Lance
Key Master
Hi everyone, we have been asked by the Department of State Development, Business and Innovation for some case studies to illustrate how smart meters and associated technology (ie IHDs) may be helping customers reduce their energy consumption and save on their energy bills.
If anyone is willing to write about their experiences, and can submit it by the end of next week (4th April), please forward to myself (lance@ata.org.au) or Craig Memery (craig@ata.org.au) thanks.
tom
Member
Not trying to troll here, but what about experiences where they have had absolutely no effect? Will the government publish this type of information?
I have to go outside to look at my meter. When I do, it does not show real time consumption or current electricity cost. How can this possibly help me reduce my consumption?
tom
Member
Agree with you here, but AFAIK home displays are not provided with the smart meter roll out. So a normal homeowner would probably not even be aware they exist or how to get one installed. Personally I have no idea where I could even buy one, yet I consider myself more interested in energy consumption/conservation than most. The only place I've even read about them is on this forum, and I do not know a single person who has one installed in their house.
I could rant about how the smart meter roll out has been a massive waste of government money. The sole beneficiary is the energy industry, who will be able to charge a real time rate for energy, yet 99% of the population will have no idea what it is.
Craig Memery ATA
Moderator
Thanks Tom,
As ATAs energy consumer advocate, I couldn't agree more that people have a lot of well founded concerns about smart meters. And all your points are very valid.
But there is no shortage of opportunity for people to raise these issues, so this thread is simply concerned with finding out what is working for people.
In home displays are available, and if some people are finding that they work, it adds to the case that they should be made more accessible to others.
I think it's in everyone's interests that any good news stories are shared, and ATA use this feedback to focus governments attention of delivering benefits to consumers.
Cheers, Craig
JJ
Member
NB: I'm a NSW resident
Firstly I approve of the use of time of use TOU meters to get people to understand the varying cost of energy over the day/week. It just makes sense. However, my experience with the meters I have had installed in NSW needs to be improved. Its all about transparency and it seems that the installer may have met the needs of the retailer but forgotten the consumer in the process. The information gap is so wide it looks like it may have been done deliberately.
To give a bit of my background experience, I first had a net meter installed (around 2007). This was then replaced with separate solar in feed meter and a TOU meter for all the loads this was done when the NSW government changed the scheme. In each case I had to pay for the meter to be changed. About $550 each time.
My comments are:
1) Even going out to the meter the actual instantaneous usage cannot be determined/read, only a little red LED blinks to show current is flowing. An in home display seems like a prerequisite rather than a luxury if we want to change behaviours with respect to usage.
2) The separate total readings for each of the 4 tariffs (Peak/Shoulder/Night and Controlled Load (off Peak)) are shown in a scrolling display but without any accompanying text (only codes). It is therefore difficult to relate these back to the bill. Also in my case (Origin Energy), they only show the kWH used and not the calculation I was used to which was (New Reading - Old reading = usage this billing period). It really beggars belief how they get away with it.
I have not 'tackled' Origin Energy over these 2 issues. They wore me out years ago with their constant billing errors and delays. I ended up sending the CEO a letter and only then did they reply. I dare not poke the beast again!
However, having said this when the in feed tariff comes to an end and I'm back at 8c/kWH (if I'm lucky!) I will be left to either go back to net metering or just give it all up and go off grid (I'm in a city suburb location).
Cheers
Simon
MoreBikesPlease
Member
I've got some value from my smart meter. Not by reducing energy consumption though!
When I switched retailer, my old one wouldn't send me a final bill because their billing systems were stuffed! I wanted that bill because I would be in credit (thanks to my solar system).
I obtained my meter data from my distributor via email, and used a spreadsheet to calculate how much the retailer owed me. After going through the energy and water ombudsman, the retailer accepted my estimate and sent me a cheque. 
MaxG
Member
tom said:
The sole beneficiary is the energy industry, who will be able to charge a real time rate for energy, yet 99% of the population will have no idea what it is.
