recording is commendable. Although it probably doesn't make you any warmer?
It certainly confirms why this ageing broken body likes it when May arrives, and I spose we'll be a degree or two down on you.
On a separate note....is it rude to shout at people who inform you it's time to book your slot for fitting a Smart (?) Meter?
Pffffffftttttt.

[Brockett]

We can only hope to control the things we can measure and to that end I think a smart meter is a useful tool to measure.
I have always read my domestic meters and have on many occasions challenged the energy companies when their estimations and readings have been wrong. The smart meter repeater in my lounge makes it easier as I no longer have to lay on the floor by the back door to read the meter.  The purpose of a smart meter is to remove the need for a meter reader. So that's a whole section of unskilled labour now unemployed. This saves the energy company squillions of pounds every year. The smart meter is no more an energy management tool than is the petrol guage on your car/bike/ truck etc.  The notion that it can save you money pre-supposes that you leave the heat on all year and open the windows when it gets too hot.  Most people don't do that. I like having a smart meter. However, there is a problem or three. The Smart meter must have a wi-fi link to the local wi-fi receiver that transmits meter data to whoever collects it and then transmits it to your energy supplier. This Wi-fi data link has nothing to do with your internet connection nor does it require the customer to have an internet connection at all. The meter also sends a wi-fi signal to the repeater device , that we the customers can read, that you have inside your home.  It is not unkown for the wi-fi between the meter and the local area receiver to fail while the wi-fi signal from the meter still reaches the customer display.  The customer display may show the message    "wi-fi off line". It happened to me and while I thought the energy company is getting the readings, it did not. At the end of the month I got an estimated bill. I phoned the energy company and a whole pantomime kicks off because the energy company does not know how the system works and thinks I have a problem with my home wi-fi. Which has nothing to do with smart meter wi-fi. They say I must £60 for a callout charge to fix my wi-fi and I tell them to 'F off'.  I told them I don't have an internet connection and they tried to tell me I must have of the smart meter wouldn't  work. These are customer services folk in a call centre and they only know how to read a script. If there is problem that isn't on their script that cannot deal with the issue. This is a general countrywide customer service ( laughingly called customer support) issue affecting almost every business. It took three months for someone to fix it.
In the end smart meters are nothing much to worry about. Although it may be possible for someone to go through the usage data and build a picture of the habits of the household. I.e. If consumption drops to a trickle for a period of time, does this indicate the family has gone on holiday?
I have heard of such concerns, but unless the house is on millionaires row or there are Russian spies at work, I doubt that ordinary folk need be concerned.

[Ianmc]

   I refuse to have a “smart” meter for 1 reason,no-one can (or won’t) tell me who pays for the electricity to run the wi-fi signal to constantly send data back to the suppliers data centre.I have asked a couple of times without any clear results.

[2112]

Easy answer - the consumer does.

The incoming C/T's (current transformers) are right next to the connection terminals, everything else meter related is connected beyond that so it is the consumer who pays as part of the bill. The cost is negligible as we are taking very low power outputs but it is still an additional cost. ALL electricity meters add a tiny bit to the electricity bills of the end user, it's not a new phenomenon. Even the old 'spinning disc' Ferranti type meters added a tiny parasitic load to your bill.

I was drafted (actually given no choice...) into Northern Powergrid's 'Smart meter access panel' to discuss what the DNO would like out of the smart meter roll out in about 2016. We thought it would be great to see loss of signal (possible loss of supply or fault), minimum & maximum loadings (critical for accurate network analysis & future planning), an hourly useage graph (as before) and voltage details (network stability etc). In the end none of the DNO's got any access to the smart meter data, a massive mistake in my opinion. The meter operator has it, but doesn't really know what to do with most of it and the customer can see it, but doesn't automatically get access to ALL the data - even though it's their data! A lot of data is unavailable via the smart meter display or even the app.

The roll out of smart meters has been plagued with numerous issues, IT connections being one of the biggest but there are many more!

[NeilM]

One major issue is that the companies installing the smart meters use sub contractors who have no clue what they are doing.

