Whether or not to request having smart meters fitted is often a difficult decision. Those who are interested may search forums like this to get a flavour of other people's experiences. Many will post of various problems with their smart meters and IHDs and all are valid points that make folk wish they had never had them installed. It's perhaps advisable to bear in mind that people will be more inclined to post when they are unhappy than they would when they are happy with them. I thought I would share my positive view just to add some balance.
After a long time of being opposed to having these things almost forced on me I decided to take the plunge as I was confident only SMETS 2 meters would be fitted and I would be able to get a better tariff rate by having them. My meters were fitted a few years ago by my previous energy supplier and as far as I can recall were fully functional in days.
I have a Chameleon 3 IHD which sits in the utility room and provides me with as much data as I require. I also think it is quite aesthetically pleasing.
On switching to Eon Next everything was fully functional within six weeks of switchover. Until then I just submitted manual meter readings when necessary. One minor problem is that when my tariff rates change I sometimes have to request that the IHD is updated to reflect this. This has been more of a nuisance of late but generally I will only switch to a new fixed rate once a year.
Some advantages of an IHD to me are:
1. I can read my meters easily without going outside.
2. I can scroll through consumption data for previous days, weeks and months.
3. The display shows 'Used So Far Today' in kWh and £££s. This has been useful as family members see how much energy actually costs and take steps to cut down a bit. A picture paints a thousand words, as they say.
4. There is a function to show current electricity consumption. Useful to see what appliances are heavy consumers.
5. I can use the Hildebrand Bright App on my phone to see consumption data down to half-hourly intervals going back about a year.
6. I can take part in the Energy Shift events and get a couple of pounds credited to my account for my efforts.
I understand that those without smart meters who are interested (and can be bothered) can monitor their usage from meter readings and statements and create spread sheets to keep things under control. I do this too but comparisons over several months of reducing my energy consumption have shown that the IHD is fairly accurate when compared to using readings on statements for making my calculations.
To conclude, smart meters and IHDs are not everyone's cup of tea. I have a standard dual fuel tariff with no Economy 7 or solar panels etc. I get the impression that these things add complications. I remain happy with my choice and to be honest, would miss my IHD if I didn't have it or if it packed up for any reason.
Maybe I've been lucky so far and my opinion will change if I start having problems but so far, so good.
After a long time of being opposed to having these things almost forced on me I decided to take the plunge as I was confident only SMETS 2 meters would be fitted and I would be able to get a better tariff rate by having them. My meters were fitted a few years ago by my previous energy supplier and as far as I can recall were fully functional in days.
I have a Chameleon 3 IHD which sits in the utility room and provides me with as much data as I require. I also think it is quite aesthetically pleasing.
On switching to Eon Next everything was fully functional within six weeks of switchover. Until then I just submitted manual meter readings when necessary. One minor problem is that when my tariff rates change I sometimes have to request that the IHD is updated to reflect this. This has been more of a nuisance of late but generally I will only switch to a new fixed rate once a year.
Some advantages of an IHD to me are:
1. I can read my meters easily without going outside.
2. I can scroll through consumption data for previous days, weeks and months.
3. The display shows 'Used So Far Today' in kWh and £££s. This has been useful as family members see how much energy actually costs and take steps to cut down a bit. A picture paints a thousand words, as they say.
4. There is a function to show current electricity consumption. Useful to see what appliances are heavy consumers.
5. I can use the Hildebrand Bright App on my phone to see consumption data down to half-hourly intervals going back about a year.
6. I can take part in the Energy Shift events and get a couple of pounds credited to my account for my efforts.
I understand that those without smart meters who are interested (and can be bothered) can monitor their usage from meter readings and statements and create spread sheets to keep things under control. I do this too but comparisons over several months of reducing my energy consumption have shown that the IHD is fairly accurate when compared to using readings on statements for making my calculations.
To conclude, smart meters and IHDs are not everyone's cup of tea. I have a standard dual fuel tariff with no Economy 7 or solar panels etc. I get the impression that these things add complications. I remain happy with my choice and to be honest, would miss my IHD if I didn't have it or if it packed up for any reason.
Maybe I've been lucky so far and my opinion will change if I start having problems but so far, so good.
Last edited by DebF_EONNext; 05-06-23 at 18:51. Reason: featured thread
I'm an Eon Next dual fuel customer with no particular expertise but have some time on my hands that I am using to try and help out a bit.
