Friday 26 July 2013

The gas man cometh.

Well the gas man did indeed cometh, but he didn't create havoc like this gas man did....ha ha


He did a good job. He understood that I was not going to have a smart meter fitted, and didn't try and talk me into it. We had a long discussion on all the ins and outs of it. I had the small computer on and was able to back up my reasons for refusal to have one by showing him the web sites I had been reading up on. He explained that my meter needed changing because of how old it was. It was made in the sixties, and refurbished in the eighties, and I needed a new up to date version which would be easier to read. So out went this old one...
and in went this modern one. Definately not a smart meter.  
They don't call them gas men any more, as you can see from the customer checklist, they are now called Smart Energy Experts. Fancy name, eh! My expert was a qualified electrician. Now that the dual fuel is an option they have to work on gas and electricity meters. My reading is set at zero, the meter will still be read in the same way, either by the meter man who visits, or by myself. It will make it a lot easier, I could never understand those dials.
If anyone else wants to know more about smart meters, and is not sure if they want one or not, take a look at stop smart meters then make your mind up. There are a lot of reasons not to have one. Don't be bullied into it if you don't want one.

This will have to be a short post tonight, I've been out to the Arts Centre, and have run out of time. I'll catch you tomorrow. Toodle pip

10 comments:

  1. I was under the impression that if the meter does not have dials but does have a digital readout then it IS a smart meter. How do you tell the difference? A Google search only showed various kinds of smart meters, all with digital readouts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They do look very similar, but a smart meter can have dials or a digital read out , as can an ordinary meter. My Googlie search showed both kinds. Smart meters have a handset with them, which tells you how much electricity you are using at any one time. They need to be programmed in to transmit radio signals to the energy supplier. Mine is not. He brought one to show me, it looks a bit complicated, a complication which I can do without.

      Delete
  2. Interesting, the gas man coming to change the lekky meter. 74522.6 units on the old clock so the silver wheel must have done a few miles. The new one is a solar power meter that pays you for power that you put into the national grid. Trouble is now, you can't put magnets on to stop the silver wheel spinning haha, i bet the thought never crossed your mind.
    I don't think it pays to be the first to have these new meters. We've all got to have them eventually but the longer you put it off the more reliable the meters will be.
    Dave.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You're lucky you have a choice. Here our government brought in the smart metres whether we wanted them or not. Now a few years later they are giving a "choice" to the few hold outs and charging them for the "choice". Eventually even the homes of these few hold outs will get the new meters. What a waste of money.

    ReplyDelete
  4. A few weeks ago we bought some solar garden lights £2.39 each. They come on when it goes dark and are still on at 4am. Free lights in the house would be good to keep the bills down.
    The idea of smartmeters is to make people aware of how much fuel they use and try to get them to use it more efficiently. A waste of time really because everyone complains about bills but few people do anything to reduce them.
    Dave

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Dave. I tried the idea of solar lights, charging them outside for use inside. They worked for a while, but then faded, probably because I bought cheap ones.

      Delete
  5. Times are a -changing.
    The power company here is changing over from the old meters as well. The new ones I'm told seem to record higher rates of usage...smile.

    ReplyDelete
  6. There was a time many moons ago when I loved the gas man calling because it meant that I got a rebate from the money he emptied from the meter. We used to put shillings in it then. lol
    I remember at home my Mum's meter was in a dark cupboard and I lost sight of the times we dropped the shilling and had to search for it with a torch as we didn't have another.
    Memories.......
    Briony
    x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I remember that Briony, and having to run round to neighbours to get change when the leccy ran out. We always got quite a substantial rebate, a way of saving I think, like a piggy bank. I think it would be a good idea to bring that system back in.

      Delete
  7. That's a lovely song to share, especially with the lego images.

    ReplyDelete

Some comments will be accepted. I decide which are published.

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.