Smart meters

Good question, my supplier was having a big push to instal these in my area last year. I managed to avoid them, just in case there were any issues, but I'd be interested to hear any informed opinions too. 

Our meter was changed this summer to a smart meter (Landis+Gyr, the same brand as the Linky in France). My main concern at the time was that the analog-to-digital converter in the meter would contaminate the mains with RF noise, but I haven't noticed any degradation of sound quality on my system.

Jan

Eon are currently providing me information. Currently they have advised their smart meters only use radio spectrum and GSM technology to work.. which I still have an issue with unless the meter is moved. So far their response has been, they understand my concerns and that smart meters are optional. The U.K. Gov website confirms this.

Simon

The UK smart meter standard is known as SMETS2 and these will be rolled out increasingly going forward.  At the moment the energy companies are rolling out earlier meters and these vary from each other and from SMETS 2 in different ways.

Under SMETS 2, there are two radio networks involved: the wide area network and the local area network.  The wide area network is provided by Telefonica in the south and the middle part of the country and is largely based on the cellular network ie GPRS or perhaps 3G.  In the north part of the country, the wide area network is provided by Arqiva and uses a long range radio technology called Sensus, operating somewhere above 400 MHz.  The wide area network connects the Communications hub back to the smart meter network and is used to send billing data and other messages between the hub and the data centre.  The local area network is based on zigbee, operates at 2.4 GHz and has a UK only protocol sitting on top of the Zigbee called the GB Companion Specification.  This local network provides connectivity between the Communications hub, the gas meter and the in home display.  The electricity meter is hard-wired to the Communications hub.  There is a wireless read only interface called the Consumer Access Device.

As yet the problem of interconnecting things when the local area network can't reach isn't decided, for example if you live in a block of flats and your gas meter is in the basement but your IHD is in your lounge.

Anyway none of this currently anticipates any connection to either your broadband or to your home electricity supply except at the electricity meter/Communications hub.  So there shouldn't be any SQ related problems arising from the UK programme. 

Yes the UK programme is voluntary, but I'm not sure why you would opt out of it.

In due course there are likely to be all sorts of home energy management systems and they may well involve a connection to your broadband as well as a wireless read-only feed from your smart meter.  But that isn't likely to cause any SQ problems, just as most of us have computers, TVs and goodness knows what else connected to our home network at the moment. Anyway you can decide whether or not you want to fit such home energy management systems.  They are not part of the U.K. smart meter programme.

best

David

"Nectar points". That takes me back to when I lived in the UK and was asked with seemingly every purchase; "Do you have a Nectar card". I eventually found what a "Nectar" card was. The word itself continues to seem odd to me. Like "Oyster". Who comes up with this stuff?

Thanks for your replies. In particular Jan's, as EDF's meters are made by Landis & Gyr, or other firms, to the same specifications.