Crazy Dave
Retired Genius.
The reason I gave for refusing a smart meter is the fact that I sit very close the the meter location and I don't want to be sitting in a bath of cellular radiation. They haven't bothered me since.
Smart meter con ?
- Thread starter woodieallen
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woodieallen
Established Member
Where is the emoticon for 'bashing my head against a brick wall'. You still haven't bothered to read through the thread properly. Never heard of people making mistakes? Hitting the wrong button? Fat finger syndrome? If not then where have you been?
To the above, you will no doubt reply "You just have to ask them to switch it back on". Good luck with that then, sunshine, when you're in a house without electricity. You do your 'thing' and I'll do mine
artie
Sawdust manufacturer.
Yes I was. I beg your pardon. Brain not engaged.
John Brown
Freeloading Social media influenza
Blackswanwood
Still Learning
John Brown
Freeloading Social media influenza
Well there's a surprise!
However, since the thing they're supposed to alleviate is totally non-scientific also, they probably work very well at a placebo level. Could do with being even more expensive though, to maximise the effect.
Well I don't understand why. At the time I was involved with metering, disc meters were seen as obsolescent with solid state devices being introduced. Initially they were used for complicated commercial and industrial tariffs that were difficult to meter with conventional types. Domestic supplies continued mainly with disc types as they were cheaper to make than solid state, all had reverse running stops, there being no domestic tariffs at the time for export, needing reverse metering. Towards the end of my time in that department the first solid state domestic meters were being introduced and no more mechanical meters were being purchased. Shortly after, SWEB closed both of its meter test stations as they no longer repaired and tested conventional meters. Solid state domestic meters were bought in already certified and were considered disposable after their certification period. I'm pretty sure the rest of the industry followed suit. Or, more likely, SWEB caught up with the rest; they weren't always the most go ahead of the electricity boards.
I can understand there still being disc type meters around but very surprised to find they can run backwards. Still, every day is a school day.
Looks like you have suitable headgear not to worry about cellular radiation.
John Brown
Freeloading Social media influenza
Forty years or so ago, I was part owner of a shop in Paddington that sold mainly transformers, along with some other electronic surplus. There was one particular surplus transformer that customers kept asking for, and one of them let slip that it could be used in some way to either retard or reverse the electricity meters of the day. I've no idea if it worked or was just a myth, but we were subsequently a bit reluctant to sell that particular transformer without enquiring, politely, about its intended use.
I also once worked with a guy who reckoned that he slowed down his meter by storing a giant pile of pennies on top of it. Once again, I have no idea if this worked either.
I also once worked with a guy who reckoned that he slowed down his meter by storing a giant pile of pennies on top of it. Once again, I have no idea if this worked either.
The pennies on top was a wide spread ruse. My grandfathers had a stack on his. Urban myths are not a new thing
John Brown
Freeloading Social media influenza
To your knowledge, did it work? Just curious, honest guv!The pennies on top was a wide spread ruse. My grandfathers had a stack on his. Urban myths are not a new thing
Actually we have a smart meter anyway. We find it handy(Solar and EV). Also haven't used cash much since COVID.
I watched a very interesting TV programme many years ago about a disproportionately high level of childhood Leukaemia on a housing estate. The area was checked for every conceivable contaminant but nothing untoward was found. Someone then noticed the incoming electricity supply was directly outside the bedrooms in which the affected children slept. It was posited by some, that having their heads so close to the supply for 8 hours a night as they slept was the likely cause of the Leukaemia. It was too much of a coincidence to be dismissed. As I recall though, and it was many years ago, the energy supplier, house builders and some others concluded that this was unlikely.
selectortone
Still waking up not dead in the morning
Any other ways of slowing down meters? (Asking for a friend.)
I have a degree in electrical and electronic engineering and have no expectations of it working. There are placebo effects in everything involving human activity.
They were all breathing oxygen too…. It is a common trait to correlate coincidence with causation if it fits your narrative.
Regression to the mean plays a large part in any small sample set studies.
John Brown
Freeloading Social media influenza
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-018-0097-7#:~:text=Results,CI: 0.92–1.93).
I couldn't find anything relating to domestic power wiring, but did find the above.
I'd like to think www.gov.uk can be trusted, or at least as much as any online source can be, if it is then here's a bunch of links regarding EMF's, Radio Waves etc
Electromagnetic fields
The Tin Foil Hat brigade will obviously scream blue murder at this, but hey-ho
Electromagnetic fields
The Tin Foil Hat brigade will obviously scream blue murder at this, but hey-ho
John Brown
Freeloading Social media influenza
Getting off topic a bit now, but I did some "research", the sort that begins with "Goo", a few years back when a mobile phone operator offered to install floodlights at the tennis club on whose committee I served at the time. Their benefit was to be installing a phone mast atop one of the light poles. The club was next to a primary school, and the letters we received from concerned parents were as scientifically uninformed as they were vitriolic. You'd have thought we'd suggested vivisection of their children. In vain we tried to reassure them, and point out that in areas of weak signal, mobile phones ramp up their output power, and that the radiation from a phone held next to your ear was vastly higher than that from a mast 20m away... It was a non starter.
