1) yes, to some extent it will affect the exact shape of the radiation pattern around the antenna, however unless the box has very good connectivity between all its parts, there will be enough escaping where doors and frame panels meet to give a respectable signal. The dynamic range of the radio systems is well over a million to one in power level, to accommodate the path loss changes with varying ranges and location. Unless you are at the very edge of the coverage area, or in a location already marginal, a metal box is unlikely to stop it working. If you are then designs with external antennas are available. (much as a mobile phone works better out of a car, but in an area with good coverage still works from inside it.)

2)The gas meter has a battery sealed in it, and it will need changing after a number of years (about ten, typically) As a result it makes less frequent and lower power transmissions, and most designs require some sort of repeater, usually as part of a local network including the electricity meter.

3) An RF spectrum analyser  with a test antenna taking peak hold readings for a few hours is the sure fire way,  but most folk believe the supplier ;-)

Mike

I had a smart gas meter and was told it relayed it's data to the electricity smart meter and since there was no power to the gas meter I concluded it must have battery. Some years back in winter the battery must have failed and the gas shut off. (Yes, I mean it). I woke up to a cold house. Checked with neighbours who did still have gas. Looked at meter, blank screen. I had now changed supplier so called them - they said call emergency. Emergency said it's not our problem call your supplier. This went back and forth a number of times until I happened to get a more sympathetic supplier call desk handler. She arranged for a supplier's fitter to visit. After a few hours he arrived and confirmed a faulty meter, but said he could only fit a manual one. And that is how it has stayed. The pitfalls of technology! Fortunately I'm not elderly and vulnerable - be forewarned.

For #3 David you'll find out when the local (usually Zigbee) link to your local energy meter stops working (the one that you have in the kitchen or wherever to see your usage).  Unfortunately when they disable the smart meter functionality (that sends readings to your supplier) they also disable the local link, which means for me I have to crawl into the cupboard to read the meter again.  I have SMETS 1 meters though, this may not be the case for SMETS 2 (the current standard, see below).  When I asked if my SMETS1 meters could be upgraded to SMETS2 they said no, the meters will have to be ripped out and replaced (which was already done with the change from non smart meters the first time around).

https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/smets-1-and-2-new-smart-meter-generation 

Personally I haven't bothered changing to smart meters as the logical conclusion is variable tariffs which inevitably are never lower for the consumer.

Speaking from my own experience, the smart meter in-home displays can be a little confusing at first.  For instance, the display for gas consumption intermittently goes blank for a few hours (I assume related to mapj1 point 2 about lower frequency updates), and the unit rates etc. seem to take several days to change when new ones come in to force.  In turn, that means the spend values displayed are more of a guide than an absolute.

What is spot on though are the consumption readings, they are always in step with what the meter itself says.  So once you get over that the in-home remote display is just a rough estimate for everything else, users become less anxious about what they see.  Alternatively leave it showing just the current electricity consumption, which I find a useful hint to go scouting for things left turned on that don't need to be.

Overall, I can't really see why you wouldn't want the convenience of a smart meter to submit accurate readings to your supplier, even if you leave the display in a drawer.  They measure the same consumption after all, but more convenient, especially if your meter location is other than in a meter box on an accessible outside wall or you have mobility/ eye-sight difficulties or perhaps look after a property on behalf of an elderly relative as examples.  I'm sure there are issues as John Radley notes, but I don't think very common.  Weigh that risk versus everyday convenience.

That said, you might have a concern about the potential drawbacks of variable pricing if that were to be introduced in a serious way, which a smart meter does enable.  If that does gain any traction, I think that there are now so many installed that it would be a political hot potato for anyone proposing it unless it were to affect bills downwards.

FYI, in a related sphere of water meters, they were treated with suspicion as a way to extort more money versus an unmetered supply.  The reality today however is that anyone without a water meter is highly likely to be paying way over the odds - I know of friends who have cut their bills by 2/3 by fitting a water meter even though they use hosepipes to water the garden etc. so aren't particularly frugal.

With regard to Point 3, my understanding is that a smart meter cannot be made "dumb" in the commonly accepted sense of the word. It will always be in contact with the DCC (Data Communications Company) via the comms hub fitted to the electricity meter and will on a daily basis upload consumption data in the form of an XML file. This file is then made available for download at the request of the energy supplier who by default will use it to generate bills and provide usage data to the consumer via the energy supplier's web site. You may be able to persuade your energy supplier not to use the smart meter data to generate bills, but expect a lot of trouble and pain along the way! Daily connection of a smart meter to a DCC is required so as to ensure firmware updates are received and to provide the DNO with network status information.

So, the answer to the question is that the meter doesn't know to what use the data it sends to the DCC will be put. Hence, one can only establish whether or not the smart meter data is being used to generate bills by inspecting the bills themselves, obtaining specific confirmation from the energy supplier, or gleaning information from the energy supplier's web site.

3. You cannot be forced to have a "smart" meter.

The latest email I have had from my supplier trying to get me to take a smart meter says I must have one fitted as the BBC are going to stop transmitting the time codes it uses to switch tariffs and control local appliances and my obsolete meter will not work when this happens. 

My meter is a reasonable modern 3 phase meter that does not have any time code switching, a fact I confirmed with a very knowledgable meter reader recently.

In addition when I asked my supplier, during one of the may calls they have made to me over the years about getting a smart meter, they said they were now able to overcome the long distance from the gas meter to the electricity meter and the different long distance between the electricity meter to the house (both over 20M with brick walls in the way) to enable the display to work and the poor mobile reception in the area. I then mentioned that I a three phase supply and they said they did not do three phase smart meters and would stop bothering me until they did. A statement they have made in the past when I ask about three phase meters.

They have sent the meter reader around quite frequently recently despite or because I am supplying monthly readings. With them estimating my annual energy cost to be over £5,000 I am obviously taking steps to ensure it is much less. They also wanted to nearly double my monthly payment to allow for the increased winter usage. As I am over £1,000 in credit and increasing  I declined their kind offer until the credit balance was much reduced. 

I have a 3-phase supply, which I thought would protect me from having a smart meter, but I understand that they are now available. Happily, my supplier, British Gas, has not been pestering me to change. The "problem" with having the intake in an outbuilding is that the display probably will not work.

My gas supplier was pestering me quite a bit, but they agreed not to (and have done as agreed) based upon the size of the meter.

Robin Lee said:

You cannot be forced to have a "smart" meter.

May be not, but they could put you on a more expensive tariff. Of course if a smart meter did come with a discount, I might well want one.

3. You cannot be forced to have a "smart" meter.

I suspect that's only the case if you already have a serviceable traditional meter - any new meter will be a smart meter. Ask for a new supply and you'll get a new meter, and once your existing meter has reached its certification expiry date you'll need a new meter if you want to continue to have a supply.

   - Andy.