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All about smart meter installations, compatibility, plus how to get the most out of your smart meter and In-Home Display

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553 Topic threads
Tim_OVO
Community Manager
Tim_OVOCommunity Manager
Posted in Smart meters
Getting a SMETS2 smart meter with storage heaters, underfloor heating or other 5th port appliancesTutorial

Updated on 16/07/24 by Emmanuelle_OVO: SMETS2 Five port smart meters - Your Guide You’re now able to book five terminal/port SMETS2 meter installations via your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS), subject to availability.  What’s a five port meter? A five port meter is an electricity meter with an extra terminal which is usually wired up to alternative heating solutions such as underfloor heating or storage heaters. You can check whether your meter is four or five port by checking the number of wires connected to the bottom of your meter.  How does the SMETS2 five port meter work? Five terminal meters are most often used for members on an Economy 7 plan. The fifth terminal is automatically powered on during the off-peak hours of your tariff. Technical info here, but for those interested, unlike SMETS1 the time-switch controlling the fifth port isn’t decided by the tariff loaded on to the meter and is instead set-up at the point of manufacture. This means the fifth 

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Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
1 year ago
L
New Member**
lad12New Member**
Posted in Smart meters
Smart Meter connection needs an aerial

Live in Aberdeenshire and can not get smart meter to connect tried several times. If I put a CTi whip multiband antenna in would this work and where best to install in attic or on roof. I get no help from OVO when phone to ask this as you just get to speak to customer service and if it’s not on their script …..

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Abby_OVO
Community Manager
1 year ago
S
Carbon Cutter*
strategic_gooseCarbon Cutter*
Posted in Smart meters
Getting a gas smart meter installed- Is access needed to the electric meter/cellular hub?

A relative has had a smart electricity meter installed at their property. They’re now looking to get the gas one changed too. They’re wondering if access to the electricity meter (likely the cellular hub) is needed when a smart gas meter is installed?The electricity meter is inside, under the stairs, while the gas meter is about 3m away, mounted on an external wall outside. As the electricity meter is under the stairs, and they use that space for storage (nothing flammable or likely to catch fire if anything were to happen!), it is an absolute faff to empty that area.If access is needed to scan the barcodes on the cellular hub, such as the CHF or GPF ID, will a picture of the meter suffice? There is a little viewing window in the wooden panelling so the meter can be seen and numbers verified, but impossible the barcode be read by a scanner at that distance.  They’re not with OVO (I am, however) so thought I’d ask here. Their gas is with British Gas, and electric is with EDF (they’re no

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Emmanuelle_OVO
Community Manager
1 year ago
S
Carbon Cutter*
SarJayCarbon Cutter*
Posted in Smart meters
Smart meter installed today but no info coming through on the display

Hi so I finally got a smart meter installed this morning, but the info isn't coming through on my display? The engineer said it takes about 10 minutes for it to update but its been a few hours now, my display is in my hallway right by my front door so I've left the door open for a bit to try and get signal but with no luck, I've left multiple doors open for a few minutes to see if anything happens but nothing is coming throughI've tried contacting ovo and using the help bot but I'm not getting anywhere and according to my account on the app I haven't got a smart meter installed so I'm not sure how long that takes to update either

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K
Carbon Cutter****
1 year ago
H
Carbon Cutter*****
HexhamUser
Posted in Smart meters
Will a 3 phase smart meter work for my 2-phase supply and dual-rates?

My house has a 2-phase supply, with dual-rates (night and day). I’m guessing that no-one will make a Smart Meter for 2-phase supplies. Does anyone know if a 3-phase Smart Meter (when available) will be able to be fitted (and hence cope with one phase never being used)? 

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H
Carbon Cutter*****
1 year ago
A
Carbon Cutter*
AnitawaCarbon Cutter*
Posted in Smart meters
When you get a new smart meter fitted and in home display- Do you get a manual?

I have just had a new meter fitted and an in home smart meter but no manuals were supplied.Should manuals be supplied  

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Jeffus
Plan Zero Hero
1 year ago
C
Carbon Cutter***
ChrisGCarbon Cutter***
Posted in Smart meters
My electricity meter reading has not changed from a month ago.