I did, however, read enough at the time to convince me that the risks were imaginary, but I think I know better than to try and change anyone's mind on the subject.
John Brown
Freeloading Social media influenza
Shut down the cannabis farm in the basement.
Yorkieguy
Established Member
That's exactly so.
This thread has generated more heat than light.
Th original post in this thread stated:
"Your electricity meter is out of date and requires urgent replacement. We are required to do so under governmental regulation of the Electricity Act 1989". The lifespan of your meter is set by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). This is to ensure your energy is always recorded accurately so you only pay for what you use".
There's a whole raft of legislation which covers gas and electricity meter accuracy:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/gas-and-electricity-meter-regulations
So no - it's not a 'wheeze' or a 'con trick' - the energy supplier is obligated to replace time-expired meters.
But to answer the question 'are smart meters compulsory - do you have to have a smart meter by law?'
No, smart meters aren't compulsory. You'll be offered a smart meter by your energy supplier before the end of the smart meter rollout, but it’s up to you whether you accept one, but what you can't do, if your meter has reached it's 'best before date', is refuse to have it replaced. If need be, a warrant can be obtained to enable that to happen, but whether you get a smart meter is completely up to you.
Nothing to see here - move along.
As to the smart meter rollout, the initiative for that is from the government, which requires energy suppliers to offer smart meters to all homes and small businesses across Great Britain by the end of 2025. As much as anything, the rationale is to enable customers to take advantage of variable tariffs. Off-peak electricity, for example, for overnight charging of EVs, or not using washing machines and dishwashers at peak times.
On the assertion that 'smart meters can disconnect you', why would the supplier want to if you are not in arrears with payments?
Technically, the supplier could do that remotely, just as they could visit the premises and disconnect the gas or electricity supply to conventional meters, but only under very strict circumstances, no matter what type of meter you have. It's facile to suggest or infer that energy companies would do this remotely on a smart meter at the flick of a switch. Strict regulations protect you against your energy supplier disconnecting your gas or electricity. This protection is as strong with smart meters as it is with traditional meters. There is no difference between the regulation of energy supply for smart and traditional meters.
https://www.smartenergygb.org/about-smart-meters/smart-facts/can-a-smart-meter-cut-off-power
In any event, cutting off either the gas or electricity supply by energy companies means they will lose revenue. When it is done, it's as a last resort when all other methods of collecting arrears have been exhausted, and in some circumstances, with vulnerable customers they can turn if off at all.
Advice to energy uses from the National Debtline:
Quote:
Disconnection:
You should be able to prevent disconnection if you contact your supplier and arrange to repay your debt at an affordable rate, either by instalments, Fuel Direct, or through a prepayment meter. You must be asked if you want a prepayment meter before your supply is disconnected, if it is safe to install one. See the earlier sections Make an arrangement to pay your debt and Prepayment meters.
Gas and electricity companies cannot cut off your supply unless they have first offered you a range of payment methods to help you pay. They must only disconnect your supply as a last resort.
Contact your local council and the Citizens Advice consumer helpline if your supplier is threatening to disconnect your supply. Your local council may be able to help you to avoid disconnection or to restore your energy supply through their local welfare assistance scheme.
If you have children, consider contacting your local social services department for help with your energy payments. Tell your supplier that you have contacted social services as they will usually delay cutting you off if social services are looking into your case. This could give you time to make an arrangement to pay. The Children Act 1989 gives social services the power to make payments in certain circumstances to families with children in need.
Your suppler must not disconnect you during the winter months if you are a domestic customer and you:
- have reached State Pension age and live alone; or
- have reached State Pension age and live only with other people who have reached State Pension age or are under 18 years old. And:
- has reached state pension age;
- is disabled; or
- is chronically sick.
https://nationaldebtline.org/get-information/guides/gas-and-electricity-arrears-ew/
With electricity, some chronically sick people have medical conditions which require the use life saving equipment at home, such as for dialysis or oxygen for COPD. Does anyone really believe than an electricity supplier would shut off a smart meter, not knowing it it's safe to do so? Really??? I don't think so.
The supplier has rights of entry, bestowed by the Gas Act 1986 schedule 2B and the Electricity Act 1989 Schedule 6 – called the Gas and Electricity Codes. The right of entry can be exercised either by consent, in an emergency, or by a warrant under the Rights of Entry (Gas and Electricity Boards) Act 1954.
It's instructive to have a glimpse at the 'Magistrates Utility Warrant Checklist' to see the rigmarole involved in issuing warrants:
https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/119560/default/
Not arguing - just saying.
