SMETS 1 vs SMETS 2

[pdk42]

OK - a question for the metering techies!

I'm planning on getting a 3-phase meter installed just as soon as Octopus can arrange it (my house has three phases wired to the meter board, but only one is used at present). My current meter is a SMETS 1 device, connecting via the mobile phone network. I'm assuming that any new meter will be SMETS 2. Now I know that in the south of the UK the provider is Telephonica and the meters use the mobile network too. The question is this - do SMETS 1 and SMETS 2 in the south of the UK use the same mobile network provider and technology? I'm concerned because the current meter really is on the edge of working due to low signal strength.

Thanks for any info!

 

[Glan gluaisne]

Yes, there are two networks, one in the south, one in the north. Both SMETS 1 and SMETS 2 meters in the south use the same network. Some meters have an option to fit an external antenna module for low signal areas, might be worth asking if your supplier is able to use one of these.

Some areas won't get a signal no matter what, but some can use the local mesh network to piggy back signals from house to house until reaching one with a good signal to the WAN. If you're some distance from neighbouring houses this may not work, as the mesh network uses a low power network (based on Zigbee, I believe), so only has a limited range. For example, it won't work here, where houses are a long way apart, but will work in urban areas, where houses are generally closer together.

 

[pdk42]

Yes, there are two networks, one in the south, one in the north. Both SMETS 1 and SMETS 2 meters in the south use the same network. Some meters have an option to fit an external antenna module for low signal areas, might be worth asking if your supplier is able to use one of these.

Some areas won't get a signal no matter what, but some can use the local mesh network to piggy back signals from house to house until reaching one with a good signal to the WAN. If you're some distance from neighbouring houses this may not work, as the mesh network uses a low power network (based on Zigbee, I believe), so only has a limited range. For example, it won't work here, where houses are a long way apart, but will work in urban areas, where houses are generally closer together.

Thanks for that. I’m too far from the neighbours for a Zigbee link to work. However, the current meter is connecting, albeit with a very weak signal, so I guess there’s a reasonable chance that a replacement SMETS 2 will work given that it’s using the same wide area network.

 

[Ed_M]

Thanks for that. I’m too far from the neighbours for a Zigbee link to work. However, the current meter is connecting, albeit with a very weak signal, so I guess there’s a reasonable chance that a replacement SMETS 2 will work given that it’s using the same wide area network.

Octopus fitted my 3-phase smart meter back in early December. It is a SMETS 1 meter. It seems that they are not fitting SMETS 2 meters until issues with them are resolved. Mine is a “Secure sprint 211” meter.

 

[pdk42]

Octopus fitted my 3-phase smart meter back in early December. It is a SMETS 1 meter. It seems that they are not fitting SMETS 2 meters until issues with them are resolved. Mine is a “Secure sprint 211” meter.

Thanks for that info - very helpful.