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Smurfhito
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April 19, 2023
Solved

IHD not been received- Old meter type

  • April 19, 2023
  • 44 replies
  • 664 views

Hello, this is a long story but I’ll try to keep it short.

I moved into my current property 4 years ago. When I moved in, it was apparent that there was no IHD here. It appears that the previous occupants very annoyingly took it with them.

At the time I was with Eon. I tried numerous times to request an IHD from them, but Eon’s policy is not to give IHDs to anyone!

Since the energy prices rising I am now desperate to get an IHD, it’s impossible for me to track my usage effectively without one. I am aware of the apps (such as Loop), but these are almost useless for working out the amounts of energy and the cost of appliances in real time. I have tried.  Also I’ve seen the Ivie bud IHDs, but I really can’t afford to spend £55 on this, the whole reason I need an IHD is because I’m really trying to save money. 

So, I messaged Ovo, who said of course they would provide me with an IHD if I were to switch to them. With this knowledge, I made the switch just under 1 month ago. I’ve phoned up to request an IHD today, and to my massive disappointment, I’ve been told that my meters are SMETS1, and that they don’t have any SMETS1 IHDs in stock, and that these have now been discontinued.

To say I’m disappointed is an understatement, really gutted, all the hassle of switching suppliers seems to have been a total waste of time. I just thought I’d make a post here as a last resort. Any advice would be appreciated.

Best answer by Jeffus

Hi @Jeffus 

Thanks for the quick reply,  I’ve posted a photo of my meter below. I tried running the details through that citizens advice link, it seems to say my meter is SMETS1, and isn’t smart… I thought all these smart meters were supposed to be smart! I’m confused.

I did try loop and it works to some extent, but nowhere near the way that a proper IHD works, no real time info at all. 

 

It can be confusing...  In simple terms. 

So you have a smart meter, but it is an older SMETS1 meter.

This basically means the way it communicates is different to newer SMETS2 meters.

So it is more difficult to switch suppliers and keep the smart functionality and more difficult to source In Home Displays.

These older meters are in the process of being upgraded, either a software update or if all else fails a new meter. The deadline is currently end of this year. 

Interesting you say you can use loop as this doesn't work unless your meter has been upgraded. Try Hugo and see what happens just as a test. 

https://hugoenergyapp.co.uk/

It is certainly strange you can use loop but the citizens advice test gave that result.

Do you have gas and electricity? 

44 replies

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SmurfhitoAuthor
Rank 2
April 26, 2023

@Jeffus Hopefully that’s down to people receiving them not feeling a need to come back here… I suppose the still waiting/unhappy ones are more likely to come back here!  I promise though, I will come back here and let you know once (if!) I receive one.

@Blastoise186 thanks for the info, that’s good to know

    Jeffus
    Rank 20
    Jeffus
    Rank 20
    April 26, 2023

    @Jeffus Hopefully that’s down to people receiving them not feeling a need to come back here… I suppose the still waiting/unhappy ones are more likely to come back here!  I promise though, I will come back here and let you know once (if!) I receive one.

    @Blastoise186 thanks for the info, that’s good to know

    Honestly, i fear you have been misled again by the OVO Support Team, again an honest mistake.

    But hopefully i am wrong 😊

    S
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    SmurfhitoAuthor
    Rank 2
    April 26, 2023

    That would be a shame. Previously (when they thought my SMETS1 hadn’t been upgraded) they basically said there’s no chance of getting an IHD (until it’s upgraded at least), as those IHDs had been discontinued, and so they wouldn’t be getting anymore.

    Today however, they said that now their system is updated, and they can now see that my SMETS1 has been updated recently, that they can obtain IHDs for it…. But that they didn’t have any in stock. So hopefully it’s just a waiting game… and ideally not too long! I’m am a bit more hopeful at least. 
    Maybe Tim or another Ovo rep can shed some light on stock levels/wait times etc. 

    Tim_OVO
    OVO Staff
    Tim_OVO
    OVO Forum Legend
    April 27, 2023

    Fingers crossed you get your IHD soon, @Smurfhito. I won’t be able to confirm stock levels or give delivery estimates. But your online account pages should be working in the meantime.

     

    Do you have daily smart readings? Check this here: https://account.ovoenergy.com/meter-readings

     

    If you do, those great usage breakdowns should be available: https://dashboard.carbon-zero.ovoenergy.com/ovo-greenlight/bill-breakdown

     

     

    Carbon neutral - we need a community to get there! My green tech: Aclara SGM 1411-B smart meter, Chameleon IHD6
      S
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      SmurfhitoAuthor
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      April 27, 2023

      Thanks @Tim_OVO  Shame no one can give any idea of wait time, I’m sure someone in Ovo must have some idea… seems like I might be in for a long wait. 
       