Fully agree... the whole scheme / set-up is wrong. McDonalds negotiate their supply on a weekly basis and pay 13-14 Cents per kW at present in Brisbane. As long as 'high consumption' gets a discount, and the average Joe pays TOU without having any other choice (e.g. with time to cook dinner), it remains a scam.
BTW: I have installed an EKM meter, which gives me all the info I could want from a meter. See http://www.ekmmetering.com/ -- a fabulous product.
8688john
Member
We have an electricity account with Origin Energy. Origin provides an account login facility with tools in their ‘Energy Manager’ to examine historical energy usage data in hourly intervals. It does not (and of course cannot) provide instantaneous power data, but nevertheless I have found it useful in identifying and removing stray energy loads – particularly for overnight and when no one is at home.
On the site you can also build a home profile which will then predict energy use, and then compare actual use. These tools have their limitations but, in my view, they do provide a first line ‘attack’ on energy awareness. Not all bad.
Matt
Member
The town i live in is a hive of activity regarding energy efficiency and the like and i've not heard one person mention their smart meter in regards to doing their bit for the planet.
I've only heard complaints, conspiracies and distrust of the energy companies.
JJ
Member
in reply to 8688john above:
"Origin Energy. Origin provides an account login facility with tools in their ‘Energy Manager’ "
I have this log in but not this particular feature. The greatest 'resolution' of data is per bill in a histogram. Maybe I'll ask if it can be added to my account? However due to horrendous history with Origin I am loathe to even make the request. For example my recent request for a refund (through this account log on) has been 'closed' without the refund being paid. I've just requested it again this morning. I bet if I owed them money they wouldn't wait over a month to remind me. In addition the account states it is "overdue" despite being over $700 in credit. Origins programmers (of their billing systems) whether in house or contract must be useless, overworked or both.
LiamC
Member
As a residential energy assessor in northern vic, i have seen nobody using 30min interval data and no in-home displays (tho Origin does provide them free to some res. customers (http://www.originenergy.com.au/4130/Energy-Monitor).
I suspect the biggest current winners from smart meters will be among those in dispute with elec. retailers over PV-FiT credits, as they can obtain kwh export info direct from meter. Sure it'd be smarter to get the interval data on spreadsheet but very few ppl know that they can.
8688john
Member
JJ & LiamC,
my property is close to the Melbourne CBD. I have just logged into my Origin account and can view yesterday's energy consumption in half hourly intervals. Whether or not this type of information is of use to the average punter could be debated, but it has enabled me to differentiate between the frig and parasitic loads that should have been turned off.
The ability to view this data is evidently region specific. In any case, Origin could only capture the raw data in areas that have a permanent wireless infrastructure.
Searching the SP AusNet website I infer that the wireless communications infrastructure is still very much a 'work in progress' particularly for rural and lower population density areas. Presumably many areas are serviced by a mobile wireless 'reader' similar and in lieu of a person visually reading a dumb meter?? [I am just guessing here]
Most of you will have to wait....
John
JJ
Member
As a NSW sydney resident the response from Origin is.....
" Unfortunately, the Energy Monitor feature is only available to Victorian customers at this stage."
No other supporting information was offered in the response. I wonder how many years it will be? Maybe I will be off grid by then!
LiamC
Member
8688john,
Yes smart meter data is great when its available (believe its only Origin providing online?), but most customers need it to be accessed & explained for them, something thats not always practical. In-home monitors should have been included in smart meter rollout if only to give public something tangible for their money.