We have unresolved smart meter issues (another story).  Recently we have been reporting gas and electricity meter readings to OVO by telephone.  Today (1st September) I checked the electricity meter (an EDMI ES-10A) to find that the reading was unchanged from the one I reported on the 31st July  and instead of “IMPRT” above the number on the meter screen there was just a capital A.   I don’t know what is going on, could someone please enlighten me? 

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Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
1 year ago
A
Carbon Cutter*
Alex42Carbon Cutter*
Posted in Smart meters
I've had my storage heaters removed, can I switch the economy 7 contactor on permanently via Secure Liberty 100 smart meter?

My daughter in law has had her storage heaters removed and replaced with gas central heating. The economy 7 tariff has been disabled by her supplier, is it possible to have the supply switched on permanently to the storage heater dis board so that some of these circuits can be used.The dis board is fed from a Secure Liberty 100 smart meter via a Proteus 100A Heating contactor.

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A
Carbon Cutter*
1 year ago
D
Carbon Cutter****
David KennedyCarbon Cutter****
Posted in Smart meters
Replacing my existing storage heaters with new and hopefully more efficient ones!

Last year OVO replaced my two meters with a new single meter - Aclara SGM1415-B - and, so far so good, everything seems to work fine.I would like to replace my existing storage heaters with new and hopefully more efficient ones - the old ones are over 30 years old so there must have been some improvement since then, also they’re getting very tatty and I’m getting earache about their appearance…Anyway, I’ve been looking at the Dimplex Quantum HHR range but noticed that they need a 24 hour supply.My present setup is two fuse boards, one for the economy 7 and a second one for everything else.Am I going to need to get these rewired or even replaced? thanks guys

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Firedog
Plan Zero Hero
1 year ago
C
Carbon Cutter****
Cole_PffeiferCarbon Cutter****
Posted in Smart meters
In-Home Display not showing my gas usage?

So my electric is with OVO who recently just upgraded my smart meter to a SMETS2 meter with a IHD 3. My gas is with British Gas who installed a SMET2 smart gas meter.  I was told by both engineers who installed these meters that I'll be able to see live usage on my in home display with both of these meters. However, my gas usage is not showing up on my in-home display and it's been 3 days since installation.  I spoke to someone from OVO who was determined that two different suppliers can't be showing on one in home display.  I spoke to British gas and they're telling me to wait and the usage will show up on my IHD 3.  Apparently my gas smart meter is communicating with my electric meter because the gas light on the SMETS2 meter flashes and flashes every 5 secs.  Why will my gas usage not show up on my IHD and isit even possible to do so?  Thanks 

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C
Carbon Cutter****
1 year ago
T
Carbon Cutter****
TonyB-DorsetCarbon Cutter****
Posted in Smart meters
Pylon Icon on Smart Meter?

I’ve been waiting 5 months to get my solar panels ownership transferred.I noticed on Friday (for the first time) a pylon icon, which I understand means we are net contributing to the grid (i.e. generating more than we’re using). My question is does this mean the ownership process has now been completed, or is it that I’ve just never noticed this before?

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T
Carbon Cutter****
1 year ago
A
New Member*
AzanNew Member*
Posted in Smart meters
Storage heaters with smart meter have no power - what do I need to do?

HI, Recently moved into a flat with storage heaters which are not turning at all. Regardless of what time of day they do not turn on at all. They have switches on its side to turn it on with a light indicating whether its on.  From my limited knowledge they meant to operate during off peak electricity but this still hasn't worked.  They only work if I manually go onto my meter and start a boost and this then turns it on. I've contacted my supplier who said the meter setup seems to be correct so cannot do anything else.  Any help would be appreciated! I've attached the heaters and themeter setup

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Firedog
Plan Zero Hero
1 year ago
C
Carbon Cutter****
ChrisMacCarbon Cutter****
Posted in Smart meters
Electric smart meter not sending readings but gas is?

Hi, Any idea why my gas meter sends smart reading but electric doesn’t?  

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Emmanuelle_OVO
Community Manager
1 year ago
D
Carbon Cutter****
Dorota ParkerCarbon Cutter****
Posted in Smart meters
The smart meter shows electricity consumption that was not there. Why?

