Changing gas n electric suppliers...

[lastminute]

Having been advised to change my suppliers, I'm with Brit Gas duel fuel tariff,
however I'm concerned about having the 'Hive' heating control and also the gas and electric 'Smartmeter' installed at the moment!
Am I allowed to keep them running as is or would they need to be 'switched' off?
Would the new provider be able to utilise them.

Thanks for any help!

Gerry

 

[MattRoberts]

Hive is just a smart thermostat, so completely independent of supplier. I have one, and am not with British gas.

The smart meter is usually dependent on the supplier, however the new supplier will fit their own for free

 

[skipdiver]

I've just switched to one of the new smaller companies, Avro Energy, and it was a painless process. I'm avoiding a smart meter as long as possible.

 

[stuartpaul]

As far as I’m aware the Hive system isn’t free (I had to pay for ours at our old place) and you’d be able to refuse it if it isn’t what you want.

Don’t be taken in by any flash sales speak, make sure it’s what you want and it works for you before any commitment.

 

[beech1948]

Hive is a third party device bought and owned and operated by the householder.

Smart meters are being pushed by the likes of BG/SSE etc etc. Each energy supplier has set up a proprietary communication scheme for their smart meters. Thus a smart meter is useless once you move suppliers.

There are plans to create a unified scheme of communications for all smart meters but this is a least 2 years out.

I changed supplier for gas and electric and found my old BG smart meter was now not working. It defaults to working like the older mechanical meters. The only thing I have found is that reading the meters every 3 months is a bit fiddly as it is not easily clear what the numbers mean. I have so far only had to do it once.

I regret having a smart meter now and if offered the chance would refuse as is your right.

Good luck
Al

 

[finneyb]

I found this helpful for changing suppliers https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utili ... lectricity
When I did change it was painless. I use Flow energy - absolutely no problems.

The generation smart meters are merely political BS - probably brought about by the big energy companies lobbying in an effort to tie people into a supplier, under the guise of energy efficiency.

Brian

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Jfdi.

 

[devonwoody]

I got a good electric deal with OVO 8weeks ago that was around 20%+ over EVF don't know if the offer is still open and change over was sweet. (I usually go for 3 year deals)

 

[clanger]

Smart meters are being pushed by the likes of BG/SSE etc etc. Each energy supplier has set up a proprietary communication scheme for their smart meters. Thus a smart meter is useless once you move suppliers.

About 6 years ago I worked for a gas distribution company, and was having a chat with the CEO of said company. He did not understand the push for Smart Meters and how it was proposed by the Govt to implement - the method that was proposed by the utilities was for the distribution company to install the meter and capture the usage information. They then pass this information to the billing company. In that way, if you change supplier (i.e. billing company) the installed infrastructure is still usable (this is exactly how metered billing works for water where your potable and waste services are supplied by different companies).
However, for some reason, the Govt determined that it was for the billing company to install the infrastructure.

Also, there have been studies that have shown the usage over time of having a smart meter installed. When a meter is installed, there is a reduction in usage as households monitor what they use. However, over the course of the following two years, usage creeps back up to be on a par with pre-installation levels.

Chris

 

[woodenstx]

Hive is a third party device bought and owned and operated by the householder.

Not nessececarilyyy, BG do sometimes "lease" you a hive depending on the sales technique they used. Something like £3/Month forever.

Yes you can buy outright, and many do, but some have been sold it as above due to the claims of cheaper heating etc.

 

[geoffshep]

Yes - Hive can be bought outright or on a pay monthly basis. Pay monthly includes breakdown cover.

We have Hive which works a treat. It was originally installed by BG as part of new boiler install, but has been updated since. We have switched several times, mostly through the cheap energy club, which is an offshoot of Martin Lewis and the moneysavingexpert. It has never gone smoothly but I don't think it has ever been hassle-free. Control is easy on the thermostat itself or from any connected device. We have not gone for any of the other smart devices like bulbs or sockets or motion sensors etc.

