Smart Meter? What can I do with it?

banie01

What can one actually monitor via their smart meter?

More importantly, can I make any use of, or even view smart meter data without signing up to a Smart Meter price plan?

I'm with EI and the welcome blurb keeps offering me smart priceplans without a means to just view my data?

Am I missing something? Is there a tab or option I need to select to view my data without changing plan?

Or is deliberately forcing me to select a an without my knowing my own usage a way of selling me something without my knowing what I actually need?

NickNickleby

With no evidence to support this, I suspect the main beneficiaries of smart meters will be the electricity suppliers.

I read somewhere that you have to request 'granular' data collection. But its collected by the vendor via GSM. If or how the customer subsequently sees it is something I haven't discovered yet. But I'll make a cynical guess and say the first I'll see of it is on the bill, with a minimum of useful information.

Edit: I'm hoping someone who knows more/better will correct me, and that in fact I'll be able to do precisely what banie02 banie01 is contemplating.

My cynicism was further triggered by a recent EI bill. A price increase had taken place. I worked out that they had simply worked out how many days were before and after the changeover date and then did a pro-rata applying of the new and old rates. However, it was an estimated bill and woefully underestimated. So I went online and entered the accurate reading. Did they recalculate using the pro-rata method? Did they ****. They simply added on the extra units at the new rate.

eeepaulo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058232778/smart-meter-what-can-i-do-with-it

You can't see anything online without switching to a smart tariff. If you press the button on it it scrolls through your usage, there are 4 numbers on there, total usage, day, night and peak.

I don't think they call home until you go onto a smart tariff although i could be wrong, i have estimated reads on a few bills since install which would suggest they aren't calling in reads.

Wait a year or so and you will be able to work out if switching to a smart tariff saves you money because you will have the actual amount you use in each category. I've had the meter for about 2 years now and it worked out cheaper even taking into account working from home for almost the whole time.

NickNickleby

Apologies to banie01, for suggesting there are two of you! Corrected my post.

FishOnABike

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118624750#Comment_118624750

Never changed to a 'smart' tariff when I got a smart meter installed as I didn't think the much higher peak costs would balance the lower (limited) off peak costs with my usage pattern.

The meter still reports back granular data to ESB Networks.

On my energy provider's web portal, I can still analsye usage by billing period, by day, by hour and if I download the data in spreadsheet format, in half hourly intervals for the previous two years.

I can see how my bill is split across different categories like always on, cooking, refrigeration, laundry, water heating, lighting, etc...

There's been no need to switch to any of the 'smart' tariffs.

If you look at this data after one billing period you should be able to work out if any of the 'smart' tariffs will save you money.

eeepaulo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118624859#Comment_118624859

Who are you with?

Neither Bord Gais nor SSE offered the data. What MC number is on the bill?

banie01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118624849#Comment_118624849

My wife would probably run in horror if she had me in stereo 🤣👍

FishOnABike

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118624869#Comment_118624869

I'm with Electric Ireland - legacy customer. Smart meter was installed as part of the nationwide roll out so I transferred automatically to the equivalent flat rate tariff.

Meter Configuration Code is MCC12, so half hourly data reading.

banie01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118625140#Comment_118625140

Interesting, I'm with EI too. I'm off to dig a little further then 👍

eeepaulo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118625140#Comment_118625140

You have the smart meter enabled, it isnt when you select a smart tariff that it enables the smart meter, you are now, electric ireland let smart users have a 24 hr tariff as well.

Other posters on this thread will have MC01 or MC02 on the bill, even with a smart meter, thats the 24 hr meter or day night. My meter stayed as MC01 for 20 months after i had my smart meter installed.

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118624750#Comment_118624750

I’ve had a smart meter for about a year now and none of my bills are estimated. I haven’t changed to a smart tariff either. I wonder if there’s an issue that’s preventing the meter from phoning home?

eeepaulo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118625435#Comment_118625435

A couple of my bills when i had it as a normal meter had E on them, i dont know, i have good enough reception to be getting the 1/2 hour reads, and the smart services are working correctly.

