New ESB Meters being installed by KN Group.
- Thread starter Odea
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wasn't there some concern to health about radiation from these smart meters?
is this another waist like the water meters? how much is it costing? why replace perfectly Google meters?
There is an active conspiracy theory to that effect yes, linked to the 5G conspiracies, electric cars causing Coronavirus etc. It is unscientific nonsense, but YMMV.
Discussed further up in this thread, there are loads of benefits to smart meters and most of the downsides are mostly fearmongering and conspiracy theorists latching on to the latest hot conspiracy. Not sure everybody would agree that water meters were a waste either, seemed more like a very vocal minority managed to scupper something fairly sensible to me - when clean water is a limited resource that costs the council money why should I not pay for my consumption?
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fidelcastro
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Have you tested for Radon in your house?
different type of radiation
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fidelcastro
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OK.
Sorry what type have you concerns about.?
Absolutely! Radon of course is an ionising form of radiation is a proven killer. Low level RF like you'll get from a smart meter is a form of non-ionising radiation that doesn't have the associated dangers of causing molecular bonds in our cells to break down.
So yeah, some crackpots who don't understand basic science are more worried about smart meters than they are about radon. Most of these people don't seem to worry too much that their TVs are most likely emitting far more radiation!
Our wife???? She must really prefer me as I haven't noted her missing too much lately!
fidelcastro
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Interested to hear what, say, 4 or 5 of these 'loads of benefits' are, to the customer, please?
Apart from the obvious one of making meter reading (and readers) redundant.
Debatable though as to whether those employed as such would see that as a benefit.
By no means an expert on the topic, so please don't ask me to defend any of these, but the things that interest me in no particular order -
- Dynamic tarriffs. Ireland wastes a bunch of wind energy every night, flexible tarriffing should allow the energy companies offer reduced rates at those times to use it. We'll see a similar peak in generation earlier in the afternoon with more solar on the grid, so again should help there. So pay less for what you use.
- Live visibility of your electricity usage. Useful to spot appliances that use a lot of power. Handy to understand if you'd benefit from solar panels. You'll be able to see what times of day you use more power, and possibly adjust that to save a few quid. You'll see your usage in € not the fairly obscure (to most people) kWh. More likely to be engaged with what you're paying for electricity and be encouraged to switch providers to get better deals (smart meter users in the UK are 22% more likely to switch provider). You'll be able to match your usage to competitive offerings more easily/accurately to get the best deal. In summary, reduced usage so you pay less.
- Accurate billing. As you said, no more waiting for the meter reader to come around or taking meter readings as you move between rental properties
- Automatic use of cheaper tarriffs. Some appliances, like washing machines/dish washers/car chargers can be connected to a smart meter so the meter can tell them when electricity is cheapest and they should start
- Quicker fault finding by ESB as they'll be able to see every house that is live/offline. Particularly interesting for medically vulnerable users as the network could detect failures for them instantly.
- Less prone to failure/inaccuracies as old analogue meters
- Improved pre-paid meter experience, see live usage in an app and top-up there etc.
For some, the most implausible of conspiracy theories make more compelling reading than a basic science book. Especially where evil corporate forces can be blamed. Adding my own unproven theory to the mix, I think there's a correlation between large cohorts of these people and a level of unhappiness with one's circumstances coupled with a preference to blame society or some authority figure rather than put the work in to address the real root cause. But that's probably one for another thread
My old meter was changed to one of these "smart meters" Ater ESB had installed it, my bill was over 50x the normal amount. I'm now locked into a dispute with Airtricity over the outrageous bill. €2300 for 3 months for an unoccupied property for which I was paying only a connection fee and related charges.
Contact these people
Complaints - Commission for Regulation of Utilities
The CRU provide a free and easy and independent dispute resolution service. This service is available to all electricity, gas or Irish Water customers thatRead More
gaeilge.cru.ie
Mine was finally replaced on the 18th of October
Guy arrived called to the door, submitted the old meter reading and installed the new meter and was gone in about 30 minutes
Got my first bill in early November showing both his reading and my end of October reading, everything as expected
But was a little surprised somewhat disappointed at the end of November when I found in my letter box an ESB request to "Submit your readings"
Thought these new smart meters were supposed to be able to be read remotely??
Guy arrived called to the door, submitted the old meter reading and installed the new meter and was gone in about 30 minutes
Got my first bill in early November showing both his reading and my end of October reading, everything as expected
But was a little surprised somewhat disappointed at the end of November when I found in my letter box an ESB request to "Submit your readings"
Thought these new smart meters were supposed to be able to be read remotely??