To install the smart meter, I had normal power consumption. After installing this, the counter suddenly increased. I wasn't able to determine how much electricity consumption had increased. But from April 15 to September 25, 2023, I was not in the apartment. I turned off everything. even the electricity consumption indicator which supposedly consumes 1kWh of electricity per year. I also turned off all the sockets. I also unplugged the refrigerator and washing machine. Unfortunately, after receiving the bills, I saw in black and white that I used over 111 kWh per month when I was not at home. Nobody has a key to my apartment. How is it possible?

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juliamc
Carbon Catcher***
1 year ago
A
Carbon Cutter*
AndySockyCarbon Cutter*
Posted in Smart meters
Am I stuck with storage heaters & Economy 7?

My mum has storage heaters that come on at night on economy 7. She wants to change them to standard heaters to be used during the day. The storage heaters spurs are fed from their own DB which is supplied from a Aclara SGM1415-B meter from the second contractor , no.5, which is powered up at night for economy 7. She was given wrong advice from OVO in that if she changed to a standard tariff this would enable the supply to be on all the time. She has now been told this was wrong and she needs to get all the supply to the spurs feed from the other DB, non E7. Can’t the smart meter just be configured to bring the supply on all day from the old E7 supply now as it is on a standard tariff. Surely they are called smart meters for a reason. Or do I need to go to Distribution Network Supplier for advice? Any advice given will be much appreciated. 

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juliamc
Carbon Catcher***
1 year ago
R
Carbon Cutter****
RaymondoCarbon Cutter****
Posted in Smart meters
Smets 2 fitted in a cellar not communicating

I am new to OVO having been migrated from my previous supplier. I have found the OVO forum useful already, but does not solve my problem. My meter did have a T2 antenna fitted and was lighting up all the indicators except HAN. (We have no gas)Which I have discovered on this forum means that the meter was not commissioned. Subsequently a technician  changed it back to one without an external antenna. Which of course does not work and SW lights up and the WAN lights every one second. Any ideas. 

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Jeffus
Plan Zero Hero
1 year ago
G
Carbon Cutter*****
grumpy235Carbon Cutter*****
Posted in Smart meters
Smart Meter install woes- Not on the DCC?

Switched to an E7 Smart meter in mid-August (electric only, no gas), readings started being recorded almost immediately, no upto 6 week wait for me I thought however billing ignored them!I assumed this was  because final readings from the previous meter had not been posted for some reason.Eventually after a few contacts with Customer Support and raising a complaint, I got this fixed in mid-October (8+ weeks after install) in under 2 hours when the right person got on the case, so I was happy.Relaxed too soon as within a few days my meter went dark - all the correct lights were on, blinking at the correct rate and the home monitor was working fine but readings were not reaching the OVO billing systems.Found the link on the Forum to the OVO web page to report this issue, filled in the details and got a response that I would be contacted in upto 45 days !Meanwhile started giving manual readings so as not to get any crazy estimates on usage.Did some more digging on the forum and found the

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Emmanuelle_OVO
Community Manager
1 year ago
Tim_OVO
Community Manager
Tim_OVOCommunity Manager
Posted in Smart meters
OVO SMETS1 Pipit In Home Display (IHD) GuideTutorial

Updated on 16/07/24 by Emmanuelle_OVO: Your guide to the SMETS1 Pipit In Home Display (IHD) How to tell if you’ve got a Pipit IHDIt’s important to understand what type of IHD you’ve got before trying to troubleshoot any issues.If you’ve got a Secure Liberty SMETS1 meter installed by OVO you may have been issued the Pipit IHD (for earlier installs) or a Chameleon IHD (for more recent upgrades). You can identify the Pipit IHD as it’s a black and white device with 'SECURE' written underneath the screen.  Missing usage data for one or both of your supplies First, thing to check is that your device is correctly paired to your smart meters via the Home Area Network (HAN). You can do this by checking the symbol in the top-right hand corner of the screen: If your device is showing the second symbol (crossed-out Wifi symbol) you may just need to move the IHD closer to your electricity meter to allow it to re-coonect.For devices showing either of the bottom two options, we’d recommend contacting

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Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
1 year ago
R
New Member***
rlchewNew Member***
Posted in Smart meters
Smart meter installation .... still no Economy 7 overnight heating of hot water and storage heaters!

