A few points.
It seems some folks bills have gone up considerably after having a smart meter fitted
Some think the bill will go down just by having the SM. Unfortunately not true, the customer has to use the information, to do that (the only way is to reduce usage, for most energy suppliers).
Also, if your usage includes inductive loads (fridges, freezers, etc) the smart meter will record a higher electricity use for those items (more than 20%?) than presently. Not many that know or understand that!
I actually would like one – in order to find out.
Don’t rush to find out. It will happen soon enough. When you change supplier, they will insist on installing a SM as a condition of supply. The government will change the rules when the industry gets most onto SMs. Water companies already insist on a metered supply, whenever a new owner moves in.
In wife world phone chargers and tumble driers will use the same amount of power
Spot on there. My wife thinks setting a a thermostat higher increases the heat from an electric heater, not that it simply turns the item on and off. I also call her ‘turn it on, never turn it off’🙂 She also refuses to save water by using the partial flush on the loo🙁.
Gas boilers alone can be 150kw ++
You'll need smelling salts for the wife when it fires up.
Properties like that would install heat pumps, shirley? With a COP of around 4 for a ground source heat pump, that would likely be using only one fifth of the power quoted by John Hancock (assuming a 20% heat loss within the current heating system). Also it might enlighten them of reality – and actually educate them a bit?
[via the local display unit]
Once a SM is fitted, the supply companies could not care a jot if that display fails. More proof that once they have got their savings, they could not care less about the customer actually saving power!
prepaid smart meters
Might be good for more, but what are the rates for those on these meters?