So the tank is 210 litres on label, it’s attached to a timer/control unit, so I guess we have the option for all day or timed (but we know that all day only comes on and heats it when the sensor detects cold water temp drop…so it tops up temp as needed if on all day…I think…but there’s a lot of wires!) there’s also a wee white cylinder attached to it about which I’m clueless! There’s two adults and two preteens in the house, and soon there will be two guests in the appended cottage most nights via Air bnb (although there’s an electric shower in there) they will do dishes etc.

We have one electric shower and one regular in the main house, we don’t ALL shower twice daily, probably 2 showers run in morn and 2 showers at night, plus the usual two lots of dishes morn and eve, BUT we do run a minimum of two xl washings and two dryers daily, cold feed not hot, but it’s relevant for electric bill (this is due to my daughter’s incontinence).

And as I mentioned we’re on heating oil not gas so that’s in there too somehow when the boiler fires up, incoming photos of Doom Cupboard!

And this is why it’s worth putting up with the stone age technology coz we get to wake up to this in our garden every day! 

A very Happy Birthday to you!!

Yes indeed, as SMS say, they only fit the meter, which in effect means connecting the grid to the new meter, and then from the meter normally to an isolation switch which your own electrician can then connect to your consumer unit(s). If there is no isolation switch, SMS can fit one (there might be a relatively small cost to you, but it's very useful to have one). As said above, there's a slight additional task of factoring in the possibility of a dual tariff supply for domestic hot water. That would best be decided between you and OVO, SMS will be happy to install either single or dual I imagine, provided cabling and safety and other normal considerations allow.  
 

Ultimately it's a decision that you the householder are now in a position to take, rather than OVO, and not SMS, but you need clear advice on the options at this stage. You could ask OVO for guidance on likely tariffs given different scenarios, but in your shoes I would ask a friendly electrician to pop by with regard to the water heating side of things; they won't charge a fortune for their valued time and expertise (may not charge anything if you're very lucky, against the possibility of future commissions) to take a look and offer reasonably firm opinion including (rough) guidance on costs involved. Not tariff costs, electrician/householder type costs! 
 

Anyway, ‘nuff said for now, it's your birthday for goodness’ sake!  Be assured, though, that it looks like you're at the stage of at last having the situation resolve itself soon...a kind of birthday present!

Have a lovely evening...all the warmest and best from us on the forum…

EDIT Ooooh yes, what a fab location!

And there's a lot of brilliant info about your hot water setup, thank you for your trouble...

Oh, and of course silly me, I remember now, as an isolation switch you already have that wonderful Frankenstein lever, which will serve (already does serve?) admirably.

@Emmanuelle_OVO ir anyone, who/what department at Ovo would I talk to re the proposed installation by SMS of an economy 7 single smart meter with dual tariff, whilst removing my THTC, and what effect this would have in my current water heater system (since the proposed meter would I think heat the water tsnk only between 12am-7am) 

Would it be complex meter team? Tariff people? Technical people? I seem to be stuck in a loop of only hearing back from complaints team when what I need is technical advice and prices before I am able to book in SMS to visit us and install….something. Thanks

Hi to the unfailingly kind and tirelessly efficient @Emmanuelle_OVO! You know what they say: if you need something doing, ask a busy person! This might be a golden opportunity to check with @Shads_OVO or Chris whether they can reach out to a specific someone from an OVO team who can talk to @zedzedhoney re their metering, or more specifically re their water heating?  The original meter failing is not their fault, nor is it OVO’s, but it would be a shame if relations now between an existing customer and their supplier were soured over what cannot be an intractable problem?

Great that a SMETS meter is on the way, but in order for this customer to decide whether to ask SMS to fit a dual tariff (as a best means of providing DHW) or a single tariff SMETS they really need specific advice on tariff comparisons first and foremost, plus good technical competent advice on the specifics of their water heating requirements.  They’ve gone into fantastic detail, and obviously OVO cannot tell the customer what to do or what decision to make, but armed with the information posted here, some good OVO advice on the specific question of the water heating aspect would be great, preferably by one to one communication…I know it’s a big ask and one to one is not possible for each of the  millions of OVO consumers, but this customer has surely jumped through plenty of hoops through no fault of their own and has admirably got this far? It’s only the water heating decision that seems to be the sticking point now.

Fingers crossed!!

Several of the Forum Moderators are about to enter a meeting in the next 30 minutes. This thread is on the topic list for that session from what I’m told.

You are such a gent for summing this up so perfectly for me!

Ooh, I’m very grateful that my weird and wonky setup thread (one that is apparently not unique on the islands) may now be the poster child for others in this tricky situation! Thanks for all your help trying to decipher this conundrum and forge a wee path for the complex meter kids who follow…I’ll bet they don’t have a Frankenstein Life Giving Lever though!

Sadly not, but what they do have is a Blastoise at their disposal. Once any Forum Volunteer digs into a question like this one, we’re known for digging our heels in until we get answers that work.

I think the learnings from fixing your setup will help the rest of the island when the inevitable time comes to replace the other setups. The snail ferry alone is the least of the problems here...

Ok, just had an update for you.

Your case is still active and OVO is aware of it. There is definitely an intention to try and get this fault fixed and get you back on the road, but the exact solution is proving tricky to figure out. The ferry alone is one of the reasons for the delay.

A Forum Moderator will try to update you later today if they’re able to. Please hang in there for now.

Hi Zedzedhoney, 

It looks like we’ve had some really helpful advice from our community members here.

It’s a very complex scenario, I’ll ask Forum_Support to reach out and see if we can look into this further for you. Please keep an eye on your private messages.

And that’s our secret weapon. :)

Chris is new to the Forum Moderator team, so we’re showing him the ropes at the moment but he’s already proven to be a pretty powerful team member from what we’ve seen.

Likewise, Forum_Support is staffed by a crack team of agents who really know what they’re doing - Some Say that these agents are among the very best that OVO has to offer, and that it’s rumoured they’re our minions who hide behind the curtain. All we know is, they come into play if they’re needed.

However, because of how they operate and how deep they sometimes go, they may need more time to dig into the details and get back to you than other teams do. Please be patient with them as this will allow them to focus more easily and may lead to a faster response.