Smart Meters, smart meters, smart meters… There are many articles circulating around the smart meter rollout. None more so than the likes of the Daily Mail and This is Money. Our reported Harvey Smith, thought it prudent to put some journalistic investigation into facts, rather than conjecture.
Harvey Smith, who has over 10 years in the energy industry reporting across the Globe on all things Energy looked in detail at some of the Facts and Myths of the Smart Meter Rollout.
Facts:
- Smart meters show your energy usage in live time. This is true, smart meters are a great way of keeping up to date with your energy usage. For example, if you leave your TV on standby, you use on average £0.70 pence per night. This is shown through your energy usage monitor, via your In-Home Display (IHD)
- Smart Meters are installed in an hour. This is true, on average smart meters are being installed in 6o minutes.
- Smart Meters will save me money on my energy bills. This is true, ensuring that you understand where money is being spent and at what times, allows consumers to understand and adapt their energy usage. As per the simple example shown above, by turning all appliances off through the night, you can save on average 70p pence per day.
- Smart Meters reduce the risk of electricity and gas emergencies. This is true, the national meter infrastructure at the moment is on average 33 years old. Meters are not functioning within their warranties, and there are on average 15% of all energy customers meters going faulty each year. This equates to around 11.25 million emergencies each year due to meters being too old to function safely.
Myth:
- Smart Meters can cause Cancer. This is NOT true, in fact, the emission from any smart meter is usually 1/100th’s of what a mobile phone emits on a daily basis. Coupled with the fact, that smart meters are often tucked away in cupboards or under the stairs reduces this risk again. Websites such as Daily Mail and This is Money reference that they affect your health, this again has no substance.
- Energy Suppliers are bribing customers for smart meters. This again is a This is Money article, that clearly shows a lack of understanding. Customers are incentivised to take up smart meters. There is legally nothing adverse here and should be dismissed as a slight on the smart meter rollout.
- Having a smart meter will make you a penny pincher. This is a Daily Mail article, designed to confuse and create a clear propaganda driven article for readers. Smart meters will make you more bill conscious, but that is not a bad thing. The next they will be saying Stop Smart Meters, they actually save you money. I would ignore the majority of conjecture based articles from the Daily Mail and This is Money.
Conclusion:
Smart meters are a great idea, users get to see in live time their energy usage, it reduces the chance of your meter going faulty and also allows your home to be safer. I had mine installed by Eon years ago, and have been happy since. Enjoy people.
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