I had new smart meters fitted yesterday afternoon. Rather shocked to see my costs at over £5 for half a day by the time I went to bed!!! Most of it was Gas usage (>£3) and it wasn't even a cold day. According to my Nest thermostat, the boiler was only running approx 1.5 hours since the meter was fitted. How can 1.5 hrs heating equate to £3 usage ? Boiler (not combi) is rated 24 kW max and tariff shows 4p/kW (which is wrong - should be 2.68p). My basic maths suggests this should be 1.5 hrs * 24 kW * £ 0.04 = £ 1.44 + 27p standing charge. That assumes boiler runs at full tilt the whole time which is not correct as I hear it modulate down after a few minutes.
This doesn't seem right to me. Even if/when the tariff is corrected it seems too high.
How can I get the tariff set to the one I'm actually signed up to? How likely is it I've got a duff meter that is reading too high on gas?
Best answer by Tim_OVO
Updated on 09/09/2020:
No increase in costs due to a smart meter:
Having a smart meter installed won't directly increase your costs. There are no hidden effects on usage, and your tariff won't change. There are two things that will change after getting a smart meter, though.
Your bills will no longer be estimated:
If you hadn't provided regular reading previously then your bills may have been estimated and therefore not accurate. A smart meter will send us a reading when we need it to make sure your bill is spot on.
Your meter will be accurate:
The meter will clock accurately. Old meters (this does depend on how old your previous meter was) can slow down, or even speed up meaning they're not measuring your energy usage correctly. We'd only expect to see this with very old meters. A brand new meter, smart or otherwise, will clock what you're using accurately.
Plan prices may have changed over time:
Another thing to consider is if you've renewed onto a new plan recently. The unit rates and standing charges will likely have changed from your previous plan. You can check the prices per Kwh and daily standing charge in the ‘Plan’ tab of your online account
There’s another topic on smart meters and higher then expected readings here and here that might be worth checking out...