Wow… we are all so different… I know one chap who managed on 3kw…but only by never switching things on at the same time. He had a gas cooker and his situation was so finely tuned… eg he left the freezer “off” for hours at a time, when something else needed to be used… That sort of thing would drive me nuts.
We are on 9KW with 3 freezers, 2 fridges, washing machine (no dryer), dishwasher (no dryer), electric fan-oven, microwave, kettle, coffee maker… and all the bits and bobs (ceiling fan, computers, tv, stero etc). Oh and the Oil boiler uses elect as well.
Never had a problem … yet I am wondering what the Linky will make of all this.
Is it the case that the Linky meters trip exactly at a predetermined maximum whereas there was a much larger buffer on the old style meters so the maximum draw could easily be exceeded regularly without being aware of it.
I have been advised that Linky meters do not have the leeway of the older style… this info was freely given by the EDF folk who came to a property a while ago, to fit a new meter (old style)… so, however you put it, however it works, folks will need to arrange their Elect usage according to the tarif for their actual needs…
Reading in the Press etc, Seeing where some folk reckon their bills go up… I am wondering if Linky charges for random excesses ??? no idea, just wondering… as, on the face of it, there is no reason why bills should go up…
When we moved in, the supply was 6kw ; not knowing any better, we were contacted by EDF who more or less obliged us to upgrade to 9 (?) from memory…stating 6 was not sufficient for a “modern household”
As I was planning to add double oven and induction hob - the previous owner having had a gas hob and small “belling” style oven (so definitely not more than 3kW) we asked for the supply to be increased to 15kW
The young (well, sounded young) lady on the 'phone said something along the lines of her computer telling her it needed to be more so I enquired how much it would cost to upgrade beyond 15 (knowing full well that was likely to mean 3-phase and an expensive upgrade).
There was a surprised indrawing of breath and then she said, “yes, well, perhaps you can see how you get on”
I guess it was only a couple of grand but not money I had any intention of spending.
But 3kW is hardly enough to run a bathroom and I think I’d find 6kW a bit restrictive - no plugging in a couple of 2kW fan heaters for a quick blast of extra warmth when we arrive in Jan or Feb, for instance.
coincidentally I was at the train station yesterday when I saw the latest copy of QUE CHOISIR (the french version of Which? magazine). It has a special this month on Linky and although I have not read it yet is seems to be quite thorough. The summary says that of the people they interviewed :
17% had problems following installation (devices cutting out, internet problems etc.)
69% have said that their bills were not reduced as promissed by Enerdis
56% judged the new box as being of no benefit.
The magazine said that there are no benefits for the user, only benefits for Enerdis.
It says that they will be spending ‘5.7 thousand Million Euros’ installing these across the country.
How kind of Enerdis to spend this kind of money for our benefit.
I look forward to reading the article fully, in the meantime, work it out for yourselves, this has little to do with improving the efficiency of our electrical supply, it is in fact one small part of a grand plan to monitor and control the ever more dissatisfied citizens.
Of course it is primarily of benefit to Enedis but that’s how progress happens, isn’t it - companies spending a lot on R&D and adopting new methods to move forward all the time. I expect that a couple of decades from now, people will look back the days before about 2020 when electricity companies used to have to send a man round to knock on every door in every town and village and every isolated hamlet in France to “read the meter” - hahaha, how quaint and old fashioned, what if people were out when they called, must have taken them ages to collect all the info that we now access in real time.
When householders are out… a card is left in the letterbox to be completed and popped into the post… or reported online… or by telephone.
I’ve no problem with the meter-man calling round once a year. He is employed gainfully to do so… poor chap and his colleagues will be out of work once Linky is everywhere
I’ve no Linky yet. House +/- 200m² heating oil & wood burner, electric oven, 2 freezers, fridge, electric water heater, kettle, power tools etc etc all on a 32A-6Kva supply, never tripped the mains?
Yes I know - I’m perfectly happy with the meter reader system, I was just projecting 20 years into the future and how people will see it in retrospect. People used to kick start bikes and crank cars with a crank handle without ever questioning , now they’ve invented cars that recognise your fingerprint. Progress. Unfortunately it often does mean jobs disappear. I don’t like it either.
Actually my meter man sends me an SMS if I’m out and I send him the reading back by SMS.
All our meter reader has to do is wander past the house as we are set up to read with a gizmo from outside. Which is useful as apparently the Linky meter reading system won’t work in our hamlet, so our meter woman should still have a job.
yes Anna. We are so lucky, after all, spending 5.7 thousand million euros to save having people coming to read the meter is much more sensible than spending it on healthcare or pensions.
What can you do. Self drive cars, Linkys, Brexit, these things are worth spending money on. Who wants pensions anyway, I’ll just keep working till I’m 66, and future generations for even longer - if there’s any jobs left to work at.
We installed a delesteur in our tableau to prioritise the circuits.
This meant that we could flip the kettle on and if this pushed the consumption over the limit it would disconnect the circuits in order of priority (in our case some of the heaters was the lowest) and switch them back on again when the consumption dropped below the limit.
Obviously some circuits were not managed by this as they were essential.
By doing this we ran a an almost fully electric hous (we only had a domino hob working on gas) on a 6kw supply.
Hello, I agreed to have a Linky in my house in the Haut Pyreese so that i could see how much lecky my guests were using. First thing that happened was my off peak electric water unit did not work. The installer, who seemed in a hurry, had just bypast it Then that was fixed it was connected to the normal High Tarrif rather than Cruise Tarrif. so much for saving you money. Also, in the past if I exceeded my limit (6kw), the main disjoncteur would flip. No biggy, just turn off one or two appliances and turn it on again. Now, you cannot do that. you have to ring Enedis/EDF, wait an hour for them to answer and they will try and sell you a 12kw contract. Not happy.
You can reset yourself. Normally just press + for 3 or 4 seconds, but this is the guidance. And you shoukd be able to make sure water heater is reset to heures pleine/creuse with help of an electrician .
The only difference is a small increase in the abonment charge, the electricity costs the same. There is also a 9kw service available. You could have a deselctor fitted so it cuts off selected appliance so you dont go over the 6kw. Plein/cruise plan only saves you money if around 40% of your whole electrical usage is on the lower cruise portion, otherwise its more expensive than a plein tarriff
That sort of thing would drive me nuts.
I am wondering what the Linky will make of all this.
so, however you put it, however it works, folks will need to arrange their Elect usage according to the tarif for their actual needs…
