So my understanding is the following
- Once you get a smart meter, you can't switch back to a non smart meter Correct
- You don't have to switch to a smart tariff just because you have a smart meter Correct
- If you do switch to a smart tariff you can't switch back Correct
If I get a Smart Meter, I know that I can stay on the 24 hour tariff, but can I switch to a (non-smart) day/night tariff?
I'm not 100% certain, but I strongly doubt it. If you have a spinning disk meter then, as mentioned above, you'd need to have a replacement meter installed. However if you have the more recent, but non-smart electronic meter, then it can be configured to record separate day and night units (mine is). But I suspect that ESB Networks would refuse to reconfigure it and insist that you have smart meter installed, which would then force you into taking a "smart" day/night package.