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GET SMART
Reporter: Gordon Harcourt
How can your smart meter actually save you money?
The power bill at my place has got way out of hand this winter. Last month it topped $500!
We've got three kids under five and that means endless washing (and drying in the endlessly wet Auckland winter), lots of heating, toasting, microwaving, fan ovening (ok that's not a verb)&
So I'm trialling a little gadget which I'm told could save me money.
It's called the OWL, and it tells me the hourly cost of the power I'm using. It's rather alarming to see the numbers shoot up when I turn on the toast or kettle, but it's also gratifying to see the numbers fall when I turn off a light or appliance that doesn't need to be on.
That gives me more information about the cost of power, but I'm still unconvinced I can change our usage enough to save real money. We can't stop heating the baby's room, we can't cook dinner later, and we can't do the washing at 2am when power is cheaper. I'll keep you posted.
The OWL costs $295 plus installation, but the sparky who fitted it at mine reckons it's helped him save $50 a month. I'm not convinced yet.
There are other similar appliances, like the Envi-R meter ($180) and the Control4 Energy Monitor ($299). The OWL and Envi-R clip onto your meter so can work with smart or dumb meters. The Control4 chats wirelessly to a smart meter.
We had heaps and heaps of smart meter feedback. Here are some links to more information about them:
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment
August 2011 Presentation to the Commerce
Select Committee on Smart meters and smart grid.
2009 Report: Smart electricity meters: How households and the environment can benefit.
Victorian State Government review of smart meter rollout
British government's
smart metering rollout
Genesis Energy
They wouldn't come on telly to talk about them, but
here's
what their website says
A Fair Go viewer's view
And a Fair Go viewer
sent in this document. It's a personal view, I
haven't fact checked it so it's not endorsed by me or TVNZ, but I
felt it contained useful information:
MISSING YOUR MILO?
Reporter Hannah Wallis
Milo-mad Jay got in touch with Fair Go because he'd just bought a new pack at his local superette and it just didn't taste the same.
Less chocolate-y, less malty, less flavoursome all round. We tried it, we agreed. Last year's Masterchef Brett McGregor tried it in a blind test, he agreed.
Nestle say it's a parallel import, made by Nestle but in the Philippines to local taste - the Philippinos like it with less dairy and less malt. For us, that's less taste, and less nutrients - the Kiwi Milo has up to four times the vitamins, iron and calcium than the imported Milo.
Nestle say they are concerned about the possible damage to their brand reputation when consumers get the non-Kiwi recipe.
But there's nothing illegal about parallel importing. They say retailers need to clearly identify that it's not the local product - say so on the shelf, and directly to the customer.
How can you tell?
On the NZ Milo pack, you will find local contact details. On the parallel imported pack, you should find, along with the made in Manila info, the Kiwi contact numbers for the distributor or importer - that's so you, the consumer, can get in touch with them if you are unhappy.
The packs we found was missing that, which is a breach of the packaging regulations. Kiwi Milo fans - we say - don't buy the parallel imported Milo. If you have and you are unhappy, ask the retailer for a refund.
And if there's no local contact numbers supplied, try and find out from your retailer - usually dairies, superettes and service stations - and then let us know.
THE CALL OF TV SHOPPING
Reporter Ali Mau
Jayne got in touch with us after she got more than she bargained for with her Proactiv purchase.
Jayne missed some of the crucial text on the website which explains on purchasing the product you become a Proactiv member and would receive new product every 90 days. This is another case of buyer beware.
BODY CORP
Reporter: Mary-Jane Aggett
This story is about a bill that never arrived. Instead it just
kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger - 700% in months.
