I remember speaking to a mobile engineer a couple of years ago about 3g, he say all the carriers that were marketing 3g at the time was really 2g. Don't know how true it was but always stuck in my mind for some reason.
Will these meters be completely replacing the existing unit CO ? Or just some sort of additional piece of kit added onto existing meter ?
AFAIK, 2G is still very much alive and well, and gets into some of the most obscure corners where 3, 4 and 5G dare not tread ... but those meters aren't very smart if they have to use someone else's network when there's a perfectly good directly line into them from the ESB! Our smart meters here in France are clever enough to be able to communicate directly with our providers using good old fashioned copper wires.
Smart meters communicate remotely with ESB Networks over a secure 2G mobile network using technology like that used to send text messages. Your meter will create the equivalent of an encrypted text message and send it to an IT system called a Head End System (HES). Data collected from the meter is then stored securely in a central Meter Data Management System (MDMS) managed and operated by ESB Networks. Only ESB Networks has access to data held on your smart meter and access to data held in the MDMS is restricted.
Each day, normally around midnight and via a secure 2G mobile network, your meter will send ESB Networks the total amount of electricity consumed and exported over the previous 24 hour period. If you have chosen a plan or tariff which requires your Supplier to be provided with your Day, Night and Peak electricity consumption data this will also be sent from the meter at midnight.
Your smart meter will activate itself approximately every two hours to check its integrity and connection to the mobile network, it will send details of any electricity exported onto the network and if it finds any problems with the meter it will create another encrypted text message and send details of those problems to ESB Networks.
We always get estimates. Foreign meter reader having to open a gate and walk down 200 yards of drive past two massive dogs might have something to do with it. Previous guy who did the job for years just opened gate drove down walked into the house past the dogs read the meter and left. Shows what a bit of confidence around big dogs is worth. Hardly had a reading since ESB networks sacked all their direct labour.
No luck emailing ESB networks. They want my MPRN before they will pass my query on to the smart metering department. I can't be bothered to do someone else's job for them so hopefully the installer will look on the comreg coverage maps before wasting a trip out here.
The SIM will work on any network like any of the IOT SIMS used in automation, gates, barriers etc. Surely you've enough 2g coverage to send a text which is what this does
When I said no coverage I meant NO COVERAGE. We are in the bottom of a valley and the nearest mast is about 4 miles away with nothing like LOS. To get any service you need to go 300 yards in one direction and nearly a mile in the other you still have no LOS but at least a phone will start to admit there is some service. If you go up vertically you can get a signal on the hill when you get about 50ft above the house.
The Continental Op wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 10:22 am
When I said no coverage I meant NO COVERAGE. We are in the bottom of a valley and the nearest mast is about 4 miles away with nothing like LOS. To get any service you need to go 300 yards in one direction and nearly a mile in the other you still have no LOS but at least a phone will start to admit there is some service. If you go up vertically you can get a signal on the hill when you get about 50ft above the house.
I'm surprised civilisation has reached there, never mind 2g.
If we cannot connect remotely to your smart meter you can still avail of the standard time-of-use tariff through your electricity supply company, this will require a meter reader to visit your premises as is the case currently. Time of use tariffs will enable you to shift your electricity consumption to times of the day when electricity is cheaper. In the meantime, we are working with our service provider to improve performance of the communications network.
Looks like the old meter has to go whatever happens.
So has anyone had one of these things fitted? Circnet are in the area fitting them and called me to arrange a time. They presented it as a done deal and didn't mention the fact it's optional. They seemed a little flustered when I mention this!
So my question here is: Does the new meter tech allow them remotely turn off your supply? Like if you're late with the bill, or they decide the local data centre needs the power more than you do?
I have a smart meter fitted, but not the same model referred to on the ESB Networks site. However, I'd say the basic workings of it are the same. My electricity provider most certainly can change the settings from the comfort of some remote location, although it's usually done on the basis of a calendar day rather than "at any given instant" so I doubt they'd be redirecting your juice to any data centre on the spur of the moment. As a rule, it's businesses that are expected to forego their usual supply in favour of domestic users, so I wouldn't be too worried about that question.
Would I go back to having an old-style whirly-disc meter? No fekkin way! I love never having to coordinate my activities with those of a meter reader, and appreciate not even having to fill in an online declaration or post a card. More than that, though, I particularly like being able to check in remotely when I'm working away to be sure that there's a trickle of power being used each day - that reassures me that the fridge and freezer are still on.
The "benefits" blurb on the ESB Networks site says that trial testers reduced their consumption by between 3 and 8%; I'd consider that rather pathetic - I'm currently running at about a 40% reduction on last year's usage through aggressive monitoring of my daily/weekly units (motivated in part by my energy supplier's generous offer of 120€ off my annual bill if I could reduce it by 20% over the winter). Having up-to-date day-by-day data makes it easy to stay motivated.
I got one. It is an XS211 by Siconia electric.
I very much doubt it has the facility for remote disconnection.
To disconnect consumers for non payment they do so at the pole because there is scope to get at cables near tge house so you could reconnect yourself if it were done at the meter. People are less likely to climb poles to reconnect themselves.
I haven't done much with it. The electric cooker and the kettle are the biggest consumers here. I can't really move those to a smart plan because I'd have to have the dinner in the wee hours.
Recent casual browsing of the other forum suggests there's a lot of confusion around the subject of smart meters and smart plans. The two are distinct, and you can have a smart meter without being signed up for a smart plan (but it sounds like you might need to insist on keeping whatever plan you're on at the time of the change).
Reading a bit more about what I've got here in France, it would appear that Miscellaneous Parties started circulating this mis-information about targetted power cuts via smart meters back in October. Probably the same characters that told us our brains would melt if we installed smart meters in the first place. As a result of which, there is no end of articles in the French internet pointing out that it cannot be done. Full stop. ...
... Well, semi-colon maybe. The situation here (and probably in Ireland) is that the meter belongs to the electricity network (along with the wires and the transformers and substations) and no-one can cut it off without going through them, and they won't cut it off without sending someone around to remove it because the meter itself cannot be "turned off" as it needs to be in constant communication with the network so as to provide the data for which it was installed, and to allow customers to pick and choose where they get their amps from. The energy supplier can only modify parameters that are relevant to the sale of units, e.g. setting the changeover time for a day/night plan or limiting the MIC.
One special case mentioned was a permission granted last autumn to the network to deactivate the signal sent from the meter to remotely piloted appliances during peak hours, but this applied to everyone, not individual consumers. It was done to prevent the automatic switching on of things like immersion heaters during peak times during the potential crisis period, and only applied to people whose houses were wired up that way.
so how is that going to work?
