Energy Supplier Discussion

I’d love this but they cant install a smart meter in my home because the signal is too poor in my area :sob:

Yep, I periodically export the CSV, copy paste it into a google sheets doc that has a few helper columns (such as year, month, etc), then do a pivot table to display the data in a nice format for graphs. Here’s a template that you can try out, just keep in mind it might need tweaking for you needs. Just paste your CSV export from Octopus Watch app in to the first sheet.

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This came up whilst I was browsing the news today

I still recall years back when I joined them it was a revelation just getting pretty much instant billing upon putting in a reading.

I’d not realised that they license out parts of their billing system to other suppliers.

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On a different note just got my final bill from E.ON with my exit fees on. I’ve just uploaded the statement to Bulb and got an instant email to say they’ve credited my account with the £60. :ok_hand:

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I had the same experience when I previously switched to them. Very slick.

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Finally got an :octopus: engineer appointment to replace the old ex-Scottish Power SMETS1 ‘smart’ meter for a SMETS2 smart meter and then switch from our current 12M fixed plan to Agile.

:electric_plug: Should be Agile by late-Jan. Exciting!

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I’d be interested in hearing how you get on with the v2 IHD. We had one fitted about a month ago and in the ensuing few weeks have had 3 power cuts. That knocks the IHD connection off and I have to apply to Bulb for a re-set. Last one took 10 days. Not a big issue as daily consumption is available on their website. I’m leaving it after the last power cut see if it resets itself without my intervention. R-

Having now switched to Octopus and obtained access to my data through the API, I can even more confidently say that the IHDs are just complete POSs.

Even ten years ago surely anyone could have seen that accessing data through the web / mobile was the way to go.

I can’t imagine how much money we’re throwing away handing out these turds to every household.

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I agree - but I’m not overly fussed. The main objective was to get a meter that supplied usage data to the supplier that did not entail me climbing a step ladder every month to read the meter. I mean, I am knocking on the door of 70. R-

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I’m new to smart meters, having recently moved in to a house with a SMETS2 smart meter and IHD from one of the traditional suppliers (npower IIRC).

I’ve just completed the switch to Octopus Agile today. However, up until now, when it was just being used as a dumb system by the supplier, I didn’t keep the IHD plugged in. I just plugged it in when I needed to supply a meter reading.

Why did yours need resetting after a power cut?

We have had 3 power cuts of >2h duration. I understand the IHD will maintain its settings for c. 1h on the internal battery. After that … start again. R-

Why would you need to do this? The whole point of the meter being smart is that the readings are automatic.

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My battery lasts around 8 hours

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Looking to change to change Octopus from Bulb, and joining Agile, I know it’s beta and read up a bit but not sure if it would be any good for us, I am my sons carer so when in school only me a laptop the HomePod pumping out the beats and the occasional kettle boil, obvs depends if wives left for work putting on the dishwasher and washing machine :joy:, I know it says about using more electric at night is obvs cheaper, so wondering is it more for all electric heating economy 7 etc or good for everyone in general?

We now have an electric wheelchair for my son that takes a good 8 hrs to charge :wink:

Interesting plan the Agile tariff.

I found this page where someone has collated all the historical energy pricing on the Agile tarrif.

You could make some assessments on that as to how often the pricing drops below a rate (and time) you’d need to save money. I just had a look for the area I live if I were on the tarrif, and can see the night time rate averages about 7p/unit of energy. (And in fact, it’s cheapest between 12pm - 3pm)

I guess it would depend on:

  • How much energy it takes to charge the wheelchair for 8 hours (does it have a rating somewhere for it?)
  • How much your current overnight tarriff is.
  • And I guess more importantly, if you have other energy use in the peak window - 4-8pm - that can move to a cheaper time.

From what I’ve just read about it on that page - it’s probably has the most benefit if you have storage heaters, or other significant overnight charging.

If you have a smart meter currently, I think you could use the data from that to estimate what benefit you might see - or if you can find the kWh rating of the wheelchair charger, etc, it should indicate.

You can also see some live data for the tariffs on this dashboard:
https://dashboards.energy-stats.uk/d/y9iWNjZMz/user-dashboard?orgId=1

That got to be a long reply but then I found some data so I got carried away… Sorry1

:joy::joy::joy: not a problem thanks for the info​:wink:

I’m still waiting for them to book my appointment :slightly_frowning_face:

I applied just to have a meter upgrade probably 5 or 6 times and heard nothing.

Applied to ‘upgrade’ to Agile and :boom: - appointment booked. :man_shrugging:

Per my post, “when it was just being used as a dumb system by the [previous] supplier”.

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Hmm, what sort of settings does it need and what issue do you have after it forgets them? I left my IHD unplugged for weeks at a time. Plugged back it, it connects and tells me the latest meter readings automatically.

Maybe there are different models of IHD, some that can remember the essential settings even after the internal battery runs out?