AltHAN is already being rolled out by several energy companies, including E.On Next (allegedly), but only in certain areas and only as a 'beta'. It's not so much a function of the energy suppliers who have very little say in the matter, but the metering teams who have access to the limited supplies of the appropriate hardware. AltHan will likely be targeted at 'difficult' new installations before it becomes available as a retrofit option.
Energy companies are 'responsible' for the metering equipment, but the comms hubs and associated equipment are owned by and supplied through the DCC, so they actually have the final say, not the suppliers. And we all know that they have no end-user interface!
Last edited by retrotecchie; 22-05-24 at 00:41.
Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player. I DON'T work for or on behalf of EON.Next, but am willing to try and help if I can. Not on mains gas, mobile network or mains drainage. House heated almost entirely by baby dragons.
It appears some (possibly all?) of the plug-in component of the current Alt HAN solution are being recalled due to a safety issue.
We've had an email from E.ON Next telling us to unplug it and they'll come and pick it up from us in the next few weeks, and that we're looking at a 6 to 8 week wait for a visit to supply and pair a new one.
I can't say for sure of course, but I would imagine new installs will be on hold until affected units have been replaced.
For reference if it helps, ours was installed in January '24 as part of a new smart meter install at a property previously flagged as requiring Alt HAN when an earlier install did not go ahead due to HAN range issues. We're in the Eastern region.
Thanks for the update, I've been waiting for years to get this sorted. I wish I had never ever agreed to EON Next when they took over the Sainsburys Energy accounts to bully me into getting a smart meter.
The Ombudsman has ruled that EON Next need to replace the meters so hopefully I can get my account tagged as needing alt HAN
The safety issue with the AltHan devices is to do with a 'what if' scenario rather than the devices themselves being faulty, per se.
The device plugs into a standard 13A socket but actually consumes very little power. The problem is, there is a 'pass through' socket on the device provided so that you don't lose the use of a socket when you have the device plugged in. If you don't use the pass through socket then there is no problem. However, if you do, the wires between the plug and the socket aren't rated for any more than 3A and there is no internal fusing. If you plugged in, say, a space heater or a tumble drier that draws more than 3A, then the wires overheat, burn out and the device can catch fire. It would have been a simple matter to design the device with no pass through socket, or to use thick copper or brass interconnecting strips but that didn't happen. If you don't use the socket, they are perfectly safe, but if there is a mains socket on any device then it MUST be capable of supplying a full 13A safely, or have a user-replaceable fuse to limit maximum capacity. These puppies don't so that is why they have been recalled.
Oh gawd who on earth specified, designed or tested these devices. But then again I suppose the alt HAN continues in the tradition of the SmartMeter roll-out eg installing xxMillion meters that can never support the consumer swapping suppliers, using a mobile tech that the mobile companies are withdrawing, citing benefits for consumers that the tech does not support and worse of all spending £13Bn on the roll-out! The only saving to date is the laying off of the meter readers?!
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