Switched to Smart Meters with British Gas

When I moved into the house and realised that the electricity meter was a pay as you go, I wanted to have it changed to a direct debit payment straight away. Unfortunately, the process wasn't as easy as I had initially anticipated. I first had to wait 2 weeks for it to be approved by British Gas. Then I was told it first needed to be switched to a Smart Meter first, but that I couldn't have the meter moved once it was a Smart Meter, so I had to wait for the work to be done on the move first. Once that was moved, only then could it be switched.

Getting the appointment was an absolute nightmare, as I had 2 cancelled for different reasons and then had to wait almost another month to reschedule.. When the British Gas engineer came over, it was raining and he hadn't been told it had been moved outside so at first he said it was too unsafe to complete the work. Fortunately, it was only drizzling to it was successfully completed. I'm surprised at the size of the electricity Smart Meter but glad it still fits in the space and the box. 

He also then said, he'd also been booked on to change the gas meter to a Smart Meter too. I was surprised as I hadn't requested this, nor been informed it was going to be changed but I wasn't against it and pleased that I would no longer have to send my meter readings in each month to get an accurate monthly payment. It was close as to whether he would have to adjust the pipes due to the width, but it just fit with the correct amount of clearance included. 

The Smart Meters come with a digital interface which is what transmits the readings to British Gas, so it doesn't use WiFi at all. It's great to see how much credit my meter has and what the use it over different periods of time (hour, day, week, month, years etc). However, it is slightly concerning when I see how much per hour. On average, it's about 23p for gas and 5p for electricity, but as soon as I have guests over and they're having hot drinks, it spikes to over £3! I think it'll be fun to watch over the next few months, especially with it being peak winter at the moment.