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How can I tell if my SMETS1 meter has been 'enrolled' and will communicate with other suppliers when I switch?

  • 16 December 2020
  • 15 replies
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Hi there, having been surfing this forum I can see that Ovo/Secure have started migrating Secure Liberty 100 meters to the SMETS2/DCC system, but that it will take up to October 2021 to be completed. All sounds really odd when it’s an OTA upgrade by all accounts - just pump it out??

Anyway, is there any way of finding out if my meters have been transferred to SMETS2/DCC, or is it luck of the draw when changing supplier and the new supplier either gets readings remotely or doesn’t?

I think it’s time I looked around as my deal is coming to an end but meter reading is a royal pain so want to try and maintain my remote readings functionality but not be stuck with the list of suppliers that can read an OVO-installed SMETS1 Liberty 100. Wasn’t this meant to improve customer experience?

Many thanks

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Best answer by Tim_OVO 16 December 2020, 12:56

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Good morning @stevem999 ,

Thanks for asking this question! It is a bit more complicated than simply having the meters download and install the new SMETS2 firmware, since there’s a lot of other steps that have to take place in order to completely upgrade them. I won’t go into too many details, but to give you a rough idea of some of the steps involved:

  • SMETS2 firmware is downloaded and installed
  • The meter(s) are adopted into the National Smart Meter Network/Data Communications Company
  • A series of tests and validation checks are done in the background
  • Control is handed over to the relevant supplier
  • Supplier connects to the meter
  • Smart features (re)activate

I’m afraid I can’t think of any kind of self-service ways of checking whether your meters are currently on SMETS1 or SMETS2 firmware, or what the current status of any migration is. I can certainly identify what a particular meter would have been when it was first installed though.

Even if you do switch supplier and your SMETS1 meter “goes dumb”, it can still be revived later on via the same process as before. I can personally vouch for this, as my Aclara SGM1311 is doing this exact process right now after I switched from SSE to OVO back in October.

You can still switch to any supplier of your choosing though, but you may just have to do manual readings for a while.

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Updated on 16/06/23 by Emmanuelle_OVO

 

If you want to find out more about the national upgrade from SMETS1 meters to SMETS2 please check out this handy FAQ: 

 

 

 

Great question to ask if you’re planning a switch away from OVO with a Secure SMETS1 meter installed. These were installed (and are instantly compatible) with the following suppliers:

Utilita Energy Limited
Co-operative Energy Ltd
First Utility Ltd
Electricity Plus Supply Ltd t/a The Utility Warehouse
E (Gas & Electricity)
Spark Energy Supply Limited
Eversmart Energy Ltd
EON Energy
Robin Hood Energy Limited
Ecotricity
Bristol Energy
Our Power Energy Supply Ltd
Octopus Energy

OVO Energy

If you’re joining another supplier you may notice that you’ll need to start supplying your readings manually again - Hopefully this won’t be for long, all Secure meters are due to be enroled so they communicate with all suppliers, much like SMETS 2 meters, by March 2022 -  You can find out more about this process  here and check whether your meter has been enrolled using this online tool.

 

On an individual meter basis we’d send you an email to let you know when your meter is being enrolled, but if you’d like to double-check, our Support Team would also be able to confirm this for you.

 

OVO member but not got a smart meter yet? - Book today!

 

Interested but not yet an OVO member? - Check out our plans!

 

 

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Will I be notified of my SMETS1 meter upgrade to SMETS2?

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Hi @Nipersmum ,

It depends on your circumstances. OVO will likely notify you if you’ve switched to OVO since having that meter installed. You’ll probably get an email before the process starts and another one afterwards.

The meter will still ultimately be SMETS1 though. The firmware updates merely enable it to migrate to DCC and operate like a SMETS2 meter. The only way to fully upgrade to S2 would be by ripping out the hardware and physically replacing absolutely everything.

Once your meters are fully connected, you'll see your smart meter data in both on your online account under “your meters”, and on your In-Home Display . If they aren't there yet, it means we're still busy connecting. If it's been longer than 14 days, get in touch.

Out of interest, has anyone here yet been migrated over to DCC yet with Secure Liberty Smart Meters?

