OVO Smart Meter fitted- Off-peak circuit always OFF?

Hey ​@CuriousFairy 

I’m sorry to hear you’re still having issues.

Have you spoken to your complaints handler? It might be worth emailing them a link of this topic thread.

Let me know via private message if you’d like me to reach out to them again as well. 

​@Siberia Eagerly waiting to hear how it went yesterday …
 

​@Firedog - My apology for not posting an update.

After ​@Emmanuelle_OVO reached out last week (ref. the extract below) and asked to private message her so she can get someone to look into this for me I called OVO RTS Meter Replacement Team and postponed the appointment to 16th Dec to give OVO SMETS Team a bit more time to investigate this issue.  

Sadly, since then the trail has gone cold, I have heard nothing from OVO Meter Expert :-(  And this is after I sent a chaser to ​@Emmanuelle_OVO two days ago. 

To be honest with you I am really nervous to change the meter unless there is a guarantee from OVO SMETS Team that the new Smart Meter they will install for me is pre-programmed to switch by default at E7 times (approx 00:00 to 07:00 +/- 30 minutes) and can turn the Off-Peak Power On and Off without having to wirelessly communicate through DCC with OVO System. 

I know the meters designated for “RTS Meter Replacement” are supposed to be pre-programmed but then I have read in various forums (EDF, NextOn, OVO, etc.) a lot of people having issues!

It is very cold right now, and if I do not get any positive response from OVO SMETS Expert I have to postpone the replacement to May next year - at least we do not need the heating at that time.

Let’s hope I hear something positive from OVO Expert within the next few days, I am sure that would provide assurance to a lot of customers with the old RTS meters.

Fingers cross!

I’ve been reliably informed by one of OVO’s Engineers that they have started to get exactly those meters in. It will still re-program itself once Comms are established to get the full setup, but these ones will at very least do E7 even if Comms don’t work during install.

Hey ​@Siberia 

Great news the RTS team have booked in a meter exchange for you. The above advice is the latest information I have. Are you able to contact the RTS team directly with your concerns? I have forwarded on your concerns to the previous expert who advised the above but heard nothing back yet & they aren’t in a customer facing team.

​@Blastoise186

Thank you - much appreciated. I am almost 100% sure that where our meters are located there will be no cellular signal (I have checked all 5 Electrical Utility Rooms and there is ZERO signal).  So, unless DCC or our Estate Management Company work out an External Aerial I very much doubt if we get any signal.  I would be glad if I am proven wrong :-).

So, unless I am lucky and get a fully pre-programmed meter on the day of installation the only other option would be to have the SMART Meter physically replaced as the Installation Engineer won’t be able to fix it locally. I am worried that it would be very difficult and may take a long time to get OVO guys to come back and change the meter. 

I also note that ​@CuriousFairy Smart Meter which is Aclara SGM1416B 5 terminal (the one OVO uses to replace the RTS ones) and was installed a couple of months ago does not work as evidenced by the photos she sent.  From what I have been reading I can see ​@CuriousFairy has been trying to sort this out for a couple of months!

​@Emmanuelle_OVO 

I have called the RTS Team a few times - but they are not able to discuss the technical issues nor would they pass me to any of your SMETS Expert! The same goes for the chatline. Honestly, their main interest is to book customers up for a smart meter installation (which I acknowldge is their job). 

That is why I joined this forum.  Thank you. 

No need - I’m only being nosy!

Fair enough. I suppose that all this pre-configuration takes a lot of workshop time, and I can imagine that OVO are making these specially-doctored meters available primarily to installation teams operating where it’s most likely that they’ll be needed, i.e. the Scottish Highlands rather than leafy Richmond! 

One question you might ask when you do get back in touch with someone on the RTS team is whether you’ll get a mesh-enabled comms hub like the Toshiba SKU2. There must be a meter somewhere close by that you and the other occupants of your building could piggyback on to get a mesh connection,  so it would be a good pre-emptive step for the future. This has to be, I think, a DCC decision, but at least OVO now have a couple of weeks to request it if they agree that it would be a wise move. 

​@Firedog 

I wrote to OVO about this + when I booked the appointment with RTS Team I asked them to ensure they use SKU2+MESH+DB with T2 Internal Aerial.  But, I have seen a number of similar installations here with the same specifications.  While the MESH LED shows connection (flashes green every 5 seconds) from what I understand this just shows the meters in the vicinity of each other are connected to the MESH, and since none of them seems connected to WAN there is no gateway to DCC/OVO. 

In cases where MESH is being used, the WAN LED won’t light up on any Comms Hub which isn’t acting as a WAN uplink - this is expected behaviour.

SKU2 Comms Hubs are used where needed and Engineers usually carry them in the van. Dual-Band however, is only fitted if long-range HAN is needed - you don’t always need it.

There are a few layers of concrete between the meter and IHD. So, I would be surprised if anyone except those on ground floor can have their IHD connected to the meter through HAN. 

Please correct me if I misunderstood the MESH system. I thought it is used to piggyback from meter to meter hopping at least one of the meters in these meters group (neighbourhood) is connected to DCC network via WAN.