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Anyone have a "smart meter" installed and have their bill skyrocket? Had one put on my house last month and my bill tripled. I really haven't changed how I am consuming energy. There are a couple websites on this issue from Duke Energy in the Midwest but don't see it for around here. Of course they are pinning it on the snow. Also, there really are no benefits to the consumer for these "smart meters" the power company can shut your power off with out sending a person out and get "more accurate" readings which seems to mean charge you more.
Anyone have a "smart meter" installed and have their bill skyrocket? Had one put on my house last month and my bill tripled. I really haven't changed how I am consuming energy. There are a couple websites on this issue from Duke Energy in the Midwest but don't see it for around here. Of course they are pinning it on the snow. Also, there really are no benefits to the consumer for these "smart meters" the power company can shut your power off with out sending a person out and get "more accurate" readings which seems to mean charge you more.
Last month we had record cold for WEEKS, everyone's bill who uses electric to heat has gone up significantly.
My normal Dec bill is around $150 last month was $240. And I turned my heat down.
Our HVAC guy told me to remove it. He said it made our air conditioner work harder. Not sure about heat but I imagine it's the same issue if Duke gets to decide when they want to turn it on and off on their end.
Last month we had record cold for WEEKS, everyone's bill who uses electric to heat has gone up significantly.
My normal Dec bill is around $150 last month was $240. And I turned my heat down.
I travel for work and wasn't even in town for 6 day during the billing cycle (normal for me). I got the breakdown and post smart meter the kw usage went up 50%+ while nothing in my pattern of usage changed. They kept referring to the recent cold snap and I said that is irrelevant if my energy usage pattern didn't change unless they are doing Enron style price gauging (which the rep never explicitly denied). There are websites with customer horror stories with these "smart meters". They only benefit the energy company. I see no benefits to the customer with them. Just wanted to make people aware. I'd be shocked if Duke Energy wasn't one of the most hated companies along with TWC and Comcast.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,779 posts, read 15,793,171 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mclarksn9
I travel for work and wasn't even in town for 6 day during the billing cycle (normal for me). I got the breakdown and post smart meter the kw usage went up 50%+ while nothing in my pattern of usage changed. They kept referring to the recent cold snap and I said that is irrelevant if my energy usage pattern didn't change unless they are doing Enron style price gauging (which the rep never explicitly denied). There are websites with customer horror stories with these "smart meters". They only benefit the energy company. I see no benefits to the customer with them. Just wanted to make people aware. I'd be shocked if Duke Energy wasn't one of the most hated companies along with TWC and Comcast.
If you keep your house at 70 degrees and it's 10 degrees outside, your system has to work a lot harder and is on a lot more than if you keep your house at 70 degrees, and it's 40 degrees outside. So even though your patterns didn't change, the cold snap affected how often and for how long the heat was kept on to keep your house at a constant temperature.
I travel for work and wasn't even in town for 6 day during the billing cycle (normal for me). I got the breakdown and post smart meter the kw usage went up 50%+ while nothing in my pattern of usage changed. They kept referring to the recent cold snap and I said that is irrelevant if my energy usage pattern didn't change unless they are doing Enron style price gauging (which the rep never explicitly denied). There are websites with customer horror stories with these "smart meters". They only benefit the energy company. I see no benefits to the customer with them. Just wanted to make people aware. I'd be shocked if Duke Energy wasn't one of the most hated companies along with TWC and Comcast.
kW usage went up 50% but your bill tripled?
Honestly your numbers don't make any sense.
If it's cold the heat pumps run more, plus they freeze up and go thru defrost cycles which run heat strips, all amplified by the rain/snow, it sucks but your numbers sound pretty close to mine assuming your 50% increase. My last Dec was around 1600 kwh, last month was 2300. I did notice my days in period was 33 which is slightly more than a typical month (8% more) so that would effect my bill. Avg kwh per day was 70 on a home that is not very energy efficient with older units.
Our HVAC guy told me to remove it. He said it made our air conditioner work harder.
Total BS. For the record I have a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering. If you have load control, that's a different matter -- but load control is your option, and load control can be implemented with or without a smart meter. Load control does change the way your HVAC runs.
Progress Energy began deploying smart meters years ago. I think mine has been in place for 6 or 7 years now. Cannot tell it's there.
If it's cold the heat pumps run more, plus they freeze up and go thru defrost cycles which run heat strips, all amplified by the rain/snow, it sucks but your numbers sound pretty close to mine assuming your 50% increase. My last Dec was around 1600 kwh, last month was 2300. I did notice my days in period was 33 which is slightly more than a typical month (8% more) so that would effect my bill. Avg kwh per day was 70 on a home that is not very energy efficient with older units.
Follow me here. From the time my meter was replaced this month, they are saying my kwh per day usage has gone up 50%. Now, my bill does not have this daily breakdown. I only got this info after calling a 704(Charlotte) number that handles meter issues. That is the whole point - my bill does NOT make sense. I appreciate your skepticism from one skeptic to another.
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