Can I install a smart meter aerial myself? I'm having smart meter communication issues but need this for my Solar PV installation

Thank you. I don’t want to move away from OVO as I have been happy with the costs and service other than the smart meter issues. I have opened a complaints ticket but not heard back from anyone yet. I am starting to realise that despite the home technologies being available to move to a smarter and greener energy way of life, the national infrastructure is not yet there to support itself. How many more people would ditch their oil or gas boiler in preference to an ASHP or GSHP if their investment in a greener way of life could be guaranteed to be supported by the outside world. I currently use about 40Kwh per day without the ASHP. I need to look at off grid capabilities to nullify the reliance on an outdated infrastructure! 

P.S. thanks for all your help it is much appreciated. 

You and I think similarly @Sean T 

The technology is not yet adequate to provide consumers with the tools to live in a smarter and greener way.

The ‘visionary’ who started the UK heading in the right direction was the Secretary of State for Energy in the coalition government, Sir Ed Davey. It was he who headed up that Department when the Smart Meter legislation was put before Parliament (2013) and the country’s strategy was changed to be Demand Side Response.

Yes, we now have the Smart Meters but almost all the available functionality is that which the Energy Suppliers find useful. The smart monitoring and control parts of the design, which customers need, are sitting there unused.

You’re absolutely right to be considering off-grid capability for at least part of your domestic energy portfolio. @Tim_OVO and @Jess_OVO will be noting this because it is becoming an increasingly prevalent comment here on the Forum.

I hope you’ll take the opportunity to read through the discussion I mentioned above in which Dave Shorto and I are gradually exploring the way in which he can achieve this. That Topic is very ‘live’ and being modified as I introduce further concepts.

Let us know progress on your Complaint. OVO have 5 days in which to deliver their response.

That’s very helpful thank you. Until now the energy companies have had the consumer over a barrel in that we need a supply of energy in one respect or another and their only concerns are their competitors - provide a value for money service and you are sure to get the customers provided your competitors do not provide better value for money. With the advent of storage batteries, solar pv, wind turbines and possibly small scale hydroelectric the consumer (i.e. me) is now thinking that we may not need to bend over that barrel quite so often. If it means I have to spend £40k+ but I am no longer at the mercy of the fluctuating costs of energy with the additional benefit of being zero net carbon, I’m in. I would rather work in harmony with an energy provider to keep my costs as low as possible, and I understand they must make a profit but I use around 14,600 kWh/year and 3,000 liters of oil. Once the ASHP is installed my electricity consumption is likely to be 20+ MWh/year so the benefit of producing my own green energy (with zero net carbon) becomes very attractive and the energy companies need to recognise that and encourage a symbiotic relationship with consumers. All industries change with time (I’m a Vet and the Veterinary Industry has changed massively in the past 15 years with most Veterinary Practices now being owned by corporate companies) and the energy industry will be no different. Octopus, and Tesla, have had some innovative ideas that financially make sense to the consumer but have not or cannot implement them. Once these come to fruition most energy companies will be forced to follow suit. Time to get ahead of the curve! 

Just wanted to step in here to clarify this one, @Sean T - As you’ve mentioned the possibility of switching suppliers with non-communicating smart meters, it’s worth pointing out that your meter details should be updated within 6 weeks of the installation date, regardless of whether we’ve been able to communicate with the meters. The main factor to consider when switching in this case would be that the opening meter readings would still need to be provided manually to the new supplier as they’ll be unable to receive these automatically.

Sorry to hear that you’re still waiting on a response to your complaint, @Sean T - if this was raised more than 5 working days ago it would be worth getting in touch with the Support Team (or the dedicated complaints agent if your complaint has been escalated) to query the latest on this one. If we’re not able to resolve things internally within 8 weeks, you’re then able to take this to the Energy Ombudsman for independent review - hoping this helps get things resolved.

Great point here, @Transparent (Tim’s away so I’ll be manning the ship solo this week!) - There’s certainly been some deviation from the original topic title in some comments which I’ll move over to a dedicated thread now:

 

As the new topic is now ‘live’ I’m just re-raising the profile of the SKU2 Smart Meter without an aerial.

Any response from OVO regarding the complaint yet @Sean T ?

Can I suggest you try to upload the raw meter-readings to your online portal at shorter intervals than 1-month. This will provide the Billing System with more data on which to plot your consumption trend during winter. That will avoid the software making incorrect assumptions and requiring the DD to be increased.

The usage-record is also useful if/when you switch Energy Suppliers. More frequent data gives greater confidence in the seasonal usage curves.