I had an OVO engineer round today to install an isolator switch after my meter so that I can get work done on the consumer units safely, no issues with that - all went fine.
Upon putting the power back on he said that my meter (a Secure Liberty 100 SMETS1 model) wasn’t ‘talking to OVO’ and suggested that he swap it out for a new one while he was here. At no cost to me so I said fine.
Sadly however the new meter (a Aclara SGM SMETS2 model) could not pick up the WAN at all and he was unable to commission it. He said that it might pick it up in the future and someone could come and commission it then, but more likely it will just act as a ‘dumb’ meter until such time as Arqiva improve the radio coverage in my area.
As I understand it the old meter would have used GSM networks to communicate rather than the Arqiva radio system which is why it was able to function fine in smart mode and the new one cannot.
Can anybody advise on what the likely outcome is here? It is frustrating to have to go back to taking meter readings, but I am more concerned that my account details are correctly updated given that the meter cannot be commissioned and I end up with estimated bills.
Any thoughts or experience welcomed.
Thanks
Best answer by Firedog
Retroanaconda wrote:
… it will just act as a ‘dumb’ meter until such time as Arqiva improve the radio coverage in my area.
This is sadly not an uncommon experience. There are a number of ways forward, with no suggestion on my part of which if any might work for you:
There is allegedly a mechanism called ‘buddy mode’ in which the communications hub (CH) on your meter can connect to another similar one nearby which is able to reach Arqiva. I’ve not read of anyone in this situation though, but it’s not impossible.
Trials are being conducted with ‘dual-mode’ CHs which contain a SIM so that if long-range radio (LRR) isn’t working, the CH tries to connect to a mobile network. This has apparently been successful particularly in urban areas where the topography gets in the way of the LRR signal.
I have recently been reading fascinating discussions about practical solutions involving variously fanciful methods of ‘boosting’ the LRR signal on site. In some cases, it’s been enough to erect a repeater aerial that picks up the Arqiva signal and conducts it to another close by the CH with no need to touch the CH itself (which is probably illegal). Here’s a start: There is hope for anybody trying to get a smart meter in a poor signal area | Speak EV
I’d also point out that there are plenty of examples of local interference affecting the CH connection. It’s worth spending a bit of time to move anything which might be radiating near the meter to eliminate this.
I’m afraid it’s a question of either waiting - months or even years - for DCC and/or suppliers to come up with an acceptable solution, or taking matters into your own hands.
Hopefully they have more luck this time around, I know they can have a successful job the second time around just because the signal picks up.
Retroanaconda wrote:
I presume that if it did manage to get commissioned, then such drops in connectivity would not be an issue and it would just upload daily/hourly usage data as and when it could connect?
If they manage to get the meter commissioned and there are signal drop outs later down the line, this won’t impact the meter, it will send as and when it can.
I’d say, if the commissioning works this time, to keep an eye on the online account and make sure it’s sending readings and if not you can just send the as and when yourself. I’d also suggest making sure the meter reading schedule is set to send half hourly reading as this will give the meter the best chance to get readings to us as often as possible, considering the known signal issues.
As Jeffus has also mentioned, you can also keep an eye on your usage data via third party apps. These will also show whether the meter is in communication or not.
Sadly no luck. There just isn’t enough signal for the commissioning process to work, despite the steady ‘signal ok’ flash of the WAN light on the meter comms hub.
I’ll just have to wait until the rollout of cellular hubs for the north region. Hopefully as a no-WAN case I’ll be on a list somewhere for this when the time comes.
We use 3 different kinds of cookies. You can choose which cookies you want to accept. We need basic cookies to make this site work, therefore these are the minimum you can select. Learn more about our cookies.
