[Mailman]

Originally Posted by meldrewreborn

@Mailman

I think the issue here is that the usage is always 2kWh per hour, irrespective of all the tests. To my non expert mind that means the meter is kaput.

Probably correct but I just want to rule out something else that comes on when the OP turns his leccy on. They have not indicated what is going on when they do the sanity test and to further do this by testing each individual circuit breaker ( at the main consumer board/fuse board ). It may be exactly what everyone thinks - the meter is duff but 2kWh used in 1 hour is not excessive if, as an example, I left on an emersion heater on a boiler to run 24/7 (as they can alone can use 2-3kW per hour). Just trying to eliminate the unlikely (but not impossible) before a meter change only to find the same thing happening. If the OP uses an all-electric home (I don't know) their DHW is not being provided by a combi gas boiler....

[meldrewreborn]

@Mailman

While further testing might throw up something, it was also 2kWh for 34 days when they were not there!

But of course its a good idea to rule out any possibility it's the householder equipment at fault.

[Mailman]

Originally Posted by meldrewreborn

@Mailman

While further testing might throw up something, it was also 2kWh for 34 days when they were not there!

But of course its a good idea to rule out any possibility it's the householder equipment at fault.

The only thing I am getting from the OP is that they moved in late August, submitted a meter reading approx a month later. They were billed for 31+ days of electricity after they had moved in. I don't know if it was a 'new build' or just a different property. I agree that the figures indicate a draw of circa 2kW per hour looking at their figures again. The OP does not mention gas in their post which leads me to think they are in an all-electric home. The OP also needs to confirm exactly how their domestic hot water is provided. If an electric immersion heater, these units can use up to 3KW per hour so need to be used sparingly! If the immersion is permanently switched on (either by a switch or via program) the OP may not realise this apart from them knowing that their DHW comes out spanking hot all the time! Turning on individual circuits at the main circuit board would rule this in/out.

Can the OP come back to us all following this thread and provide a little more information, particularly about their DHW system (gas or electric? If electric do they have an immersion heater) and whether they have been able to do a sanity test in the way I described earlier.

Of course the OP's problems may be due to a duff meter but its not the only explanation of what might be going on, especially as the OP has moved in for just over a month. I just don't see that the meter has gone rogue since the date they moved in.

[RedBeard89]

Originally Posted by Mailman

The only thing I am getting from the OP is that they moved in late August, submitted a meter reading approx a month later. They were billed for 31+ days of electricity after they had moved in. I don't know if it was a 'new build' or just a different property. I agree that the figures indicate a draw of circa 2kW per hour looking at their figures again. The OP does not mention gas in their post which leads me to think they are in an all-electric home. The OP also needs to confirm exactly how their domestic hot water is provided. If an electric immersion heater, these units can use up to 3KW per hour so need to be used sparingly! If the immersion is permanently switched on (either by a switch or via program) the OP may not realise this apart from them knowing that their DHW comes out spanking hot all the time! Turning on individual circuits at the main circuit board would rule this in/out.

Can the OP come back to us all following this thread and provide a little more information, particularly about their DHW system (gas or electric? If electric do they have an immersion heater) and whether they have been able to do a sanity test in the way I described earlier.

Of course the OP's problems may be due to a duff meter but its not the only explanation of what might be going on, especially as the OP has moved in for just over a month. I just don't see that the meter has gone rogue since the date they moved in.

@Mailman - I can confirm that we are on a gas combi boiler which provides all our hot water.

[RedBeard89]

The other thing I would mention is that we switched off all individual circuits and the smart meter doesn't blink at all. I then switched on the invidual circuit governing the lighting/sockets and with all appliances and lights switched off this continued to not blink once.

I then switched on individual appliances at the wall one by one and tested the usage over an hour long period and these were the results:

Fridge only (all other lights/devices off) 2kWh over an hour period
Freezer only (all other lights/devices off) 2kWh over an hour period
Router only (all other lights/deivces off) 2 kWh over an hour period

This was particularly surprising for the router as it's rated to only consume 0.007kWh...

[RedBeard89]

Also - number of impulses seemed to be the same whether one isolated device was running, or whether we are using all devices as per normal consumption...

[theunknowntech]

Yeah, sounds like a dead meter to me. This doesn't reflect on Smart Meters being inaccurate though, since this can happen to literally any meter. I'm just disappointed that the self-diagnostic didn't pick that up.

My router would have proven to have been a better test though I suppose. Given it's a Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine that chomps more than just a couple of watts (it's literally a full-blown Linux Server and a Wi-Fi Router in one box!) it would have easily proven or disproven a meter fault.

Mind you, my UDM does an awful lot if it only pulls 26W... https://dl.ubnt.com/ds/udm_ds

[RedBeard89]

Called e.on again this morning for an update - they were still showing a requested appointment on the system w/c 11th November but still no confirmation of appointment. When I asked if this could be brought forward or expedited they said this was unlikely to be possible. They also said that the issue was unlikely to be resolved during this appointment and we would likely then require a follow up appointment. I asked what the lead-time for this follow up appointment would be, and they said they were unable to confirm as it is on a 'case by case basis'.

I'm finding it very frustrating that there is seemingly no escalation process, and with each day our costs are increasingly significantly; it is understandably causing us a lot of anxiety.

[RedBeard89]

Originally Posted by Mailman

@RedBeard89

Are you absolutely sure that you have'nt got some device (hard wired) that is causing the issue. System Boiler HW tank always switched on?

I'd try turning off the electricity at the fuse box for 30 mins recording the meter reading when you start and when you finish. Should be 0 difference but I think you have done this. Then turn on the mains but turn off all the individual circuit breakers. Try turning them on, one by one to see if one of your circuits is causing such a large usage and see what appliances are running off that circuit.

If you haven't already done this do a meter sanity test by switching everything off at the consumer unit (fuse box) and watching the red LED labelled '1000 Imp/kWh' or similar for at least five minutes and make sure that it never flashes once. Then switch on just one high powered item (a full kettle is ideal) and count the number of flashes (impulses) in one minute. Multiply that number by 60 and divide by 1000 (or the figure next to the LED) and that gives you the power being drawn by the kettle. Check the rating plate on the kettle and they should match up.

It's a rough and ready check because the power drawn depends on the local voltage and the kettle rating may not be exact but it should indicate whether the meter really does need further investigation.

FYI I just measured the number of impulses over 60 seconds when running the tumble dryer and it was 58/59 in 60 seconds

[Mailman]

Originally Posted by RedBeard89

FYI I just measured the number of impulses over 60 seconds when running the tumble dryer and it was 58/59 in 60 seconds

And with your tumble dryer off (no other high powered appliances running that you know of),what is your baseline number of flashes?. For many tumble dryers you would expect the draw circa 2500W so maybe 40 of those impulses due to the tumble dryer alone. Heat pump dryers draw in the region of 800W I believe (about 1/3 of the power draw of a condensor). I'll do mine later with nothing on other than the permanent stuff (F/F, router, etc).

EDIT: I did the sanity test to check at my end. My IHD showed a 'usage now' draw of 120W at the time I did it. I therefore anticipated 2 impulses in the timed run and that is what I got. My 'usage now' does get lower (about 40W) depending on whether or not the F/F compressor is on its 'ON' cycle so at a minimum I'd be getting no more than 1 impulse per minute. Have you done this baseline test last thing at night before you retire to bed when everything is usually switched off (other than the 'always on' stuff - F/F, router, phone etc)? Might be worth doing. In the morning at say 8am, the usage since midnight is invariably about 0.45kWh so that gives me a baseline in 24 hours of about 1.5kWh - way less than what you are experiencing.