There are 32 million smart meters in UK homes right now but some energy customers are leading the resistance against installing one over concerns about their data.
And money expert Martin Lewis says a lot of customers are fed up of broken smart meters which aren’t fixed with complaints over the energy usage meters ‘through the roof’.
Channel 5 first broadcast a programme in January called Smart Meters: Should You Get One?, hosted by presenter Alexis Conran.
On it, Alexis met a man called Mariano who showed him a video which outlined his concerns about smart meter spying and how it’s technically possible.
Mariano said; “Appliances are going to be revealing information because appliances all have very different energy usages, and therefore reading those patterns, somebody can understand whether you’re using the microwave, whether you’re turning on the light, whether you’re turning on the TV.”
He then showed a video from a company called Onzo.
Onzo’s video said: “We take energy consumption data from smart meters and sensors. We analyse it using our patented algorithms, and build a highly personalised profile for each and every energy customer.”
“We even tag the appliances we see being used in the home. We even use this virtualised profile to monetise their customer data by providing a direct link to appropriate third party organisations based on the customer’s identified character.”
Alexis then replied: “Wow, so let’s be clear, this is a privacy issue. This data company claims to know what we are doing and it’s boasting that it could sell this information to other people.”
Alexis then spoke to another man who said: “When I was working with Onzo, our interest was how do we help people understand data. So this was entirely opt-in, if you just take a stream of data back from a smart meter, you can start to see what appliances in your home are actually using the energy.”
“Now from that you can start to work out quite a lot about the people who live in the home. Certainly for elderly people that live at home, you can see if their pattern of making tea changes during the day, which may even tie into something like a urinary tract infection which affects memory.”
“So there’s lots of fascinating things you can do with data once you’ve got access to it.”
Alexis then went on to add that in October 2022, the government announced it was going to collect data from energy meters ‘to help identify fraud’.
It might even be able to tell from your smart meter, whether you’re at home or not or whether you have an undeclared lodger.
Alexis added: “More concerning, the fear here is that the more people it is shared or traded with, the more vulnerable it becomes,” due to hacks of websites or data stores.
Despite these concerns, Alexis assured viewers he would still get a smart meter.
“There will always be a lot of paranoia out there about them, some of it is real and some of it really doesn’t seem to stack up and in a decade we might wonder what all the fuss was about. After all, it’s just a meter sending readings to your energy supplier.
“It’s been fascinating learning about smart meters. There will be issues, there will be problems just like everything we use. You don’t just throw them in the bin and say that doesn’t work. The truth is that the majority of people who have smart meters are actually happy with their smart meters.
“At the end of the day, if you’re thinking about getting a smart meter, forget about stories you’ve seen on social media from people you’ve never met before, listen to the experts.”
Many viewers were fuming at this conclusion as they vowed never to get a smart meter.
@asklowley said: “Don’t get a smart meter. The energy companies will sell your data do you want that I have refused”
@williamworthy said: “What shabby smart meter programme.”
@thinkforaminute said; “Guy saying smart meter immediately saved him money from the minute it was installed. What twaddle. You have to change your behaviour and USAGE! Also said it said it talks to supplier every 30mins then also 5 mins.”
@raffertyry said: “So much wrong with this @channel5_tv docu on whether ppl shd hv a #smartmeter I dunno where to start 1 You DON’T need a smartmtr to get cheap rate leccy – get Economy10 meter for 3 hrs in afternoons, 2 hrs mid-evening and 5 hrs @ night 2. Get yr own monitor of consumption for £10. The biggest drawbacks to having a #smartmeter are NOT obsession or becoming nerdy – it’s the damn thing not working correctly – or not working at all! esp if you live in a poor signal area! @channel5_tv #channel5”
@adamdav135 said; “There’s not a chance of me getting a smart meter again. In my last house, the installer damaged my meter box and left without telling me. I challenged them, and they did nothing. Never again.”
Onzo gave Channel 5 a statement which read: “The video is referring to ‘energy disaggregation”. It takes smart meter data shared by a household and splits it into different categories… lighting, heating, cooking, washing, drying etc… this breakdown can also be used to help households understand how to save money.
“However, the data doesn’t allow individual devices to be identified.
“The video reflects energy services that were conceived well before the fundamental changes in GDPR regulations brought in 2018. The business’ focus was changed, and the video was removed, well before those acts came into being.
“Smart meter data in Britain can ONLY be accessed with the household’s specific consent and cannot be sold to anyone without their express permission.
“For absolute clarity, Onzo never sells data to or shares data with third parties.”
It’s definitely, then, worth checking what boxes you tick or untick when taking a new fix from your energy supplier.
Martin Lewis has given his verdict on smart meters.
He said that he is ‘generally in favour’ of them but that too many end up broken and don’t get fixed.
He said: “Complaints about smart meters are through the roof. Too many people tell me theirs are broken. Others refuse to have them and feel companies are forcing them.
“I’m generally in favour of the concept of smart meters, though I think the way they’ve been rolled out since the start has been dire. Things need to change, so today I sent this open letter to the new Labour Government’s Energy Secretary of State, Ed Miliband.
“Our latest MSE research (via statistically representative polling), which asked people if their smart meters work, shows 19% say theirs don’t work. The reason this is so much higher is that it includes everything people feel has gone wrong, including in-home displays that won’t communicate or connect, incorrect data on tariffs or usage, and prepay top-ups that don’t register correctly. These aren’t in the official stats.
“Shifting the target to ‘working’ smart meters could help give firms some wiggle room to get people back ‘online’, and in the long run, the hopefully improved word of mouth will lead more smart-meter-sceptics to decide they want to give it a go.”