It was when I answered my door bell the other evening that I first met 'Mohammed' ,the accredited representative of 'first:utility ' a company that claims to be amongst the first to be offering to fit Smart meters free of charge to provide their customers with better control over their energy bills on a monthly basis.
My first reaction was to say " Thanks but no thanks " but as he persisted with his sales pitch so my interest increased. The whole scheme , which has a 14 day release clause , appears to have a lot going for it but only time will tell . During the next 1/2 hour he spoke of many things but one passing comment really caught my attention.
He asked if I was aware that by leaving the micro wave clock light in the 'On' position permanently it was costing me more than £60 per annum to say nothing of the cost of other similar pilot lights .
My answer "No" to this snippit of information may also be of use to others. He was a mine of other useful information and should he call on you I sincerely recommend that you at least give him the time of day because there do not appear to be any obvious drawbacks !!!!!!
We want to generate a gallery of images so invite you to get out into Gatley and take photos of your favourite parts of Gatley and send them in.
Gatley SHOP LOCAL!
I agree, Pegwin, as long as it's working and accurate......
My supplier has also offered one but I haven't taken it up yet.
To;- J.H. and Digger.
I will try to answer your queries re the Energy meter progress.
I have now fitted my free Britisg Gas gizmo and report as follows :-
The B.G. website provides a fairly comprehensive account about what exactly their unit does and much of it amounts to a form the self reading of meters on demand by the subscriber and the onward transmission of such data .It certainly does not self transmit the said data on a regular basis, but it is free.
It takes the form of a monitor screen that displays the daily usage (per Kw hour / cost in pounds ) so that the user can understand just what appliances within his jurisdiction are using the most energy at any given time .. That in itself has no direct effect on the ultimate bill but it does allow the user to disconnect those appliances that are running unecessarily.
It allows for a reduction in cost if both gas and electricity bills are combined and there is also a promise of nectar points following every transaction.
At this point in time I am unable to calculate what, if any saving I have obtained, but I can say with some certainty that I now have some control over energy usage within my household and can now take some positive steps to do something about reducing it .
So, 'Digger' depite what the newspapers may say , this little monitor seems to offer a free method of conserving energy and at the very worst can only succeed in making official meter readers redundant !!
Yesterdays Daily Mail carried an interesting article about these smart meters, how a lot of them are not working, not transmitting meter readings to the companies, and are also giving false info to the customer!
Thanks for the update, Peter. Please let us know how you get on with the smart meter thingy (and , particularly, if you feel it's brought you savings)
Addendum to ;- Energy company with a difference 29/12/11
Just for information I have to report that following very helpful comment from our members I took the trouble to explore other alternatives.
The best result originated from British Gas ,my existing suppliers ,whose offers of Nectar points and a free smart meter reader seem very similar to those on offer by 'first utility. The Gas and electric tariffs seem to be unaffected either way
Having now made my mind up perhaps this will assist readers to do likewise.
The "Money Saving Expert" website is also pretty good for impartial advice about a range of things.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/
I never consider any company who has to resort to door-to-door sales. My elderly father was duped into moving his power contract to Southern 5 years ago. He passed away 10 months later and I had a devil of a job sorting out his account as I found that the meter readings had been incorrect ever since the transfer. In the end I found that he'd overpaid BG by around £150 when they closed his account. I got no recompense.
Suggest you check the following :- http://www.moneysupermarket.com/c/utilities/suppliers/first-utility/reviews/27/1/1/1/0/
Check the customer reviews.
I shall ,as always, continue to " Caveat the Emptors " J.H. and:-
Having now read your very pertinent comments regarding 'First Utility' I must thank you for your very valuable assistance in this topic, and you can be assured that I will l now make best use of the cooling off period to come to a considered conclusion.
Of course it is all very much of a ' Comme Ci - Comme Ca ' situation that has been precipitated by the efforts of a door step salesman to secure business. We should all just take em as we find em.
I rather suspect the claim that a microwave clock will cost you sixty quid a year is pretty dubious - bearing in mind that a quick Google indicates it operates at only about 50 milliamps.
It's more likely that £60 may be the total cost of "standby-power" - leaving the TV and computer on, having a mains powered alarm clock and the like.
Folk should always be dubious about doorstep sales. The nature of their commission structure often means that they only earn it if they sign you up there and then. Therefore, there can be the "hard sell" to get you to sign up. Use the cooling off period to check what has been said about the proposed benefits. Some comments about first:utility at moneysupermarket.com - http://www.moneysupermarket.com/c/utilities/suppliers/first-utility/reviews/27/1/1/1/0/
And an article by the Telegraph - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/8247840/First-Utility-failing-to-protect-vulnerable.html
As always - "caveat emptor"