Accuracy of smart meters?

[Murdoch]

I've just had to take over the affairs of my late brother and I'm looking at his gas bill - the house has a smart meter and he's used more in July (he was single) than we do and there's 4 adults in our house.

The bill suggests the readings are "actual" readings - so how would this be in the summer as no heating would be being used. According to his bill the average usage for gas per day is 47.78 kw - just for hot water!

I turned the heating off completely last Saturday and will check the reading next time I visit

As a spark I'm very conscious of "claims" that electric smart meters aren't accurate but don't have any hard evidence to back this up

Do you wise people have any views on this?

Thanks

 

[Deleted member 120897]

I don’t like “smart” meters. I’ve been to properties where the consumer has had gas in credit on the plug in monitoring system, yet gas meter states gas is off and money owed. I think they eventually catch up, like a pc running Microsoft Windows. I’m not sure about non pre-payment gas meters though. The other possibilities are: a gas leak or a dripping hot tap. Depends on what type of hot water system is installed.

 

[WC1]

Have you checked for tightness and gas rated?
I would say a faulty appliance or leak would be my first thoughts.
Also you might be able to get old bills from gas co. To compare.
Sorry to hear about your brother.
All the best

 

[Chuck]

What sort of hot water system is it? (Vented / Unvented) How is it controlled? Was a hot tap left dripping / running?

 

[Chuck]

BTW condolences on the death of your brother.

I think it is more common for people to misread/misunderstand meters than for them to be miscalibrated but faults do happen.

Check if your energy meter is faulty

How to check if the meter's faulty, getting your supplier to test the meter, how the meter is tested, what the supplier should do if your meter is faulty.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Double-check what the meter is actually saying, preferably by getting it to tell you the number of cubic metres of gas consumed without any 'clever' conversions. Is it telling you the annual average, for example? That said, I am assuming that '47.78 kw per day' is supposed to be '47.78 kW hr /day', i.e. an average of 2kW over the last week or so.

A gas leak of that size would be pretty noticeable. Perhaps if it was internal to the boiler and was escaping via a roof-level flue people wouldn't notice but I'd have expected there to have been reports of 'gas smell' by neighbours as there have been periods with essentially no wind recently.

To actually dissipate 2kW at this time of year, either the heating must have been running or you've got a hot water leak.

BTW, in case you're new to this game, I've dealt with the affairs of several friends and relatives who've died and my advice is to avoid getting too hung up on details. I know exactly how tempting it is to try to get everything 'right to the last penny' out of respect to the deceased but the priority has to get probate granted without delay so the house can be sold. Keeping a house unoccupied is both expensive and a nuisance. Trying to rent it out before probate is granted is both difficult and a nuisance.

 

[WC1]

Although it's tempting to think the gas / electricity / water board might be using faulty meters or even have their thumb on the scale they would be in for major class action if it were the case.
I have also wound up a couple of estates, it can be complex but it's not insurmountable, it's just not the sort of thing most people think they can do for themselves. Well done for taking it on.

 

[SimonG]

Dodgy cylinder stat?
Friend of mine was sorting out father in laws high electric bills. He had been told just to leave the immersion heater on 24/7 for hot water. Old cylinder as well, no insulation or jacket.

 

[Murdoch]

Well done for taking it on.

I don’t really have any choice. In his next of kin

 

[Ric2013]

I'd only want to get hung up on it if it were inconsistent with previous bills. People's energy use varies so much. I have known a single person in a small flat to use 6 times as much electricity as another single people in a house.

Even if the last bill is inconsistent, people's habits may change just before they die and 4.4 cu m gas (there's about 11kWh in a cu m) in a day isn't so great a figure that it cannot possibly be correct (even if it is unusual for summer). If his house has a cylinder, bear in mind the various inefficiencies do add up (I get about 25% efficiency using my gas boiler for water only) especially when little water is being run off, so I would expect a single occupier to not use much less than a family.