Thanks to a steady stream of new customers for our smart tariff analysis over the past month (with 17 this week!), we’ve learnt a lot about different customer profiles - and the not-so-smart realities of the GB smart meter rollout.
Here are three things we've discovered...
Heat pumps + EVs? Think seasonal tariff switching: Customers with heat pumps and EVs may be best off adopting a seasonal tariff strategy, switching to a heat pump friendly tariff in the winter, but something else in the summer. Regularly switching tariffs may be too much of a hassle for some, but the potential savings are significant.
Past data has its limits: With customers installing new devices during the year, and with electricity prices going down and then up again, we recognise the need to be cautious in adopting a recommendation based solely on historical data. We're working on better prediction methods.
Device automating tariffs make comparisons tricky: Customers on tariffs that automatically control their solar inverter, battery, or EV present a unique challenge for tariff comparison, as their consumption profile is optimised to the tariff they are already on. This underlines the need for more sophisticated comparison methodologies.
The not-so-good news? We've had trouble accessing data for 20% of customers as a result of smart meter communication issues. Since these challenges are industry-wide, we are determined to find ways around them where we can.
If you are one of those with a poorly functioning smart meter, our advice is to insist on getting it replaced. And despite our criticism of the GB smart meter rollout, this does not change our advice that everyone should get a smart meter. They are critical to accessing smart tariffs, and to unlocking savings by shifting your demand to off-peak hours of the day.
If you’re having issues with your smart meter, or struggling to get it replaced, we’d love to hear from you - this helps us understand what is going wrong, and what we can do to help.