Long story …. short(ish) version >>> My Economy 7 electricity meter completely failed on 16th October and since then I have had no midnight switch to heat my hot water cylinder and storage heaters. Not great when you are 65 years old and been extremely unwell with flu during this period. Ovo Energy initially offered a smart meter replacement on 17th November. Totally unacceptable given that I have no hot water or heating. After repeated pressure, they finally agreed to treat this as an emergency. Monday 30th October …. smart meter installed by MDS …. Aclara smart meter serial number 21M0364172 …. Aclara smart meter model SGM1416-B (SMETS2) for dual rate day peak and night off-peak (Economy 7) Tuesday 31st October …. smart meter supposedly commissioned and configured correctly by MDS …. but quite evidently not! Wednesday 1st November …. SMS engineer visited and tested the smart meter since I still had no hot water and heating …. engineer confirmed that the smart meter is workin

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R
New Member***
1 year ago
S
Carbon Cutter***
SonkluCarbon Cutter***
Posted in Smart meters
We have an asbestos fuse- How do I get OVO to inform the DNO?

We have an asbestos fuse, which needs to be replaced before a smart meter can be installed.  First the engineer (who was meant to install the smart meter) said he’d request it from the UK Power Networks, who need a D0135 from the energy provider in order to arrange for the works. Nothing happened for a good few, months,  so I contacted customer services. Three customer service agents assured me that the D0135 has been sent, but the UK Power Networks haven’t received anything. Not sure where to go from here. Can anybody help? 

267741
K
New Member*
1 year ago
Firedog
Plan Zero Hero
FiredogPlan Zero Hero
Posted in Smart meters
Usage just after new meter installed not recorded, will OVO bill me for this? The DCC will charge OVO for it.

Two not particularly related questions:I recently had my old smart meter exchanged for a new SMETS2 model. The main fuse was removed before this happened, of course. However, I had had an eye-wateringly expensive electric shower just before the engineer arrived and got to work. Checking my half-hourly usage data afterwards, I saw that the data for the half hour immediately preceding the power cut as well as up to the moment he reconnected it were missing. I take it that the usage data for that half hour just didn’t make it to DCC, so I won’t be billed for it. But OVO are sure to be billed for it by the DNO - so do OVO just absorb the cost? Or can I expect an adjustment at some stage?    My meter is set up for E7, although currently the peak and offpeak rates are the same. I have been comparing daily meter readings with what I would expect them to be based on the half-hourly usage data, nicely recorded to the nearest whole Wh. Four weeks on, these are the results: I was pleasantly surpr

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Firedog
Plan Zero Hero
1 year ago
I
Carbon Cutter****
IChap55Carbon Cutter****
Posted in Smart meters
Blue flame showing on IHD even though no gas/hot water being used

Noticed this morning that the blue flame was showing about 0.08p per kWh. We haven’t used any hot water for at least 45 mins yet still shows usage, dropping down to 0.02p now. At a loss what’s happening. It has been off and then back on again after using some hot water. Not radiators as they’re definitely off

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I
Carbon Cutter****
1 year ago
M
New Member*
MactronixNew Member*
Posted in Smart meters
Why does OVO send an engineer to read my smart meter?

Why do you need to send someone around to read a smart meter ?

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Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
1 year ago
E
Carbon Cutter****
EdinburghadvisersCarbon Cutter****
Posted in Smart meters
Three Phase AMR for domestic property unable to send half hourly data

Hi. I have solar PV, GSHP, two Powerwall batteries and an electric car. Also have 3 phase power as building used to be a small guest house. What I need is a smart meter to take advantage of time based tariffs. Currently with Octopus but they have failed. The first smart meter could get no signal due to location. After 12 months I then got an AMR meter with an external aerial. Perfect signal. Octopus now say it can’t provide half hourly readings and in fact I will have to send monthly ones manually. Is this an octopus issue, AMR issue or something else? Help! 

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Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
1 year ago
P
Carbon Cutter***
petersaundersCarbon Cutter***
Posted in Smart meters
My smart meter display is blank - Is the meter broken?

I reported my Smart Meter was not working in July last year. Nothing has been done about it, though every month I get an email message about the need to supply readings, which is kind of annoying. The screen on the meter is dead so not even manual readings are possible. When chasing some action on this I received a reply in November saying there was a queue for meters to be fixed, but I would be notified as soon as an engineer was available. As it is now April, it must be some long queue.

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Abby_OVO
Community Manager
1 year ago

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