      I don’t have any daily readings on the first link, and also no daily usage data on the usage section. It seems that you are just taking my smart meter readings monthly at present (once on 21st March and then the next one on 21st April).

      Jeffus
      Rank 20
      Jeffus
      Rank 20
      April 27, 2023

      Thanks @Tim_OVO  Shame no one can give any idea of wait time, I’m sure someone in Ovo must have some idea… seems like I might be in for a long wait. 
       

      I don’t have any daily readings on the first link, and also no daily usage data on the usage section. It seems that you are just taking my smart meter readings monthly at present (once on 21st March and then the next one on 21st April).

      If you phone up OVO you can ask them to change your meter reading frequency to every 30mins.

      Then you should see 30min data on the usage page and daily readings on the readings page

       

      Blastoise186
      Super User
      Blastoise186Super User
      Super User
      April 27, 2023

      That would be a shame. Previously (when they thought my SMETS1 hadn’t been upgraded) they basically said there’s no chance of getting an IHD (until it’s upgraded at least), as those IHDs had been discontinued, and so they wouldn’t be getting anymore.

      Today however, they said that now their system is updated, and they can now see that my SMETS1 has been updated recently, that they can obtain IHDs for it…. But that they didn’t have any in stock. So hopefully it’s just a waiting game… and ideally not too long! I’m am a bit more hopeful at least. 
      Maybe Tim or another Ovo rep can shed some light on stock levels/wait times etc. 

      Back in the day, one of the only IHDs compatible with a Secure Liberty meter was the Secure Pipit 500, though some Chameleon IHDs (like the original IHD1, IHD2 and IHD3) also worked. It’s no longer manufactured and Secure has basically run out of stock. I’m told that OVO’s stocks of spare Pipit 500 IHDs have also completely dried up and the only ones left are a handful of test units in the Smart Meter Lab (I spotted a couple when I was there last year) - but those ones cannot be used outside of testing.

      Now you’ve got your meter on DCC though, it’s a bit easier. You could for example look into the SMETS1 variants of the ivie Bud or Hildebrand Glow IHD as they both work with S1+ meters.

      Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
      S
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      SmurfhitoAuthor
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      May 4, 2023

      Thanks again for all the responses guys. 
       

      I can see that this has been marked as ‘solved’, but as I still haven’t received the IHD, I wouldn’t consider the matter solved at all, so could my post be unmarked as such? This gives a false impression that Ovo have solved the problem, and that is far from the truth at present. 
       

      I promise, as soon as I receive the IHD I will report back, and then of course I think we can reasonably mark the post as solved. 

      Jeffus
      Rank 20
      Jeffus
      Rank 20
      May 4, 2023

      Thanks again for all the responses guys. 
       

      I can see that this has been marked as ‘solved’, but as I still haven’t received the IHD, I wouldn’t consider the matter solved at all, so could my post be unmarked as such? This gives a false impression that Ovo have solved the problem, and that is far from the truth at present. 
       

      I promise, as soon as I receive the IHD I will report back, and then of course I think we can reasonably mark the post as solved. 

      Hi @Smurfhito 

      That is a good question that has been raised before by others. 

      In general the way the customer forum works is that when the forum has done its best to answer a question then the best answer is selected and the thread is marked as solved. 

      This sometimes means the customers query isn't fixed, but there isn't anything else that the forum can  realistically suggest. The customer forum isn't meant to be an alternative to any case management tool that OVO have internally. 

      It doesn’t stop you posting updates or queries.

      You could add an Idea if you have other thoughts about this feature and see if it gets any traction with other customers and OVO if you feel strongly. 

      https://forum.ovoenergy.com/ideas

      You may also notice at some point your separate thread may disappear and the content merged with similar threads related to IHDs now.  You will notice that on some of the threads with lots of posts. 

       

       

      S
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      SmurfhitoAuthor
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      May 31, 2024

      Just popping in to update my situation in relation to obtaining (or more accurately, not obtaining!) a smart meter IHD.

      Despite countless phone calls, emails, a complaint, and a scathing review on trustpilot, I am still waiting for an IHD, almost 15 months after joining OVO. Not forgetting before I joined, they promised (in writing) that they could send me one if I joined.

      I don’t expect I’ll ever get one from OVO, so will probably be looking to change supplier in the next week.

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