ESB meter question!!!

newfy

Hi,

Should the spinning wheel in my ESB meter outside always be spinning relatively quick?

nothing heavy drawing power except maybe internet modem and tv on standby when I checked it to send energy reading to my energy supplier!

just hoping there’s not some kind of fault as I got some electrical work done recently

newbie2

Cant imagine it should be whoring around. Not if you're not usaing anything like a cooker/kettle/tumble dryer on.

newfy

Hmm I wonder what ls going on with it ?

I got power brought out to a timber shed recently, added 2 sockets and a light and got my gas boiler re wired ?

kirk.

It should be going slow if there's nothing much on

Turning off the tripswitches should help identify

where it's being used

newfy

Ok il switch everything off on the board and work from there,

is something like a washing machine or shower was running would it be normal for the wheel to spin quick on the meter when in use ?

Victor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119467993#Comment_119467993

Yes, it would.

Note that there may be other equipment running in the background, like fridge, freezer, etc.

kirk.

Ya they will, check your bills and newest reading

That method I suggested with the tripswitches is only really if you have someone standing at the meter and it's spinning fast and another person switching off one breaker at a time it might give a quick indication not the way you're describing it

You'll need to be monitoring the usage now anyway with these owl type gadgets

newfy

Cheers for reply, il keep an eye on it

newfy

Ok thanks

hopefully they get around to my area soon and update with new smart meters

kirk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119468072#Comment_119468072

Maybe not I'd say you might be better with a basic meter and rate according to reports

Ya that method I was saying is a bit blunt method of checking more of an electricians tool in certain circumstances, ya should be able to just identify the appliance or appliances by investigating if there's no faults

Gooser14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119468072#Comment_119468072

Have you checked the Smart Meter price plans?

L1011

You can - and almost always should tbh - stick on conventional price plans on a smart meter.

kirk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119469024#Comment_119469024

Ya that's the word

They don't switch u off a 24hr plan without consent do they I'm getting one soon ?

Is the day/nite almost completely gone? That was great having the nite at half price

Even better again was separate NSH metering if you were crafty , that was a great job you could run other stuff on the sly and there was hardly any standing charge

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119469050#Comment_119469050

Not forced off 24h plans. I don't know about day/night; some prior owner had that removed from my house when they put oil heating in. Bit annoying as all my heavy load appliances have delay start timers!

The smart kit can definitely support day/night but I have no experience of if/how its used.

zidac

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119468542#Comment_119468542

Can we opt to keep the old meter? i think unlikely but no harm to ask.

kirk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119469260#Comment_119469260

Not for long I'd say anyway the new tariffs will be forced in eventually

zidac

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058258641/esb-meter-question

If you turn off all the trips on the board the wheel will stop, put on one by one only leaving on one at any given time, when wheel running fast check what appliances are on. Its really things with heating elements draw a large load and make the wheel spin fast.

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119469260#Comment_119469260

I rang up and said don't waste your time putting in a smart meter as there is no (and yes I really mean no, none, nada) mobile coverage in or around our house and they said fine we'l leave it and put a note on your account, let us know if that changes and we can put in a smart meter if you want one.

zidac

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119469277#Comment_119469277

yes and its their property.

kirk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119469283#Comment_119469283

Thats why I was correcting myself

That's a blunt tool switching off appliances and cutting power to electronic stuff for a start and u have to turn off the right breakers ie mcbs or rcbos not RCDs to get reliable indication

Then your idea of switching back on doesn't work properly as some equipment needs to be reset

It has its uses in some cases says if there was a fault somewhere and you already had stuff off

Gooser14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119469050#Comment_119469050

I'm have a day/night digital meter (not a smart meter). The digital meter was installed about 2 years ago when the day/night clock associated with the old analogue meter developed a fault (faulty internal standby battery).

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119469260#Comment_119469260

According to this site yes you can.

Are smart meters compulsory in Ireland?

No! If you do not want to have your meter upgraded to a smart meter, you have the legal right to refuse one. To opt-out of getting a smart meter in Ireland, contact ESB Networks to let them know. You will need to provide your MPRN. You can find this 11-digit number on your electricity bill.

Keep in mind, you would miss out on the benefits a smart meter offers. There is also no guarantee that future smart meter installation requests will be free of cost, as is currently the case.

There's lots of other interesting info there too. (NOTE that it's a commercial site, but I have no connection with it.)

https://selectra.ie/energy/guides/meters/smart-meters-ireland

sparcocars

The speed at which the wheel turns depends entirely on the meter and is not indicative of the amount of electricity being used. The kwh notching up is what should be watched.

Over the years there were many makes/models of electromechanical meters installed.

Not every make/model of meter has the same revs per kwh ratio.

For example if you have two meters, one with 500 revs per kwh and one with 1000 revs per kwh, the latter will spin a lot faster for a kwh.

The revs per kwh should be printed on the faceplate somewhere.

That all being said, meters can still be faulty but in general when they go faulty they will under-record.

John.G

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058258641/esb-meter-question

These ancient meters are far smarter than the new ones IMO which should but don't give the power in kw.

If you look at your meter (Red Arrow) you will see the disc revs per kwh as stated elsewhere.

Get out your "stop watch". when the black mark on the disc is passing the vertical black reference mark, start your stopwatch and stop it after exactly two revolutions of the disc. Power consumption in kw is 2X3600/time in secs/revs per kwh.

IE my disc rotates 225 revs/kwh, if I time it and get 2 revolutions in say 64 secs then the power is, 2X3600/64/225, 0.5kw. If it takes say 266.7 secs to rotate 2 revolutions then the power is, 2X3600/266.7/225, 0.12kw or 120watts which is ~ the power required with a TV on or even less maybe.

ESB Meter.jpg