Pay monthly customer - why is my Pipit 500 IHD asking me for a PIN?

We've just had our smart meter; fantastic service and thoroughly grateful that I don't have to read the meters ever again:) However, what a pathetically useless waste of money the wireless monitor is. We had one of these when we were with EON and it was fantastic; it showed you how much energy or money you were using over time or at that present moment. This was great for us as we have solar panels and I could see when we were using 0 energy off the grid and I could go and put the washing on etc. you could also go around and turn things on and off and see the impact. This OVO monitor doesn't do anything like this from what I can see and I am really disappointed. Have I missed something or is it really useless?

I like the estimated bill function on the IHD, but it has only been of use in month one as it does not appear to reset after that month's readings have been taken - so our screen shows the cumulative amount since day 1. Do I need to reset manually? If that is the case, have not found how to do it.

Hi @Foxcub welcome to the forum and thanks for your post!

Whilst I'm afraid as I'm a PAYG customer I'm not 100% with what you've raised.

I just wanted to let you know that one of the other forum members or moderators will respond to your post ASAP with some further info on using the IHD for pay monthly customers.

Sorry I can't be of more help at this time however rest assured someone will get back to you shortly

Have a lovely weekend

We've just had our smart meter; fantastic service and thoroughly grateful that I don't have to read the meters ever again:) However, what a pathetically useless waste of money the wireless monitor is. We had one of these when we were with EON and it was fantastic; it showed you how much energy or money you were using over time or at that present moment. This was great for us as we have solar panels and I could see when we were using 0 energy off the grid and I could go and put the washing on etc. you could also go around and turn things on and off and see the impact. This OVO monitor doesn't do anything like this from what I can see and I am really disappointed. Have I missed something or is it really useless?

Hi ghj76,

It's not the prettiest of gadgets, I'll give you that. But I like to think our In Home Display (IHD) can be really useful, when you know how. Here's the guides we have to help:

https://www.ovoenergy.com/ovo-answers/topics/smart-technology/smart-meters/what-do-the-buttons-on-my-in-home-display-screen-mean.html

https://www.ovoenergy.com/ovo-answers/topics/smart-technology/smart-meters/how-can-my-ihd-and-smart-meter-help-me-manage-my-energy-use.html

Have a quick read and let us know if we've won you round. I'll also move this query to another topic on IHD's so other users can get involved.

Tim

@Foxcub

Thanks for your post, as @Mattj3135 advised, be good to get more info on this one, so other users can help.

I've also moved your question on this existing conversation around the IHD as some of the other comments may well help.

Thanks

Darran

Since there seem to be lots of people wanting an IHD, can I send mine to someone? After the first week, it went into a box of electronic junk. I do have the MyOvo usage page permanently open on my laptop though. I find that far more useful and interesting, especially when used in conjunction
with an emonTx providing 10 second readings of electricity usage. I've calculated how much energy my fridge/freezer uses per 24 hours, how much it takes to boil a mug of water, how much for a laundry wash at 30 degrees, and how much is used by the bits and pieces that are plugged in permanently, such as internet router, smart meter router, emonTx, cordless phone etc.

If anyone wants my IHD (and Ovo permits it, I assume it needs to be paired to your electricity meter by them), you can have mine. To be polite, it's not very good. See this topic:

https://forum.ovoenergy.com/pay-monthly-21/how-has-having-a-smart-meter-helped-you-1/index5.html

I'm still waiting for the promised colour version which allow us to monitor our stats in real time on web / mobile devices.

Sure thing @Rooty- if you would like to return your In Home Display to us, Rooty, please pop me a private message confirming your name, DoB and OVO account number and I can get a envelope sent out to you.

We were running a trial for a new IHD, but this trial has now stopped. We’re currently collating the information and sussing out the best next steps.

Lucy

Hi Lucy.

Private message sent. Thank you.

I should add, just to be clear to anyone who is thinking of a getting smart meters installed. I'm a fan.

If like me you are interested in checking your usage from the previous day, along with your morning coffee, OVO have provided neat tools on their website to do just that. The estimates can be a bit off, but by the virtue of daily readings, I know precisely what my monthly bill is going to be before its even sent. And thus I've now been able to guesstimate what my electric cooker, dishwasher, washing machine and separate dryer use. Even the electric shower.

The existing in home display however is very clunky, quite old technology and I don't find it at all useful. I don't blame OVO for going the route they took initially; it's all added cost to them. However, automation, monitoring, and voice control of the smart home is where the future is at (for many) and this cannot be ignored if OVO want to be considered truly innovative.

So IF we get the promised new meter and the realtime online monitoring tools that have been hinted at, I will be a very happy customer.

I have had a smart meter for about a year and am quite happy with it. I also requested an In Home Display, but quickly gave up using it. I think it is a complete waste of time, when I can access the relevant information online through MyOvo.

People on this forum presumably have internet access, so my advice would be not to bother with the In Home Display at all and use MyOvo instead.

Hope the new version is much more useful than the old one. I no longer bother with ours.
When will it be available and how do I get one?