We also have smart meters, again from the original BG install. Generally they are not so smart and only work with the company that installed them. They were not recognised by Eon, but were when we went back to BG and again are no good for EDF. When they work they are fine - I don't get all the scare stories about cutting off your supply - the company can do that with or without a smart meter if you don't pay up - and they give up to the minute day by day readings so you can keep a check on your account balance constantly rather than only at each quarterly bill. We don't use the display however. Mostly because it is the pretty basic mark one display which needs a socket of its own and has a garishly bright green light, but also because I don't care that switching the kettle on pushes my usage up, I'm still going to do it.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

Apparently more than 60% of people are on a standard variable tariff - I fail to understand why as it is the easiest way to save 15-20% of your energy bill - say £200-500 pa typically.

Smart meters are more a benefit to the energy company than the individual as it eliminates the need for meter readers. As one poster has already said they will still make a cup of tea when they want it. I would be more interested when the technology can differentiate between different energy uses - eg: space heating, water heating, lighting, workshop, kitchen appliances etc.

Our central heating has only one thermostat usually set to around 25C. The main form of control for heating are thermostatic radiator valves fitted when radiators were installed but existing boiler retained.

The idea of wireless control of all appliances is probably technically feasible but the cost to retrofit would likely be far in excess of the benefits. It will have to wait until we rewire the house - probably not for 10-20 years!

 

[beech1948]

woodenstuart,

I was aware that the Hive gadget could be rented/leased or whatever. Given the very high price of Hive I just thought that such a lease would be a no no for a thinking person.

Hive is one thing. I use a wireless thermostat and receiver at the boiler supplied by my HVAC engineer. Cost £36. Works very well and has done since 2004. Cheaper than Hive and similar performance. Obviously not accessible from my phone but really if that is the epitome of today's technology then we doomed to years of trivia.

Al

 

[woodenstx]

I fitted a hive to my dads place so that I can help them fiddle with the heating (just moved into a new house so dont know how it'll be have compared to the last place) and has saved me several trips over just to sort that out... imho its paid for itself already :lol: That was an outright purchase on a black friday thing last year and it was only about £120 for the DIY one.

I'd like to have it (or any of this smart tat) at home, but I have zero use case to even try man maths justifying it and would do better justifying a band or table saw :lol:

Today is transfer day from Scottish power to Bulb, yes bulb is technically veriable but its still cheaper than scottish powers fixed tariffs

 

[Racers]

The scary thing about smart meters is they can charge you different rates depending on the time of day, so expect higher tariffs during peak times etc.

Pete

 

[geoffshep]

I don't think they can do that unless you are on an appropriate tariff.

I think the hope is that people will want to go on a variable tariff if they can see a saving. The selling point will not be that it is more expensive at peak times, but that it is cheaper at off-peak times - which would be useful if you could set your washing machine etc to come on during the cheap period. I guess most people will still want their meals at meal times though.

 

[woodenstx]

Maybe the long term "plan" is that with smart meters they could feesably charge more for gas/electric between 4PM and Midnight, and 6am-9am (as examples)
Kind of like the reverse premise of Eco7

I presently set the dishwasher to run at around 3am, and the washing machine tends to get set to end by 6am so it can be dealt with. And of course when the tumble dryer is used, that tends to be aimed at the eco7 time frame.
Yes I know the day rate is higer than a usual rate, but the faff to go back to non E7 seems like too much just now... Maybe when gen3 smart meters come out that arent inaccurate, we could make the change.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I think the hope is that people will want to go on a variable tariff if they can see a saving. The selling point will not be that it is more expensive at peak times, but that it is cheaper at off-peak times - which would be useful if you could set your washing machine etc to come on during the cheap period. I guess most people will still want their meals at meal times though.

I moved off an E7 tariff with EON, at their suggestion, because our nighttime rate saving was not enough to cover the higher standing charges. Despite using dishwasher and bread maker overnight, and having electrical heating in a greenhouse for some of the year.

But - BG. Whatever the disadvantages, I'd get out. More trouble than any other supplier IME.