Ubbquittious

Is there a way of knowing when a '15 minute accounting period' starts and finishes? are they aligned with the hour?

eeepaulo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118625461#Comment_118625461

Yes they are. (sse shows the data half hourly) xx:00 and xx:30

NickNickleby

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118624859#Comment_118624859

Now that's very good news. I remember reading somewhere that the granularity of the data collection is something that's set during installation. You appear have been given the best option. Can you remember if you had to stipulate half hourly readings, was it a default, or was it not even mentioned?

FishOnABike

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118625401#Comment_118625401

Rural customer, I hadn't seen a real meter reader in years probably - for ages I'd had estimated readings with the occasional user reading either phoned in or submitted online every now and again to keep it on track.

Enabling the smart meter a few weeks after installing was probably the default to eliminate the need for someone having to come around to read the meter a few times a year or rely on user submitted readings.

Either way I was automatically put on MCC12 and have access to granular usage data. It helped me identify a small leak between the well and house causing the pump to cycle excessively and increase my electricity bill until it was fixed.

eeepaulo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118625496#Comment_118625496

Its done based on reception. If it is 3 or above you get the half hourly otherwise it just reads once every few months. When i was thinking of enabling my smart meter i had a hell of a hassle finding anyone to tell me whether i had good reception, the customer service staff just wanted to transfer me to the sales team who knew nothing. There is a little icon with reception on the meter but they couldn't tell me what level it was. Ended up calling ESB and a lady was able to see the strength there.

FishOnABike

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118625496#Comment_118625496

Wasn't even mentioned. I had online access to the detailed usage information a week or two after it was installed.

NickNickleby

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118625540#Comment_118625540

Thanks eepaulo, that's very helpful.

It seems amazing to me that we have to ask each other questions on here about this. I'm off to look at the EI and regulator websites to see how good the information is about all this.

NickNickleby

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118625562#Comment_118625562

Thanks FishOnABike. Starting to look like my initial post on this was hogwash. As I said above, I'm off to review the EI and regulator websites to see what is made known to consumers about use/benefits of the Smart Meter. Like Banie01, I'd like to do my own analysis of usage before making any rash decisions. I truly feel that a wrong decision could cost a lot of money.

eeepaulo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118625518#Comment_118625518

I'm in the same boat, rural, first wave for the smart meter, no sign of broadband though.

silver2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118625648#Comment_118625648

Smart meters use 2g

Beauty of a smart meter is you can change suppliers in less than 2 minutes. No reading required.

If you want to monitor usage I think you have to agree to it and it starts from then.

On price plans you can choose smart meter plans in ADDITION to other plans. You'll probably soon have plans with 3 or 4 or even 5 prices depending on time of day with high prices 9am-5pm (office and factory times) a lower price until 8pm, lower again until midnight and then an overnight price, then a mid price from 6am to 9pm.

clodola

I had a smart meter installed back in July , guy just rocked up, music blaring, installed ,then left

EI never gave me the option to change tariff ,as far as I was aware only benefit was me not having to submit a reading

Looking at my bill , config is MCC01, I see a few state they are on mcc12

MCC01 – requires daily collection of the 24-hr Cumulative Active Import Register 

(see separate DPIA for 24-hr cumulative register processing).  MCC12 – requires daily collection of the 30-minute Interval Channel for Active 

Import energy plus the daily midnight snapshot of the associated 24-hr Cumulative 

Active Import Register.  MCC16 – requires collection of the three SST registers for Day, Night and Peak 

energy consumption. These are also Cumulative Registers. 

My contract expires next month (rural), sse looks like the cheapest option for smart meter tariff , from what I gather ,one benefit of the smart meter is you can have multiple tariff pricing i.e night, day rate;, has the ability to allow you sell back to the grid (whenever that's feasible here)

I was surprised at the lack data available or smart home integration

My neighbor was quoted 750 euro two years ago to upgrade to a smart meter for him to avail of the dual pricing, cheaper night rate for his hybrid car, not financially viable

Ger Roe

I have a smart meter... I also have had a simple €15 wireless energy monitor for the past 6 years that tells me all I need to know. Dressing up the data into fancy graphs that I can clutter my phone with, is not something that I need to do ... I am only interested in price per unit, usage and total cost - I get all that from basic knowledge and my €15 investment.