Benny
Member
I'm an energy auditor in WA - residential and small business. I was pleasantly surprised recently to access the online account (with Synergy) for a primary school and saw an option to access "interval data". No announcement of it as far as I have heard. It was great!! Enabled me to download half hourly data for the school from the last year and do lots of analysis - w'end vs school day vs holidays, hot vs cool days, canteen operating vs off, why is the gardener using a 6kW bore pump for 5hrs 6days a week from 2am to 7am etc etc
I have asked Synergy how is this service enabled - does it depend on type of account/meter ? No response as yet.
alfresco24
Member
Benny, you were probably able to access one of the many schools with interval meters. There's many thousands more homes and businesses in WA with this capability, but who don't know it or how to use it.
How much energy were you able to help them reduce or save over what time frame? Was it hard?
State budgets are very tight but WA Treasury Dept are conscious of the opportunity to achieve energy productivity gains with advanced meters as well as sub-metering. Keep up the push there.
Huski
Member
In Melbourne, if you are located in the Jemena or United Energy distribution areas and have a smart meter then you are able to create a free account using your NMI number which then gives you access to their online energy portal. Both are exactly the same, but branded differently and both offer a great graphical interface thats easy to read and to compare data for day / week / month / year - previous years back to when you had the meter first installed.
You also are able to download all your data. We help customers sign up when we do an energy audit and it gives a very clear picture of their electricity use. We explain how they can use this and how they can use it (if they are interested in doing it) to make sure their retailers are being honest. We have used the data from the smart meters to back up customer complaints with their energy retailer before its gone to the ombudsman but its also gone the other way where it has not been the fault of the retailer.
Haven't seen distributor portals for citipower as yet but SP Ausnet also has a portal.
In home displays fill in the gaps of the half hour intervals and give you real time use. We only put these in homes where the home owner is interested in them after we explain what they are to them and we show them how to use them.
As for commercial properties - its great to be able to get the smart meter data as it makes it a lot easier to analyse their energy use.
Huski
Member
Hi Morbo - not sure if your asking me the question. Which dark portal - United/Jemena? If it is one of these 2, there is a button on the web page which allows you to download todays data - otherwise you only see up to yesterday. Also, when you do download "todays" data, it will be missing around 3 hours of data from the time you download.
Morbo
Member
Hi Huski, was more in general. I got Jemena. To monitor recent behavior it would be nice to get the current consumption, not the one from 3 hrs ago? And I guess it defies the purpose to download the whole 2 years data every 3 hrs to get the most recent data. Would be nice if it would be there. Or somehow available. Apart from that, its a nice thing to have, last 2 years data, for instance to configure solar panels.
Apart from that:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warcraft_II:_Beyond_the_Dark_Portal
barleysinger
Member
I don't have my smart meter yet. I meed to do this (and an all new box as well) so we can get our PV system. However we are out in the country, a 30 minute drive from cell access. We are in a block spot a and even our FreeView TV signals (with a very high quality antenna) are dodgy. so we have no wireless "mesh network" and never will.
How do rural properties gain ANYTHING real from new smart meters given that there is now way to get anything from them without sending person there? It seems to me that people without any real access to wifi or cell networks, are gaining no real-time information as to their costs at all.
*** One Other Remark here
Our home energy use is very steady and predictable. We do not trust our old meter system at all. We are disabled pensioners in the country and do nothing odd or different from day to day. The majority of the time this is directly reflecting our bill. However, we will (from time to time) have a massive change in our 'supposed' KWH usage which simply can;t be made to make any sense for our habits. The meter reading on the bill will match.
This happens to use about once every 1 1/2 years. It makes no sense. Most of our bills put our 3 person home, at below the average use of an average 1 person home. We do not use electric heat or electric hot water and yet this last quarter (including a part of the winter) was listed at above the average use for a 3 person home!
The truth is that we use more electricity in the summer than the winter as in the summer we have fans running all day, all over the house & we have no air conditioning.
My two last bills did this thing again. There is no effective way to make this problem go away other than getting the new meter put in (at my cost - for their billing equipment). I wonder how the head of AGL would feel, if when shopping at Coles he had to pay the cost for an entire new cash register just to buy 1 can of food.