I'm with British Gas and the wi-fi unit of my first pair of meters failed. I noticed I was getting estimated bills. It took three months and four separate visits from four separate 'engineers' before I was fully back on the system. I am convinced to this day that the change of both meters cost me money, simply because the last 'engineer' failed to input the correct figures into the new meter.... but that's water under the bridge.

More recently my son, having not long moved into his late grandfathers house, was offered smart meters. He is also with British Gas.

My son writes code for websites for a living, so technology and efficiency is right up his street.

The 'engineer' arrived, fitted the electricity meter and said there was an issue so took out the first meter and fitted another meter. Still a problem, so he said he would let the office know about the issue, and left.

My son was submitting monthly meter readings at that time in order to get the direct debit payments down. His grandfather was a heavy energy user. The next time my son submitted the meter reading, he was told the reading was wrong and the meter he was submitting readings from did not exists. This went on for months, interspersed with multiple phone calls telling BG that their engineer had fitted the new meter, rather than him fitting a meter that their system did not recognise.

In short, the engineer had messed up the install, not told anyone, not put anything on 'the system' and somehow got away with it. When I was an engineer on the road, back in the early 80's, my boss would have been on my case before the end of the day if I was issued a callout and submitted no data clearing the call, so how this young bloke got aways with is is anyones guess.

The matter was finally resolved when BG sent my son and email asking if he'd like smart meters fitting.....

He now has a working pair of smart meters. The bloke that fitted them had absolutely no clue who the subcontractor was that fitted the first meter, as he could find no record on the system for any work being carried out at my sons address.

I like having smart meters, so does my son, but in our experiences the process can be a little problematic.

[2112]

 

That is, very sadly, a fairly typical experience. Meter installers are very often (and I genuinely mean no disrespect) the lowest 'qualified' people in the electricity industry. Yes, there are some very competent & highly skilled meter installers, usually the ones installing complicated multi-channel applications on wind farms and battery storage facilities for example. Sadly, a two day course and a 'certificate of competency' from the contract company and you're off on your own in most cases. Just after I finished my apprenticeship (before privatisation) I did two weeks meter changing to cover sickness. It was the easiest but most monotonous work I'd ever done. Very little job satisfaction and you could regularly do your day's allocation (8 meters) by lunchtime!

In order of technical ability in the electrcity industy you have an approximate 'ladder' of technical ability as below -

Technical Director (usually someone who has held several senior posts with a minimum of 25+ years experience)
Senior Depot Engineer (at least 20+ years experience in multiple disciplines)
Senior Control Engineer (in charge of the HV & EHV networks & operation of them, minimum 20+ years experience)
Senior Engineer (could be Maintainance, Design, Fault Restoration etc, 20+ years experience)
Engineer (as above with 10+ years experience)
Junior Engineer (will have been a craftsman or Engineering trainee)
Trainee Engineer (straight out of university or a craftsman who is stepping up)
Foreman (been there, done it, T shirt owner)
Craftsman (a tradesperson like a fitter, cable jointer, linesman, electrician etc)
Craftsmans Mate (assistant to above with limited skills)
Metering 'Engineer' (limited authorisation, cam usually just change meters)
Labourer (no electrical qualifications)

My last role at NPG was a Senior Design Engineer for 9 years before moving on to being the Technical Head of Group for a renewable energy company. Happy to have retired and be out of it all to be honest...

[Joe Rocket]

No doubt that's all very accurate 2112.

Curiously not a single reference to paper qualifications. I don't know what exists now in the UK but going back to the 70s when I left school there were ONC/HNC in most trades/careers without going the degree route. I would expect further qualifications in management the further up the ladder adding to the 'experience' you detail. Is there a minimum structure to most trades and careers?

Despite my life long adoration for working with wood it was initially necessary to aquire a recognised diploma in building/joinery to be employed by a French company, whether I was any good at it or not and irrespective of my years of experience. To that end I completed a 7 month full time course to fulfill that necessity.

[2112]

Yes, there are a plethora of various technical qualifications you can pick up along the way. I was of the era of the City & Guilds/ONC/HNC etc. Today, a lot of the engineering staff come direct from University through the various technical training schemes. These are quite intense, two year scheme's which cover a very broad pallet of the Engineering spectrum. After completion you get a placement and then the real learning begins! The 'T' level is another one and the two Engineering apprentices we took on are doing their T4 level at the moment. This is the equivalent of the 'old' HNC.

