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Smart Meter Accuracy

Robert Garrett

We have a strange situation with a flat we own. The flat was empty while being decorated (by us) for 3 weeks. We know we used very little power. Yet the bill we got for that period was much higher than we would have expected.

The electricity supplier suggested we turned the power off for 15 mins and take the meter reading before and after to see if it was showing use. However, the meter readings only seem to be whole kWh so it would need to be a big fault to see a change in 15 mins. This aligned with what the smart meter console shows which is about 300W.

Instead we switched it to show Amps used and with the main circuit breakers off it showed about 1.3A. If this use was all day that would be 7kwh per day. Over 3 weeks this would be 10 times the actual bill we got. 

So this makes no sense. Why would a meter show use with the breakers off? And why would that use vary which can be the only explanation for the bill not being as high as an extrapolation of that 15mins suggest?

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    This could be a faulty meter.  If you speak to your energy supplier they can add another meter in line and see the difference and then confirm it is indeed faulty.  They might try and charge you for this.  They may state that if the meter is not faulty they will charge.  Another point to consider is most bill are made up of 2 parts, standing charge and usage charge.  The standing charge is the rental of the meter to yourselves.  Sometime the rental can be higher than the usage charge.  An alternate option could be to rent a Chauvin Arnoux (PEL) Power and Energy Logger from a wholesaler like CEF or CA themselves.  I think its about £20 a week.  These can show you what is going on on the load and supply side of your meter.  This may help to confirm the meter is faulty.  I am sure Kevin at CA (Chauvin Arnoux) could advise you further

    URL below for web site Chauvin Arnoux

    https://www.chauvin-arnoux.co.uk/en

Reply
  • 0

    This could be a faulty meter.  If you speak to your energy supplier they can add another meter in line and see the difference and then confirm it is indeed faulty.  They might try and charge you for this.  They may state that if the meter is not faulty they will charge.  Another point to consider is most bill are made up of 2 parts, standing charge and usage charge.  The standing charge is the rental of the meter to yourselves.  Sometime the rental can be higher than the usage charge.  An alternate option could be to rent a Chauvin Arnoux (PEL) Power and Energy Logger from a wholesaler like CEF or CA themselves.  I think its about £20 a week.  These can show you what is going on on the load and supply side of your meter.  This may help to confirm the meter is faulty.  I am sure Kevin at CA (Chauvin Arnoux) could advise you further

    URL below for web site Chauvin Arnoux

    https://www.chauvin-arnoux.co.uk/en

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