Meridien Energy - Smart Meter

Is anyone else using this clever gadget, and getting a graph reading every afternoon for the previous day's electricity usage?

We have had it since last year, and it is interesting to see when power is being used. Except I don't accept that we are using power at the times and amounts shown on the graph, and had an email correspondence with Meridien about this year. No solution was reached.

Today I had a phone conversation with an "advisor" because our Saturday graph gave us a cost of over $9 for the day. Our usual cost is between $5.50 to $7.00 The only thing different on Saturday was - to save money I used the sewing machine and patched the husband's jeans - [!]

We are careful with power usage - have turned the wall oven off at the switchboard because we thought it was a money grabber, and we don't have a spa pool - and we do have solar water heating.

Where can I go to get our power usage analysed?
Meridien said today to phone back in a week's time if I was still unhappy - I want to sit at a desk, face to face with a person who knows what they are talking about.

Thank you for listening to my rant.

Walter Park in Mairehau, Christchurch

You are not ranting Walter as I too as a Meridian user in the North Island sometimes wonder how the hell they are coming up with the power usage they claim.

Mind - the switchboard agrees with them so is it that your local lines company is turning off (in my case not yours with solar) the hot water and you get the additional cost of reheating the water. Obviously, it is far colder in Winter coming out of the pipes than Summer so the additional cost to you but in the interests of the Lines Company large users at your cost.

The other question is how many is "we"? If I was getting a bill for around $200 ($7 x 30ish) I too would be spitting the dummie. That is massive for an average family of 2 adults and 2 kids presumably. That is worked on the theory that even though I am a single unit, most of the power you use for a family is no different (except showers) as cooking dinner for 4 is no different than for one! How many additonal consumption units do you have to say an urban property. Pumps for your water, a swimming pool, spa pool, electric fences?

Ask Meridian (or your local Lines Company) if you can borrow a meter that enables you to plug into various appliances and measure their consumption. An old freezer or oil column heater for example will blow your socks off. If they no longer do that then you can go online and purchase the meters yourself (I have one) and I think they are brilliant as you can figure out what is drawing so much power.

Bear in mind too that if you are the last on the line of your Transformer, you will be taking an additional hit. They deny it but you are.

DiDi;422961 wrote: ..... If they no longer do that then you can go online and purchase the meters yourself (I have one) and I think they are brilliant as you can figure out what is drawing so much power.
.....

Or visit your local Jaycar Electronics store (85 Gasson St, Chch). They're like Dick Smith's except the staff are willing and helpful :rolleyes:

We have a smart meter (3 phase) but our web site readings are 3 or days behind. This means you must keep notes of usage as it is hard to remember what happened 3 or 4 days ago.
Our power account is $220 per month in the Summer!!.
Driving us nuts trying to get a handle on what is using the power.

Sometimes, whe we go out, we turn everything off except one item and read the meter before and after. This gives us an idea of the consumption of that appliance.

Because we are 3 phase, you must push a button on the meter to get the correct phase meter reading. Unfortunatley, the web usage is overall ie doesn't give hourly usage of Controlled meter or the two phase meters.

We have identified big usage being the 83 yr old turning his heater on at 1am. Leaving his pie warmer on and our Home Office with 2 pc's.

Thank you all for your replies,

I tried to copy one of the graphs we are sent - but have not worked out how to do that - to show you the sudden peaks - and without any steady bottom line to show that the fridge/freezer, the fridge, and the waterbed are quietly using power during the wee small hours.

Will investigate getting a meter and will report back if I find something exciting.

Regards
Walter Peak

Try contacting Community Energy Action - www.cea.co.nz .

They are your equivalent of Energy Options up here in the BoP. EO have energy advisors who will come out to your home and test various appliances and things to see how much power they are using. If you talk nicely to them you can sometimes get an energy monitor left in place on something to see how it tracks over a 24 or 48 hour period. The results can be really surprising sometimes. My partner works for them and he finds some really unusual power draining devices sometimes.

CEA might be able to do the same for you?