Smart meters

Hi,I have looked at this these threads in the past and always found them detailed and informative - but this is the first time i have put my head above the parapet to ask a question, so apologies in advance if this has been well covered previously. *I live in south of the UK in a rural location and my property has a split (2) phase electricity supply rated at 200A per phase and is currently metered by a Elster A1140 CT meter.  The meter is modern but operates in single tariff “dumb” mode so requires periodic manual meter readings to be taken.I am keen to access a wider range of modern electricity tariffs but getting a meter that can facilitate this seems a bit of a challenge.  I have been told that SMETS2 meters (even polyphase ones) seem to only go to 100A per phase so they aren’t an option.  Most Domestic Electricty supply companies I discuss this with are unable to offer any other options.  Some Business Electricity Suppliers have indicated that our set up is more common on the Comm

Some Information!  Little did I know that when we had a smart meter fitted (not WAN but HAN 4G we live on Isle of Skye no WAN SIGNAL) that the "in home display" could do so much! After storm Amey we lost power for 15 hours , when restored the smart meter had lost the link and we were asked for a manual reading which we got through the IHD. Whilst going through the menu we came upon the message's part , in it was a message to initialise the smart meter . I did this and within moments it was all working again !  None of this was explained to us , just that there was a menu on the IHD . Now we find that this will be the case every time we have a power loss and restart . Also the book left with the IHD only show what the buttons are and gives no information on the menu or programs!  I think this needs to be addressed! Luckily we are fairly computer literate and in truth the menu is good , but we struggled for a while.  Last piece of information , if you see a very small envelope icon on th

Ovo have informed me that my gas meter needs replacing and that they can only replace it with a smart meter, they have also stated that it will be necessary to change the electric meter at the same time.I am extremely reluctant to have a smart meter, my main concerns being their accuracy and the ability of the energy company to charge higher prices at peak usage.  My fixed tariff is coming to an end soon and I feel that Ovo will use it as a condition of renewing with them. It seems I have very little choice.Also how do they know that my existing meter needs replacing?  

How do I read rate 1 & 2 on my E470 series 3 smet s2 electric meter as I can only find rate 1

I had a smart meter installed 2 weeks ago and since then my storage heaters and immersion element to heat up the water in a big cylinder tank are not working anymore. Both only run on off peak electricity. I have raised this with OVO, an emergency engineer, a commissioned engineer, came but couldn’t solve the problem. Since then I’m daily on the phone with OVO but nobody is able to help. I’ve raised a complaint, got a call from OVO and was told that my case is being looked into and I would get a call back. Nobody was ringing back. It’s very stressful to call daily, explain the same problem each time and not getting anywhere. I was even told by one operator that it’s my problem and not OVO’s.. It’s absolutely outrageous that an organisation like OVO is not able to rectify the problem. I wonder if someone had similar experience and can give advise how to handle the matter. Thank you

As September statements arrive for those on calendar-monthly billing, I wonder whether we’re all seeing a change in  the MPAN?  Dated 05 September 2025Dated 05 October 2025The old MTC (Meter Timeswitch Code) has been replaced by the much more helpful SSC (Standard Settlement Configuration), which records the peak/offpeak timings for those with multi-rate meters. Most SSCs are decoded in this table.  More changes are on the way: MPAN top line has changed on electricity bills - Inspired PLC

I had my electric meter replaced with a smart one today, and the IHD that was given is not the IHD 6 but the older IHD 3. Not only that, it appears to be an inferior version of the IHD 3 with no rechargeable batteries (IHD3-PPMID-AAA). This specific model was not listed on the OVO website. There is a battery compartment for a single AAA battery, however there is an issue where if you unplug it from the wall, and let the device switch to battery power, the buttons become unresponsive and they remain unresponsive when you plug it back in. To get the buttons working again you have to reboot it by unplugging it and taking out the battery. So I decided not to use the battery compartment. Are IHD 3 models still being handed out despite the IHD 6 being the newest model? And why are they handing out this inferior model?

Does anyone have any information re economy 10 tariff that was supposed to be available before the end of this year?

Hi. I am a bit concerned that, even though I have a smart meter, someone from Morrisons called to read my meter. I thought having a smart meter obviated having someone call to the house. Fortunately my daughter was at my house at the time as, if I had been on my own, it would have made me very uncomfortable.

I had SMETS2 gas and electricity meter a installed a couple of weeks ago. So far so good, however I’m wondering if / how I can switch them to 30 minute reads? I’d like more granularity on the usage data ideally. Also, I’m finding the gas readings are very binary; maybe because it’s summer and we are not using a lot, but it seems to be counting in chunks - e.g one day we will use nothing, then we’ll use a set amount, the next day it’s exactly the same amount. This seems a bit odd.

I had a smart meter installed. Chose economy 7 tariff as have storage heaters and water heated by thermostat on off peak. Since meter installed off peak does not work. Ovo sent an engineer who changed the meter. Still no off peak. Ovo then said they’d fix the problem remotely. They said it was successful but still no off peak. Now they are saying it must be to do with my wiring or configuration and they can’t do anything more. Now what am I supposed to do? No heating or hot water since July 28th.

