[liz52]

My mother has the SMETES1 smart meter which has not worked for over a year it can no longer transmit readings to the IHD or EON, I have tried with no success to get EON to install a newer working meter. The meter is a Landis+Gyr E470 smart meter is there a way to show the current power usage on the meter itself? for some reason my mother uses around 200kwh a month but in December it is now over 400kwh and looking at Jan 1-7 she is on course to hit 400kwh again

[meldrewreborn]

@liz52

200 per month is below average and 400 per month is above average.

There are three aspects here - one is getting data from the meter. the second is getting the meter back online. The other is the higher than normal usage.

The first is probably easier to solve - try this How to read the E470 Landis + Gyr electric meter - YouTube

The second is more difficult. If you try the citizens advice smart meter checker and then report back here with the results, with pictures of the meter(s), description of each flashing light (colour and frequency of flashing) on the communications hub and your mothers general location we might be able to help - no guarantees. On the latest government data, 15% of smart meters were working in traditional (DUMB) mode, so your mother is far from alone.

The third matter involves some detective work. The power is being used somewhere (except if the meter is faulty - but don't grab at that possibility , its very rare) so its the case of finding what appliance(s) are guilty. Immersion heaters with damaged thermostats, ovens with the same, have been found in the past to be the causes of high consumption. Even failing fridges and freezers have been found to be the cause. @retrotecchie loves these sorts of problems so i'm sure he and/or @Mailman will comment soon.

[retrotecchie]

@liz52

None of the meters themselves have any indication of current or instantaneous usage. Well, technically they do but it's not as simple as a reading on a display.

All electricity meters, of any flavour (smart or otherwise) have an 'Impulse Light'. This is a red LED somewhere on the front of the meter, which flashes to indicate power being used. Most meters have an impulse rate of 1000 flashes per kWh used, although some may be different. It will normally be printed on the meter next to the LED.

The speed at which this impulse LED flashes is a way to approximate how much energy is being used at a time.

What you need to do is either time the interval between each flash, or see how many flashes it uses over, say, a minute.

That will give you a very good approximation of how much energy you are using. I say approximate...the impulse indicator is accurate, it's the timing that is subject to inaccuracies.

So, if the light is flashing once a second, then that's 60 a minute or 3600 per hour. Divide that by the thousand impulses per kWh and that tells you your use is 3.6kWh over an hour.

If it's flashing every two seconds, that implies 1.8kWh.

Every 3 seconds, 1.2kWh. And so on and so forth.

If your usage has doubled and you really have no idea why, then this impulse rate will assist with diagnostics. Turn off any heating appliances (heaters, cookers, immersion heaters, etc). Your light should then be flashing at the 'baseline rate'.

See how fast the light is flashing. Then, one at a time, turn off the breakers in the consumer unit and monitor the flash rate again. If it only drops slightly, don't worry too much. If, however, you turn off a particular breaker and it slows right down, and when you turn it back on again it goes back to it's original speed, then that indicates the circuit that contains whatever is using a lot of power.

The usual suspects are electric heaters, cooking appliances or immersion heaters, or refrigeration appliances with a failed, or always on, compressor.

The above 'sanity tests' will hopefully enable you to narrow down the source of the higher consumption.

Another poster on here had a problem with an electric oven which we remotely diagnosed, and I have experienced that very problem myself. Many very high consumption items like ovens, immersions, or electric heaters have very high currents being switched and the heavier the load, the more likely switch contacts are likely to burn or arc. In 50% of cases, the switch will fail open circuit, i.e. the appliance will just not work. In the other 50% of cases, the contacts will fail closed, meaning power will be flowing 24/7. Perhaps at a relatively low level if the thermostat is regulating, but still ticking over continuously.

[Mailman]

Originally Posted by liz52

My mother has the SMETS1 smart meter which has not worked for over a year

Am I right in thinking that your Mother is all electric? If all electric, does she have storage heaters rather than 'instant' wall-hung units. I know that my electricity over the last year has been at a low of 170 kWh/month in the summer rising to 240 kWh/month ish during the winter but that is with gas central heating. December 2022 was colder in most areas of the UK so I'd not be at all surprised at electricity usage of 400 kWh if electricity provides the heating.

[liz52]

Thanks for info I will have another look next time I visit my mothers, she is not all electric her heating and cooking is gas, though she has been using a electric fire at times, though at 900w around 30p per hour and she is not running it enough to be paying close to £5 a day electric, her meter is one of these https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuXbKfXZkpw
I did used to use a owl wireless energy monitor years can only get them on ebay now, though I have seen you can fit LCD panel switch to consumer unit, so could get electrician to put one in possibly

[meldrewreborn]

@liz52

gas is a fraction of the price of electricity, so I have electric heater in reserve only for emergencies . The electric fire may be the culprit because we are sensitive to the reduction in temperature when they go off so tend to turn them back on again - perhaps it’s on longer than you think!

[Mailman]

Originally Posted by liz52

Thanks for info I will have another look next time I visit my mothers, she is not all electric her heating and cooking is gas, though she has been using a electric fire at times, though at 900w

Just make sure also that the rating on this fire is as you state 900W. I know I've got some energency ones hidden away in the garage (out of temptation's way) - they are both rated at 1500W so check on the rating plate of said appliance to be sure. I'd agree that the electric radiator is the likely culprit. If on for 4 hous a day that's possibly 3.6kWh every day and over 31 days that's a max of 111.6 kWh/month and if actually 1500W rated, that works out at a max of 6kWh/day or nearer to 186 kWh/month.

[DebF_EONNext]

Some great advice there @meldrewreborn, @retrotecchie & @Mailman I love how the community really comes together to support each other you are all awesome!