As a low level energy user, the smart tarrifs are of no benefit to me, as yet. The meter is more of an advantage to the supplier than it is to me. We will all end up paying more, for using less electricity... without or without a smart meter. If you don't have heavy usage devices that you can use through the night (safety and noise issues aside), then at the moment, you do not have much leeway for supposedly 'smart' cost savings.

When/If I can ever afford a new electric car, I reckon there may be some advantage to going on a smart/off peak rate to charge it,...... but until then, it does not give me any advantage over common sense and a frugal cost saving attitude.

Their ultimate use will be to reduce the impact of future inevitable price rises... not to provide cheaper electricity as we would like, but to reduce the unrelenting rip off somewhat. The consumer will have to work harder (cut back) to save money - with or without a smart meter. The meter gives the impression that you will have some control to protect yourself from price rises, in fact most people will have no control or advantage... unless they are already heavy users that don't know how to, or can't reduce their usage.

silver2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118625773#Comment_118625773

They will move to multiple price options.

If the home is unoccupied during the day and you get home after 5, you might have an option of taking a very high mon-fri daytime rate, a good rate 5-11pm and weekends and a cheap rate overnight.

It is in the energy companies interest to spread consumption as it's not a "product" that can be stored easily.

If you look at the day spot prices you will get a good idea. Midnight to 4am is 85% lower than daytime.

https://www.nordpoolgroup.com/Market-data1/Dayahead/Area-Prices/ALL1/Hourly/

moc63

Have my smart meter now for over a year, So a few weeks ago i asked my provider what benefit I was getting. Apart from more accurate billing, I could change to some type of smart plan with different rates, and access total /daily usage online. I believe the providers now know your usage every 15 mins.

I asked will i be getting a Smart Monitor like in the Uk, but knew nothing about them. This was my impression as to the beneift of smart meters to me.

I Using your smart energy monitor - Meters - Help & Support - British Gas

eeepaulo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118626012#Comment_118626012

I was visiting a relative in UK around Christmas who has one of them, just a little LCD thing that shows current usage, cumulative usage for the day, shows both cost and units used and also gas and electricity combined or separate. Looks quite cool. I think you could get something like that installed yourself but its lovely to just have it built in.

Ger Roe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118625917#Comment_118625917

I am sure they will, offer more... in their own good time and priority.

My point is though that they have stuffed up the implementation from a consumer confidence viewpoint, by introducing the meters with a great fanfare and promising all sorts of benefits... without many of them being available from the start. It does not inspire confidence in a 'we are all in this reduce the use approach together', when the benefits so far, are largely cost cutting operational measures for the suppliers. It is like trying to seek out the three secrets of Fatima to find out what the exact consumer benefits will be ... we are being drip fed hopes of better things to come. Was there an EU imposed deadline to get the meters in... regardless of what they might offer in the early stages? - at least that would be an explanation for the way the implementation is being handled.

So far... my smart meter tells me nothing more that my €15 energy monitor already does, and the current smart plans would work out more expensive for me, as an already light user. I still believe that rather than driving down overall cost, the main advantage of the smart meter will be to reduce the inevitable rip off, for those who are using enough energy to make a timeshift tarrif change, worthwhile.

It's like the waste disposal industry .... if we all do what we are supposed to and reduce waste constantly..... how is 'the industry' going to remain viable? .... the only option is to charge more, for using less. The energy supply companies have the advantage of using smoke and mirrors with smart meters to blur this fact.

faolteam

Hi Folks im withe Energia and i have a Smart Meter in about two months was hoping i could see the daily usage and how much or where i was using the most any ideas or help,

Also can you tell me is there a Smart meter app for this ?

JimmyVik

Im finding the smart meter rates far higher than the normal day night rates.

kirk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118719862#Comment_118719862

How many rates is there ?

Is there just the one extra peak 5-7pm rate or more ?

The focus on off-peak will increase going forward with the unit cost