What is the BENEFIT to the customer in getting a smart meter?

Someone on here relocated the comms unit into their loft with the assistance of the meter engineer, the meter engineer had been at the property a few times and this was a final attempt to make connection, I'll see if I can find the post. Thinking again, it was the FL100 they extended into the loft.

Going back to the original post i made.

Unless the DD payment adjusted to the reading automatically sent then no benefit to the customer direct (ignore the carbon or green nonsense) I mean of a financial benefit to the customer?

For me personally, I wanted the GAS meter to be SMART due to its location for reading but to have that You have to have the electric meter SMART too so you get the COMS part attached.

The actual distance to the COMS unit is too far for the Gas smart meter to talk to it, and as we have established from this thread, the COMS can only be moved a small distance from the electric meter and would make no difference in getting any closer to the gas meter, in my instance.

The option of a relay from the Gas smart meter to the coms using STILL might not be enough if the Remote Viewer box is anything to go by (uses the same lo wifi?) it might JUST about catch the signal but could be intermittent.

If this is the case then I have NO use for smart meters… I STILL have to ARGUE with OVO to adjust my overpayment of direct debit amounts that get more greedy and random each year with some outrageous AI yearly prediction of use?! It never takes into account the weather/seasons and NEVER balances out (if i didn't argue to have the payments reduced) 

I DONT need it to sit in THEIR account when I can quite happily setup my own saving account!

 

As we’ve mentioned, tools like Flying Leads, Dual-Band Comms Hubs and Alt-HAN can make for almost unlimited range - especially with Alt-HAN.

This stuff uses ZigBee, not Wi-Fi. There’s a difference between them and that’s important.

I only said wifi as its on the same Ghz even though its low powered. 

I have read the article on https://www.ovoenergy.com/help/article/alt-han

I still think it might be too far away from the Gas meter (Im on the 1st floor in an old no cavity triple glazed flat while the gas meter is on the ground floor. the extender will need to be plugged into the nearest plug socket on MY floor which still my be too far for the small range of the GAS meter transmitter to get to the extender?

Alt-HAN uses a form of powerline networking between the host unit and the plug-in bridge. It has theoretically unlimited range between the two - the plug-in bridge goes in your property near the Gas Meter and/or IHD to broadcast the HAN so it reaches them both.

It’s explicitly designed for environments like yours - I’m 100% confident it would work.

As for the IHD? As long as it’s near either the Electric Meter OR the Alt-HAN Plug-In Bridge, it’ll get a connection and function as intended.

I collated everything i could find on the extender option together with the distance I have (laser meter measured but take into consideration the drop-off through the wall/window)

 

You’re right that an Alt HAN repeater still needs to “see” your gas meter over 2.4 GHz Zig‑Bee – it simply carries that Zig‑Bee traffic over your mains wiring so that the hub can talk to it. If your closest power socket is ~4.6 m from the meter, here’s what to bear in mind:

• Typical Zig‑Bee range
  Real‑world indoor Zig‑Bee (2.4 GHz) links through walls tend to max out at 6–8 m; each solid obstruction (brick, metal‑lined glazing, etc.) chops that back sharply Home Assistant Community. Outdoors with clear line‑of‑sight you might see tens of metres (even up to ~100 m in ideal conditions) Reolink—but your gas meter sits just outside behind triple‑glazed glass, which can knock the signal down heavily.

• Where to put the Alt HAN
  If you plug the repeater into that socket by the window, its Zig‑Bee radio will need to pierce your triple‑glazed pane and cover ~4.6 m of outdoor space to reach the gas module. In many cases that’ll just about succeed, but it’s borderline—especially if the glass has a metal coating or you get heavy RF interference.

• What to do if it fails

  1. Trial it anyway – ask OVO to install the Alt HAN in your window‑socket and test the meter’s “join” success.

  2. Install a fused spur/outlet nearer the meter – having a socket within ~2–3 m of the gas unit is the most reliable way to guarantee the repeater’s Zig‑Bee can link.

  3. Consider hub relocation or dual‑band hub – though the hub must stay within 1 m of the electric meter, DCC is rolling out 868 MHz “dual‑band” hubs that penetrate obstacles better; your supplier may offer an upgrade.

In short: yes, OVO’s Alt HAN is the approved range‑extender – but to work reliably you’ll either need to place it where its Zig‑Bee radio is within a few metres (ideally line‑of‑sight, or at most through only the glazing) of your gas meter, or get a power point installed closer to the meter so the repeater can be sited there.

So its a TRIAL option only and IF the engineer agrees to do it?

Powerlines work only up to the consumer unit within my flat. this is fine for the coms unit to see the bridge. I was concerned about the 5m from the bridge/socket to the gas meter?

Do you have the BRAND of the bridge? Landis+Gyr Alt HAN Bridges? I can not shorted the 5m - and that was myself opening the window to laser measure to the ground level where the meter is. the window is triple glazed (sash window with double glazed unit behind it - the walls are solid brick, no cavity half meter thick walls, slate render with lead around the sash. meter within a standard external plastic box

as you can see from my CRUDE markup image - the GAS box is below behind that bush on the wall and the nearest socket is up in the middle of the sah windows - 5m distance to bottom of window, then 500mm to the other side of window to socket - 

At the end of the day if it DOES work then i will be over the moon! I wont have to jump up on the wall and through the brambles to get to the box to get a reading in all weathers! lol

I tried to do another measurement from the electric meter (comms) - I got 4.2M (through a 400mm solid wall) to the nearest socket in between the sash windows - then its through the windows OR wall (500mm solid brick & slate) to a 5m drop to the gas meter below) - im hoping the more information I give plus visual someone on here who has fit them or have something similar a more definite answer it has a chance of working.

Thank you to ALL who have given me information as it has allowed me to ask the right question via google/chat etc, especially with regards the actual equipment used and its protocols.

I have also read that there are channels the repeater etc extra to home 2.4ghz wifi with is refreshing to know.

IF this works then I WILL be happy…. even more happy if OVO do decide to adjust DD payments to the EXACT bill each month too! then I can see a bonus with the smart meter.

With that short distance… It’s more likely an engineer would set up a Dual-Band Comms Hub. They carry both options these days though and have test tools to determine what’s most appropriate for each property.

As for the DD, regular reads will indeed help make them more accurate. However, OVO does not offer Variable Direct Debit - only Fixed Direct Debit. You’ll still only pay for what you actually use but the monthly payments will be spread across the year in equal instalments. If you desire paying precisely the bill amount each month, you’ll have to switch to Simpler Energy Pay On-Demand which means you lose any fix deals and the additional penalty is that it has higher rates than Simpler Energy DD.

With roughly 5 m and about 500 mm of solid slate/brick between my gas box and the indoor socket, a repeater simply can’t pick up the gas meter’s low‑power (+8 dBm) Zig‑Bee bursts. A range‑extender doesn’t amplify a weak link—it splits one long, broken path into two shorter hops, so it must sit within ~1–3 m (and minimal obstruction) of the meter to work reliably. Even an 868 MHz dual‑band hub won’t help if the bridge never “hears” the meter in the first place. Without mains power next to the gas box or moving the hub/bridge much closer, I won’t get a stable HAN link.

As for Direct Debit, I know OVO only offer a fixed‑installment DD. My suggestion was simply that if they were more flexible—offering a variable DD that adjusted each month based on actual smart‑meter readings—it would deliver genuine customer benefits (no over‑payments, better budgeting) and be a stronger incentive for people to switch to smart meters.