As I started as an apprenntice and worked my way up, a lot of my qualifications were internal ones from the N.E.E.B. (now Northern Powergrid) which wouldn't be recognised outside of the industry, but are recognised across the UK's DNO's. This allowed me to move to United Utilities (now Electricity NorthWest) and continue my upwards trajectory in the industry without hindrance. And then back again.

As well as academic qualifications there are also work related ones, such as different levels of switching & fuse replacement, LV fault management, LV switching, HV switching, issuing permit to work documents (an SAP or Senior Authorised Person) etc, etc. There are a lot of hoops to jump through but it's all in the name of safety - for all concerned. I used to be authorised as an SAP up to 33kV in ENW's area before moving back to NPG as a Senior Design Engineer.

[Phild]

I’ve declined / refused a Smart Meter.

Depending on who you listen to faulty installation / inaccuracy of readings runs into the hundreds of thousands.

I can read my meters easy enough, so why do I need a Smart Meter? If I want a cup of tea I’m not waiting until the cheapest time of day to put the kettle on.

Or is there more to having a Smart Meter? I’m a light user of both gas and electricity anyway.🤷‍♂️

[Joe Rocket]

Your last sentence sums it up Phild. It's called progress and whether you're tuned into it or not it will take over. Remote running of accounts and giving you back details of consumption are now hand in hand for lots of business, and that's what it is.

Banks are now in a cloud, insurance on cars and MOTs are down to number plate recognition, entry and exit from car parks and airports are the same, you have to go online to get passports and soon only biometrics will give access to travel. My tax details and declarations are online. Telephones aren't that anymore as you run your life on a 'smart' one. In fact I need to be connected somewhere. That's just a sample and plenty more to come.

I'll be honest, I hate it!   

Resist, if you think it's worth the effort. 

[Phild]

I get it. I run my life from my iPad. I rarely get mail as I’m paperless on everything.

I control my monthly DD’s, via my account for my energy, after each meter reading submitted, and I’ve not had any issues. I keep myself in credit.

I just don’t see what advantages there are for me in a smart meter. One of my sons has got one but no one ever looks at it. When he changed suppliers he had a right problem with the switch because the smart meter was an ‘old one’……. although that was about 3 or 4 years ago.🤷‍♂️

[Brockett]

no great advantage to having one at present. It has been suggested that smart meters may enable power suppliers to charge lower rates for usage at low demand times. Although I believe the opposite is more likely.

[NeilM]

British Gas are offering a scheme where you get a lower electricity tariff on a Sunday.

I looked at it, but as my wife and I are both retired, there was no real advantage, for busy working families, it could work.

Having a smart meter is a requirement to be part of this scheme.

I like my smart meters, I find the on line usage data informative.

I also view the smart meter every night at 10.00 pm, to see how much energy we have used.

I could live without all this, but as an early adopter I have always found it interesting and informative and as I don't subscribe to any conspiracy nonsense, I don't believe the lizard cabal are using my smart meters to manupulate me... and if they are, I'm enjoying my retirement very mauch thank you, Lizard Overlords.

[2112]

Domestic triads are in the offing and are bieng trialled at the moment, nothing to do with Japanese gangs either... This means you have three prices for electricity high (red), medium (amber) and low (green). In practice the red band electricity will be substantially higher cost than we pay at the moment, amber band will be about the same or slightly less and green will be cheaper, This is to 'incentivise' users to use the cheapest electricity (when generation is plentiful, a sunny & windy day for example), rather than using red band electricity (when generation is low and/or demand is high).

It works well in industry with factories altering work patterns (where possible) to avoid high costs. The usual red band times are around 16:00 to 18:30, the classic teatime rush. Most of the day will be amber with the green band typically coming in around 11:30 to approximately 06:00ish. If you can get into the habit of avaoiding high cost useage you can save a few quid. It will be a moving target and customers will have to be proactive to make the best of it.