Why was my faulty meter replaced with an new Aclara meter which isn't smart? I was told it would be!

Hi @AndyBuzz !

I can probably solve this puzzle for you. Aclara only manufactures Smart Meters and I have no memory of them manufacturing traditional meters in recent years. If you’ve requested a Smart Meter with Economy 7 capability, you’ll probably have been equipped with an Aclara SGM1412-B or an Aclara SGM1416-B which are both SMETS2 Smart Meters with five terminals that can handle Economy 7 setups with things like Storage Heaters.

If you’d like me to, I can confirm exactly what you’ve got but I’ll need to see photos of your meters. Please feel free to pop them in your next reply and I’ll check.

Thanks

Hi Blastoise186

You are correct - its the SGM1416-B.  Pic attached.

Well the meter fitter (I think it was Smart Meter Solutions) said it wasn’t after I asked him how I get to see usage in real time, whether I use the home wifi to connect, etc.  My son’s has a neat little separate display.

He also said I still need to manually read the usage and submit readings like before. 

So to me, what’s smart about that ? !!

I looked up Aclara on this forum and got the impression that it needs a comms module on the top to be smart for me ?

Anyway - if you could clarify I’d appreciate it.

Do I have to manually submit readings ?

Many thanks for speedy response 

Woah, I am absolutely stunned at what I’m seeing here. Firstly, I’ve never heard of this “Smart Meter Solutions” as being one of OVO’s contractors - OVO normally uses their own engineers to fit Smart Meters, not contractors!

Also, you are right. This installation appears to have been done without a Comms Hub which is basically wrong. I can see there’s a cable that would block a normal Comms Hub from being fitted directly on top of the meter, but there are solutions for this which could have been deployed. Such as ones that have a separate cable wired into a Comms Hub that’s nearby. Until that’s done, I’m afraid your Smart Meter won’t be very smart, sorry.

You may want to call OVO first thing in the morning to report this as this is unsatisfactory. The Support Team should be able to investigate and hopefully get this sorted out for you. It’s probably going to need a second engineer visit though, hopefully you’ll be OK with that.

Thank you again - now I am clear.

Have attached a fuller view of the installation - as you can see there would be plenty of room for a comms unit on top of the meter had it been installed a bit lower.

I have a few parallel issues here :

1.  My electrician is going to make various upgrades - consumer unit tails and earth wire sizes need bringing up to regs.  We’ll probably do a new metal consumer unit too.  Increased size armoured cable to outbuilding.
2. Main fuse is being upped to 100Amp.  SSEN have asked me to confirm with Ovo that this new meter will be ok with 100Amp supply.  That confirmation is already requested.
3. I am also concerned that the new night rate has gone up near on 60% (from 10p to 16p).  That is probably going to blow away my original plan on a 30 amp night storage Aga. I’m now wondering if economy 7 is really worth it, not having storage rads any more.  Food for thought !

Ref contractors, I live on Isle of Wight - maybe that’s why SMS were contracted.

Thanks, that helps a lot! :)

Yup, I’d agree with you there. By the looks of things, a meter relocation might be possible but it’d probably need a more formal check to be certain. I think you can sometimes get a meter moved for free if it’s within a certain distance of the original location - and I’d be pretty confident that if such a rule exists, moving it maybe 20cm down would probably come within the free tier. And yeah, I’d say that moving it down a bit should provide enough clearance for a Comms Hub to be fitted - but there’s always workarounds if needed. Such as having a small gadget fitted above the meter where that blanking plate is right now, then have the Comms Hub fitted close by (such as below the meter) and a wire to connect the two. That trick has solved a few edge cases before. The Support Team can probably advise on that and it might save you having to pay for a meter relocation.

Otherwise, if you can’t get the reposition/relocation done for free, OVO can do the job for you at a cost of £125 as you’ve got a Single-Phase setup. If it had been Three-Phase, the cost would have been £325.

In actual fact, if you’re going to refresh all the cables, tails and other stuff anyway, this presents you with a golden opportunity to get everything taken care of more easily - especially with the possible chance of increasing the clearance above your meter. I’d say another 20-30cm above the meter should be sufficient. Who knows though, if you can get longer meter tails then that might even work in your favour. Either way, it’s a perfect opportunity to re-jig the equipment on your backboard to give basically everything more space. 

Just a heads up though, this will probably involve quite a few parties as there’s different owners of all the equipment. So it’s probably a good time to make a guide on this… And in true Blue Peter fashion, here’s one we made earlier!

As far as I’m aware, the entire Aclara SGM1400 Series can handle 100A on the primary relay but the relays used to control storage heaters and secondary loads can’t, since those relays are intended for load control only. But yeah, definitely understandable - and a very smart move - to get official confirmation first from OVO. While it’s likely I’m probably right, SSEN will be more likely to accept the response from someone who isn’t a forum volunteer and it’d probably have to have OVO’s official letterheads anyway (which I can’t do!). 

As for Economy 7, it’s a tricky one really. If you use a lot more electricity overnight during the E7 hours than you do during the day, then E7 might be appropriate. But if you don’t balance it out that way (I think it’s at least two thirds of your usage during E7), then it could cost you more. The Support Team can probably advise there. I can also try to do some number crunching if you know the figures.

Thanks Jess for your input on this

Yes I need to contact the Support team - I also have to make up my mind best way to go from here - also discuss again with my electrician.

Thanks again for a VERY detailed reply.

I got a formal answer from Ovo ref whether this meter will support a 100 Amp main fuse.  Unfortunately I’m told it will not - it is only fit for a 60 Amp supply fuse.

I’m a bit surprised,  but maybe the meter itself has to have capability well above 100 amps.

So if I still go for the 100 Amp supply to give ‘overhead’ for outbuilding and EV charging, looks like I will need to request a meter upgrade to a make / model that will cope.,  

Sorry @AndyBuzz, didn’t realise there was more to this than meets the eye!

I’m surprised to hear this too - as I understood things it’s not the meter rather the meter tails that might need to be replaced to support an 100 Amp main fuse. Happy to be corrected on this one though, maybe @Lukepeniket (a real-life smart meter engineer) might have some insight on this one? 

Good morning @AndyBuzz and @Jess_OVO, I currently install these Aclara smart meters and like you I'm surprised at the confirmation you've had back.

Looking at the bottom left of the Aclara meter you can see its rated Voltage and current, 230V and 0.5-10 (100) A which would tell me it is rated for 100A single phase as with pretty much all new heritage or smart electric meters.

The wiring from the top of the cutout (grey fuse on the left) to the blocks where you have the older version cable colours (black and red) look to be 25mm2 cable which is rated for 100A and more than adequate. The reason why I say 'looks' is that it is slightly thicker than the black and red cables and would have to be confirmed by your electrician if/when you decide on a consumer unit upgrade. 

Perhaps where the confusion in where the meter is not adequate, is for a car charger and the extra load onto the property, dependant on which EV charger you would require you would possibly need to look at upgrading your supply. Which would be a discussion between the EV Installer and yourself to decide if an upgraded supply is needed and they would then point you in the correct direction. 

I will be honest the SMS engineer has done a tidy job of upgrading the meter tails and fitting an isolator, I'm just really surprised there is no comms hub attached. Ideally one of OVOs engineers would need to come out and set up the meter, with a comms hub and IHD to get any use out of the meter. I don't believe your 5th terminal (off-peak load) will work unless it has been commissioned in our systems.