I currently have an EON Next supply so phoned them yesterday to arrange to have a smart meter installed. After some internal discussion they advised they cannot do this 'because I have 5-dial meter'. My understanding is this kind of old meter is exactly the type that are intended for smart meter replacement.
There was also apparently an issue with property having a 3-phase supply, although I assume as a normal residential household I am only using one phase.
See picture of the meter below. Can anybody advise a way forward to help me get a new meter installed?
The meter is from 1995 and almost certainly outside of its certified life. It also seems to be a single phase meter (but I could be wrong - that's what the small lettering appears to say!). The supplier by law is required to meter supplies accurately and replace meters out of their certification period. You were advised incorrectly in my view.
Challenge them on that basis and they're obliged to fit a replacement. Which is highly likely to be a smart meter. At the moment their priority is replacing meters using the RTS service to deliver Economy 7 type services and the RTS signal is being switched off very soon., but there's no reason for your replacement not to be scheduled for the coming months.
Current Eon Next customer, ex EDF, Zog and Symbio. Don't think dual fuel saves money and think the smart meter programme is a waste of our money. Chronologically Gifted. If I offend let me know by private message, but I’ll continue to express my opinions nonetheless.
I was just starting to reply when I noticed that @meldrewreborn has already provided a helpful response.
I am not an expert but would just add that the '5-dial meter' response sounds rubbish, possibly something got lost between agents in the internal discussion.
Perhaps you could post a photo of the wiring from the main fuse to the meter. This may establish whether there is a 3-phase supply somehow connecting to a single phase meter.
I would just add that it appears that many new houses are being provided, as standard, with 3-phase supplies and so it will become increasingly common for normal residential properties to have 3-phase (I realise that your property must considerably predate this trend!).
@SPET Thank you both for your really informed and helpful replies. Yes the house is an old rural property with an overhead supply across a nearby field. Attached is a pic showing the general wiring around the meter. The power comes into the building just above the door, underneath the meter.
As an aside can you tell if there is a 3-phase supply coming into the property?
Do you know if EON monitor this forum? Would they be likely to give a response?
Still bear in mind the caveat that I'm not an expert.
An overhead supply on poles will have 3 wires if it is 3-phase and, where there is a pole-mounted transformer, it will be obvious that there are 3 wires going into the top of the transformer.
Your picture clearly shows a single main fuse. A 3-phase supply would have 3 fuses.
I'm pretty certain that you have a single-phase supply.
With regard to the 5-dial meter business. I can't remember the precise terminology, but meters that controlled electric storage heaters on an Economy 7 tariff had 5 connectors (but would have 2 separate meter readings). Your meter clearly only has 4 connectors and provides a single reading.
It sounds as though EOns records are incorrect, or perhaps they are looking up details for the wrong property.
Perhaps you could talk to EOn customer services again and provide the photographic evidence of your installation.
Hey @SPET welcome to the community and thanks for taking the time to post 🤗
I think there may have been a bit of a miscommunication here on our part and I'm sorry if this wasn't explained very well for you. Both @meldrewreborn and @POIuy354 are correct - ordinarily having a 5 dial meter will not stop you having smart, in fact having 3 phase won't stop you either.
The issue we have is on our side at the moment and is a signalling issue with 3 phase meters that also have 5 dials, this is something that we are working on and trying to find a solution for however we don't currently have a timescale unfortunately. I would keep checking back in every so often to see if there is any update, energy specialists will be able to run a check on your account to see if you are smart eligible yet 😊 This certainly looks like a 3 phase meter you can tell by how many cables the meter has yours has 4 cables which would indicate 3 phase!
Last edited by DebF_EONNext; 22 Hours Ago at 16:06.
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@POIuy354 thank you again for this info. I took some further pictures.
Pic 1 is the transformer where my supply branches from the main overhead line. Only two wires on the main line.
Pic 2 is a distant shot of the intermediate pole - looks like the bottom two wires might be connected.
Pic 3 is the last pole, located in my garden. The line to the right goes across to the chimney then down to the outhouse where the meter is.
As said, the technical detail doesn't really matter if EON are obliged to replace the meter anyway because it is out of certification - but it would be interesting to know more about what is up there.
@DebF_EONNext Thank you for coming into this discussion. As there is evidence only a single phase is being used (one fuse) and the meter appears not to be a 5-dial type (as suggested above) would this not mean a smart meter COULD be fitted?
Also, how would replacement regarding the expiry of certificate work in this circumstance?
.... This certainly looks like a 3 phase meter you can tell by how many cables the meter has yours has 4 cables which would indicate 3 phase!
@DebF_EONNext - I think you are wrong here : there are only 3 wires coming into the meter board on the left of the picture
The live enters the head-unit, with the main fuse ; the neutral is to the right of that (unfused) and the third wire is the earth going to a separate earth block with the green&yellows coming out of it
The 2 (live & neutral) wires then enter the meter - there are then actually four wires exiting the meter... 2 to the consumer unit and two more (red and black) going to a separate switch which appears to be missing a fuse/breaker
I don't see four wires feeding into the meter at all
Hey @SPET welcome to the community and thanks for taking the time to post 🤗
I think there may have been a bit of a miscommunication here on our part and I'm sorry if this wasn't explained very well for you. Both @meldrewreborn and @POIuy354 are correct - ordinarily having a 5 dial meter will not stop you having smart, in fact having 3 phase won't stop you either.
The issue we have is on our side at the moment and is a signalling issue with 3 phase meters that also have 5 dials, this is something that we are working on and trying to find a solution for however we don't currently have a timescale unfortunately. I would keep checking back in every so often to see if there is any update, energy specialists will be able to run a check on your account to see if you are smart eligible yet 😊 This certainly looks like a 3 phase meter you can tell by how many cables the meter has yours has 4 cables which would indicate 3 phase!
3-phase 5 TERMINAL meters might have a signalling issue.
5 DIALS has nothing to do with it.
Moreover, as others have stated, this is a single phase supply, so no reason not to do a smart upgrade, except maybe signal given how rural the setup looks!
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