Smart meters

When we have high demand in our house (like switching on a shower), the lights go dimmer. Recently our car charger has frequently stopped working saying there is a supply problem. I’ve just discovered that we can see the voltage on our smart meter, and it goes down as low as 190V.  The highest reading I’ve seen, with virtually nothing on, was 220V. We are in a very rural area. We have storage heating and when the meter was installed we were told it was a 3 phase supply. Does anyone know what’s going on? 

Hi, as the title suggests.I just moved to this one bed flat by myself.I actually lived in this flat for a total of 7 days in December, before leaving abroad for work and came back today (3 weeks later). I was checking the usage via the app and for the first few days after I left it was normal and as expected by an unoccupied flat. But then usage started going crazy, to the point that some days usage was more than when I was actually in the flat.Before leaving the flat I checked and everything was unplugged. Also the electric heating was off.The flat is supposed to be EPC C if that makes any difference.Any ideas what might have happened?thanks.

So on the 9th May 6am nothing changed to our daily lives but my electricity usage increased by 12 times. It went from a constant 0.03kwh to 0.4kwh, nothing has changed and we are now spending a huge amount on electricity for no change of actual usage. Please can someone help asap as this is rinsing my money each day!

Hi,I have just moved into a newbuild apartment where the utilities have been handed over from the developer. The current meter reading is 03552 (shown by the photo), slightly above the confirmed reading I received off the developer on completion.I registered with OVO Energy this week and found out from them that my meter is apparently a smart meter. However, upon checking the readings it has sent to OVO (photo also attached)  they appear to be completely different and far lower than the reading I see on the meter.Is it possible this is fine and it sends different readings from the display I see when reporting as a smart meter, or is there something potentially wrong with my electric meter/out of sync and I need to call ASAP.

The title pretty much says it all. I looked up the website on the Pipit documentation - www.securetogether.com - and they don't seem to exist any more. Do OVO have spare Pipits?

Looks like I have issues with my smart meter, it’s not sending data to Ovo.I have a smart meter health check booked for the end of the week,but in the meantime, what are the consequences.re: charging at home & receiving charge anytime credits & a little help with your heating credits ?Especially as my Ovo Charge app has missing data. Tom…

Here is an extract from the table showing my gas usage yesterday evening. As you can see, two values are recorded: 8.30pm and 9pm. If usage is recorded at 8.30pm, does this show what has been used between 8pm and 8.30pm or what has been used between 8.30pm and 9pm?

Hello, So my plans when installing a 8kw solis hybrid inverter and 16kwh lifepo4 battery were not for export, just a protection for blackouts (the house now runs on UPS). It is also a first step to lower electricity expenses, as they will only grow when we get an ASHP. Eventually we may add some PV.  Our battery install is ready.  🙂Since our DNO uk power networks stated they would approve us to do 5kw export, taking the next step while it was all fresh seemed simpler.  I now have an export MPAN, actually with 8kw approved. Our smart meter is export-ready. But we do not have MCS nor flexorb (as I had no plan to export now, I saved the expense).  Is there an advantage to get MCS paperwork vs short-circuiting and setting up export to an utility operator that does not require it? Or is there anything to gain with MCS?  😉 

I’ve recently received an email stating that my analogue Electricity Meter is out of its Certification Period and needs replacing. I suspect that replacing like for like will not be an option so I may have to have a Smart Meter.I don’t (and won’t) use WiFi. I’m sometimes told mockingly that I am a member of the “Tin Hat Club” – well each to their own.Instead I use AV2 MIMO Homeplugs (made by Solwise/AZTech) to route Ethernet traffic around my flat. Some people disparage this as “legacy” technology but my experience with it over many years has been excellent. It is extremely reliable and the actual achieved transfer rates are good – 350Mbits/second between two PCs some way apart in different rooms (measured using iperf3).I’ve seen several reports that Smart Electricity Meters introduce noise onto the mains which can disrupt AV2 Homeplug working. There’s a post on this forum :-

By the end of 2033, 2G and 3G mobile networks are due to be switched off by telecommunications providers. As a result, smart meters that communicate via 2G and 3G mobile technology will require the installation of a new 4G compatible communications hub to allow them to continue to operate in smart mode. In most cases, smart meter consumers with these communications hubs will need to agree to a visit from an installer and be present at home at the time of installation. Therefore, consumer engagement will be an important part of ensuring the success of the exchange programme. 

Have just noticed that my online account is not updating with readings from my smart meter (since 08/12). This is despite my meter showing the usual flashing green lights and the display on my desk continuing to show the usual usage readingsI completed the online form to report the issue,which came up with the correct serial number but said “Your smart meters are talking to us” and didnt give any other options aside from Contact Us. I tried calling, but in the runup to Christmas I dont have time to sit on hold for 30+ mins at a timeI know you can submit manual meter readings, but I really dont see that as a solution, more of a sticking plaster. Its a bad time for this time to happen as Ive just had to start using my awful night storage heatersAny ideas? Ive had a search on the forums but cannot really see a definitive answer 

Has anyone else had issues where their new smart meters have been installed but not communicating at all, nothing being shown on display? In contact with OVO (4days ago) they confirmed it was a meter issue and would be in contact, still waiting for the call, and means another day staying in for the engineer, get a grip OVO.