Hi, Our smart meter failed over the weekend which resulted in being without gas for nearly 24hrs? Can OVO provide answers to the questions below? 1. Why did the smart meter not proactivly inform me or Ovo that the meter was about to fail ? No warning it just died and left us ( family with 2 children under 5) without gas for heating,Hot water or cooking. Not very SMART ? 2. We thought the battery life of the smart meter was on avergae 10 years? this lasted 3 at best ? engineers that have visited say that on average its 2 -3 years? Why are we being informed its 10 years ? Essentially are we looking at replacements every 3 years? Not very SMART ? 3. Upon discovering we had no gas we tried to contact OVO out of business hours... which is a challenge , number on this site and on the internet are business hours only and it took a lot of searching to actually find an emergency contact. once we did get through we were informed that there was nothing they could do till 9am the following day?? W

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 

 Updated on 04/11/25 by Bradley_OVO: The great things about In-Home Displays, also known as IHDs, is that they're very useful little gadgets that can show you your energy usage in real-time, but unfortunately it’s all too often that your dog knocks it off the coffee table (a dogs wagging tail can swipe just about anything in range!), you spilled coffee on it or worst of all… It grows legs and vanishes when the previous householder moves out. 😞 So what can you do if you're in need of a new IHD or just fancy a spare one? Read on to find out! Introduction and acknowledgement  But first, I’d like to introduce myself. I’m Blastoise186, one of the forum volunteers who helps out on the OVO Forum. With over 18 months of experience and two Chameleon IHD6 (named the Kecleon Brothers) to play with, I’ve learned a lot about how these devices work and many of the quirks of using them. I see a lot of questions across multiple forums about how to get a replacement IHD if yours breaks or goes missing

Does anyone know if the long range radio coms in the north  of the UK will be phased out in favour of the new Vodafone 4G network and if so the likely time frame. My smart meter was installed in November 2022 and refuses to connect to the Arquiva network. The local transmitter is I believe at Winter Hill which can be seen from my property but there is no signal at my property. The meter has been power cycled several times and they have tried at least six different 420 coms units. I believe the only way forward is to install a 4G coms unit but I’m not sure if they will be made available for the north west?Thanks  

My mother in law lives in a sheltered flat with storage heaters (probably 20 years old).  The storage heaters only have input and output controls; they don't seem to have any timer or programming facility.  They were previously connected to a separate off peak meter. In October the meters were changed to smart meters on the domestic economy tariff, in preparation for the analogue signal being switched off.  Since then the peak usage has gone up by 300% and I suspect the heaters are drawing in power during both the off peak and peak periods. I'm wondering if anyone has encountered this and knows what the solution is?  It was never a problem previously as the heaters only seemed to be connected to the dedicated off peak meter. Many thanks for any help.

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

I have a Type One smart meter which often needs resetting by removing the battery; can I get an upgrade to a Type 2?

I have a SMETS 2 meter and when I checked my charges recently I discovered I was being overcharged at peak rates for a portion of my off peak use. My current smart meter was installed in February when the previous one stopped sending data.Since February I calulate that I have already been over charged by over £60.My OVO app (and my TESLA battery app) report the half hourly data and agree with the data reported on my bill. The total electricity consumption I am billed for is correct but the allocation of cost to peak versus off peak use is wrong and seems to vary month to month. I am 79, not very techy, so can anyone explain this? I have in dispute with OVO now for nearly eight weeks (very unhelpful) so if I cant get a resolution I have to go to OffGem.

I had a smart meter installed at the beginning of July.  It’s in dumb mode as there isn’t enough WAN in the village where I live.  Prior to this, I was sending monthly meter readings to Ovo and, on average, I was using 33 kWh a month.  So, it was rather a shock to see that I used, on average, 86 kWh a month since getting the smart meter.  In addition, we had lovely weather in the two months since getting the smart meter, ie. not the middle of winter when you expect your energy usage to be greater.  Any thoughts on this would be very much appreciated.Many thanks, Cate 

Hi, I was wondering if these been any update on getting real-time data out of the smart meters, I believe mine were the earlier ones fitted by OVO and Ive only got the original monochrome display. Ive had a CT clamp on the meter tail to measure current but I need a way to obtain the live gas flow.There was some talk a few years back of the earlier smart meters being upgraded to the newer models.Any ideas would be much appreciated?

I don’t get the hype and that they actually save money! You use what you use and don’t really want to get over excited about checking home displays every five mins. Benefit for me, though is topping-up (PAYG) meter without having to find a working sweet shop terminal.

My meters are on the outside of my house with the garage between us. The ' in home display' constantly says ' lost connection '. Is it because its more than 2 metres from the meter or is it faulty? 

Hello,we have recently switched from Scottish Power to OVO after moving into a new flat. We have a heat pump and have chosen OVO due to their heat pump add on. We do not have a smart meter yet, and wanted to get one installed.However, OVO is saying we are not eligible for a smart meter due to WAN issues. We live in Edinburgh, not in a rural place further north. Our neighbours have smart meters, some even with electricity supplied by OVO.Customer service has said to us to hire a private engineer who will check signal strength and then report back to OVO. How can this happen, and what should we do? Thank you in advance for any advice. 

Hi, we are in the Scottish Highlands and have been told we cannot currently have the THTC replaced by a smart meter due to signal issues, OVO currently have no alternative so we have been left with a fuzzy answer that they may have a solution in two months time. Any body else have any additional information, my communication with OVO has been through the online chat box, although with an actual person