My old Pipit500 IHD has died after 7 years use and i’m told they are OOS and unlikely to come back in in stock, obviously i cant get a replacement SMETS2 IHD until its been upgraded, however every timeline thus far has slipped for migration. I ideally want to get an Glow IHD and CAD with MQTT turned on, but again cant actually monitor live usage at all until the DCC migration is completed.

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Heya @Nathan Booth !

Quite a lot of them have been migrated actually, but for a Secure Liberty 100, you’ll actually need the SMETS1 variant of the Hildebrand Glow IHD. You’re better off getting their IHD rather than their CAD as it’ll have the MQTT and CAD features as well as being a display.

At the moment, they don’t have any stock of the SMETS1 variant ready to sell juuuuust yet. However, Hildebrand have confirmed to me via email that they’re almost ready to start selling more of them - they’re just waiting to get the units certified for S1 meters. However, you may be able to start getting the S1 Glow working even before your meter migrates to DCC as Hildebrand can connect to almost any Secure Liberty meter regardless of migration.

Please don’t buy the S2 variant as it won’t work with your meters.

Oh, and I’m afraid the S1 Glow Stick is no longer going to be sold once the final remaining stocks sell out. Feel free to grab one anyway while you still can though if you still want one. The S2 version is coming soon but will only work with SMETS2 meters. The S2 version will NOT work with S1 meters that are migrated to DCC.

As for the Pipit 500? Unfortunately you could never buy one anyway. That IHD always had to come from your supplier and no-one has any left anymore. Sorry!

Thanks @Blastoise186  i’ll keep an eye out for the SMETS1 version coming in stock then and see if i can get it working.

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No worries. :)

I’m currently in regular contact with Hildebrand right now for unrelated reasons, but they’ve also got the option for you to join their waiting list here. If you set the reason for contact to S1 Display Waiting List and chuck in a short message, they’ll notify you when stock is available again.

Just to follow this up, i have now been migrated to DCC without any notification from Ovo, not sure if it was a coincidence however upon contacting Hildebrand they in turn spoke to Secure and i was migrated to DCC, i have a Hildebrand SMETS1 IHD working perfectly and get great real time stats now. However my daily usage statistics within the Ovo App and web portal show no data, i can only see monthly and yearly. I suspect that there is a disconnect in the source data on the Ovo side somehow.

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Just to follow this up, i have now been migrated to DCC without any notification from Ovo, not sure if it was a coincidence however upon contacting Hildebrand they in turn spoke to Secure and i was migrated to DCC, i have a Hildebrand SMETS1 IHD working perfectly and get great real time stats now. However my daily usage statistics within the Ovo App and web portal show no data, i can only see monthly and yearly. I suspect that there is a disconnect in the source data on the Ovo side somehow.

Hi @Nathan Booth

 

So do you see the 30min readings in the Bright (Hildebrand) app? But not in the OVO app or Website?

 

@Jeffus correct, i see live stats and 30 mins history for Gas and Electric in the Bright, in Ovo i see as follows

 

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@Nathan Booth

I assume it is the same issue with this page?

https://account.ovoenergy.com/usage?datePeriod=daily&unit=kwh

 

 

I wonder if Loop sees the readings? 

https://loop.homes/

 

 

 

 

@Jeffus yea, same on that page

Loop does indeed see them, there was a prompt on the Greenlight page “If you have a smart meter, it needs to be sending half-hourly readings so you can see where your home is using the most energy. Switch to half-hourly now, if you’ve not already done so.” I’ve requested half-hour switch and will see if this kicks it into life.

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@Jeffusyea, same on that page

Loop does indeed see them, there was a prompt on the Greenlight page “If you have a smart meter, it needs to be sending half-hourly readings so you can see where your home is using the most energy. Switch to half-hourly now, if you’ve not already done so.” I’ve requested half-hour switch and will see if this kicks it into life.

@Nathan Booth good plan.

I wonder if there is a flag in the OVO system to tell it too look for the 30min readings. 

Be interesting to hear how you get on in case we see other users with a similar issue. 

Also am not sure if OVO go back and fill in old readings like Bright and Loop. 

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