I live in a 3 bed semi and have for the last 15 years. Recently switched to ovo and then had the smart meters installed .My usage has crept up over the years like everyone's. Now on OVO with smart meters and nothing has changed in my home  my monthly usage/direct debit has gone to £246 a month that's a second mortgage any ideas why my bills have double since i switched to ovo?

Booked a smart meter installation several months ago and an engineer turned up for the appointment. After an initial survey he advised that smart meters could not be fitted in my house because the existing meters were not separated. He then advised that a kit was available to sort this problem but to date I’ve had no follow up. can anyone advise?. Clive

I have a Scottish Power IDH with is now 11 years old. Yesterday it stopped working and when it is switched back on it shows the electrical reading and gas reading and then switches itself off.I have an account with OVO for my energy how do I get a replacement IHD and have it programmed to my existing smart meters?Thanks in advance.

Hello everyone, not an OVO customer but seems a good forum for advice…Yesterday had my old multi rate electricity meter swapped out for a Landis e470 smart meter. Last night my economy 7 didn't activate to heat up my storage heaters or hot water. I live in a flat and the meter is in the meter room so don't have the smart meter display. With my old meter economy 7 activated at 00:30 until 07:30. Also turned on and off with a clunk from the consumer unit. I did verify with the engineer who installed the meter if economy 7 would work the same as before and he said yes. Is this likely going to be because the meter is new and still needs commissioning? EDF customer support isn't open weekends so just after some advice until I can contact them. Thanks in advance.Old and new meter photos attached 

10 weeks ago we had a smart meter installed to replace our anytime and economy7 meters.The engineer who did the install said we’d still have economy7. When we booked the smart meter install we said we wanted economy7 as that’s how we get our heating.I contacted support to see when the economy7 readings would start to show and was informed we’d been put on a single rate. Only we’re still on anytime and economy7 according to the website.The OVO support said they couldn’t make the meter dual rate which was rather disappointing to say the least.The meter is an Aclara.I’m waiting for the back-end processing to finish and then I’ll make a choice.What are our options?Is the Aclara capable of dual rate?Could we approach aother supplier to get our reduced-rate heating again?Can OVO remotely get us to dual-rate once they get their act together?Would we need another, different meter? So many questions, so few answer

pros and cons of having a smart meter please?

I use the online Portal to monitor my usage and costs each day for both electricity and gas. While there is, often a slight difference between the Day Tab Total and the Month Tab Total, it is not, usually as large as it was for my usage yesterday (23rd November 2025). I wonder if anyone can suggest a possible reason for this disparity? 

  Hi all, we had a smart meter fitted 2 weeks ago, and this is the time of month we previously had to submit readings. Do we need to this month, as we've only had it 2 weeks? (We've had a reminder to submit them). Thanks  

I finally got my smart meter on 11th July this year - PAYG for THTC - and all seems well.Until I got an email from OVO saying they have to upgrade this meter before 31st Dec for it to keep working. Unfortunately, your current smart meter model is now being removed from the wider smart network on 31 December 2025. For your meter to keep its smart features, we need to upgrade it before then. Is this normal? Why would they install a meter with less than 6 months working life left? Do they mean a software upgrade or is it a whole new meter? It is an engineer visit, that I do know, but trying to book anything online when you have a PAYG meter is an exercise in frustration

I’ve heard that energy suppliers can remotely control smart meters in order to even cut off the energy supply to a certain property. It made me wonder if they can remotely override the meter reading by adding extra units on top of the actual usage regularly. If they have remote control access to it, when/if a customer complains regarding an abnormal increase, they can even remotely adjust it so that the meter would not be seen as faulty during any inspection. Is there a guarantee or a way to validate that this would never happen to smart meter users? 

My Smart Meters (Electricity+Gas) were installed 1 week ago along with an In Home Display (IHD). The IHD on day 2 lost connection and I have not been able to get it back since. I have gone online and confirmed that no readings are being sent so at present there is nothing smart about it, unfortunately. The Smart meters do not come with any instructions neither does the IHD (in-built tutorial is basic only). Pressing 9 on the Electricity meter turns the digital display on (they have power saving displays) and presents the data you would expect to see on the IHD e.g. used today, used last week etc. There are no issues with my Wi-Fi. I have gone on-line to reset my browser and that doesn't work. I have used WPS and manual key entry to connect the IHD to my Wi-Fi and although it recognizes my ISP (~Sky) it is still not working. Currently, I'm unsure if it is not connected to the Wi-Fi or if it cannot connect to the meters themselves (instructions would help). IHD is within 20 metres of