Net Work September 2025

A welcome return of our occasional column brings news of trends in smart meters and the onslaught of Chinese-made electric vehicles, and tempts readers into trying Temu.

As promised in my April column, I’m delighted to bring readers an occasional Net Work update, keeping readers posted with topical trends and innovations in energy, electric vehicles, Internet usage, space programs and more besides.

As I wrote in April, my supplier, EDF (Électricité de France), finally offered a £150 incentive to install a smart meter, but in the event I found that I’d have to upgrade my existing meter anyway. That’s because my old meter had a certified lifespan of 20 years (2024) clearly stamped on it.

^ The author’s legacy electricity meter was certified for 20 years from August 2004, making it legally overdue for replacement.

My investigations into meter certifications turned up Schedule 7 of the 1989 Electricity Act, which gives suppliers the legal right to shut off the supply when non-approved meters are installed (more details at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/29/schedule/7#commentary-c4121261). Operating meters past their certified life therefore makes them non-approved, so the supplier is legally obliged to swap them or risk prosecution. It’s the one smart meter ‘gotcha’ that no-one can argue against.

The LCD monitor (In-Home Display) was duly installed after a few teething problems, and if nothing else it’s interesting to see how the household’s power consumption racks up in real time, and how hidden ‘phantom loads’ silently clock up those kilowatt-hours, especially overnight. I’ve chosen to transmit meter data once a day, although EDF pushes for 30 minute intervals.

^ The Loop app can be handy if you have no In-Home Display. I found its usefulness otherwise limited though.

I wrote this month about the ‘Loop’ smart meter app for Android, iOS and Alexa, which is an alternative to using an In-Home Display. Loop fetches your smart meter data and displays it on a mobile device (also see Net Work, December 2022).

I decided to test it, so, after granting permission and verifying emails, Loop tried downloading my smart meter data, eventually connecting several weeks later. Personally I found there was little useful data available and it seemed to me the app was more about promoting the merits of going green, adding more insulation or using solar instead. So I uninstalled the Loop app again.

More details are at https://loop.homes/ and you can download the app from your usual source.

^ The Bosch Home Connect app can operate compatible Bosch appliances such as dishwashers or washing machines, showing elapsed time, energy and water consumption.

There’s more details in this month’s column about the Bosch Home Connect app (above) and a reminder about forthcoming Energy Smart Appliances (ESAs) that promise in the future to communicate over the proposed Smart Meter Home Area Network (SMHAN).

^ The author’s smart water meter shows water consumption on a web page login.

The scourge of the smart meter has also spread to the author’s water utilities. Unlike most other regions in Britain, my water authority fitted one at very short notice. Although there’s no In-Home Display or app, a website login (above) displays key data, showing a recent spike due to garden watering. The design is commendably clean and straightforward to use.

Time for Temu

Most users now know about Temu, if only because it’s often hard to escape their advertising. Temu’s online catalogue is technically the slickest and most sophisticated that I have come across, but opinions about buying from Temu are very mixed. Concerns are voiced in some quarters about toy safety or the supply of possibly dangerous, non-compliant or fake goods flooding into the country this way.

Britain’s consumer body, Which?, has little positive to say about Temu, judging by a report last year (see https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/what-is-temu-and-is-it-safe-to-buy-from-a7BUb4k5fBFH). Personally, I feel that Which? adopted a negative and sceptical stance from the outset, which I feel is unfair in light of my own experiences.

Never the less, a huge variety of low-cost tools and garden accessories, handy do-dahs, accessories and merchandise for the crafter, home, garden, pets, wardrobe, kitchen and workshop are on show and tempting low-priced offers may sway readers into buying. My own view is that Temu offers an extremely wide range of decent-enough quality lines at impressively low prices – important when facing today’s financial pressures.

^ This rechargeable air blower is ideal for dusting down or blowing out debris. The nozzles are held on magnetically. 

For example, a useful air blower costing £10 has an 18650 battery and two nozzles that are clipped in place magnetically. It has four speeds (including maximum ‘violent wind gear’) and is an ideal replacement for pricey (and chilly) flammable air duster aerosols.

^ This handy USB lead tester will detect open circuits. It requires its own USB 5V supply, eg a powerbank.

^ A set of craft knives (blades aren’t included due to shipping regs, so were bought separately – centre), plus (right) a blade snapper & storage box, with a built-in magnet that retains offcuts safely.

^ These garden hose retaining holders are 3D printed and virtually indestructible.

An expanding garden hose and trigger spray cost under £3 (special offer), a trivial consumable item but, more significantly, a trigger sprayer wall holder (£4) was 3D-printed and virtually indestructible. 3D printing avoids all the set-up costs of injection moulding tooling and the need for volume production.

^ This tool scores perforations in cardboard, to help when making up packaging materials or for crafting. It’s also 3D-printed and cost just £3. Various other wheel patterns are available.

Elsewhere, a set of cleaning brushes, spotted on a TV shopping channel for £9.95 for two, costs 88 pence for five (true). A soft detailing/ dusting brush, seen elsewhere for £7 and ideal for cleaning electronics, ventilation slots, car dashboards or ornaments, cost just 39 pence each from Temu (above).

If you haven’t tried Temu, then you might be pleasantly surprised by what you find – the more you look, the deeper it opens up. In my own experience, Temu’s service has been acceptable enough, provided one applies some savvy and common sense. The vast range of affordable merchandise more than compensates for buying the odd dud or two.

My advice is to avoid signing up to ‘Notifications’ about deliveries and offers, though, or you will be pestered for ever with offers for things you never knew you needed. Visit www.temu.com if you want to have a look, and the Temu app works impressively well too.

Ebay Safety Gate

Earlier this year I received an alert from eBay, screaming that “There are product safety concerns with the item you purchased.”  It turned out that batches of Chinese-made B-7000, labelled with the CE mark, contained excessive levels (31%!) of Toluene. French analysts had reported the problem to the EU’s ‘Safety Gate’ rapid alert system, so full marks must go to eBay for tracing and alerting  buyers of the potentially dangerous batch of adhesive. The notice appeared online at https://ec.europa.eu/safety-gate-alerts/screen/webReport/alertDetail/10008250.

It’s interesting to check around the EU Safety Gate to read about banned or confiscated products.

I’m also looking closely at the way eBay is changing its offer to private sellers, especially regarding controversial ‘simple delivery’ terms and the so-called ’buyer protection fee’ recently implemented, and will write more in the next Net Work column.

Building Your Dreams

Net Work has covered the steady march of electric vehicles ever since Chinese-owned MG cars first appeared on our roads. Many early adopters of expensive EVs love their cars, but many have had their fingers burnt when it comes to insuring, repairing or trading them in, never mind facing the practicalities of living with them and charging them up.

I’ve previously showcased what Chinese EV makers are now producing to highlight what’s heading our way, though some early efforts like the Ora Funky Cat (Net Work, January 2022) and Fisker Ocean (Net Work, May 2022) failed to catch on.

China dubs such cars ‘New Energy Vehicles’ (NEVs) and some exceptionally advanced design concepts are now on offer.  Chinese NEV manufacturer Chery’s website is typical of how dazzling electronics, touchscreens and LEDs dominate a sales pitch, as shown at https://www.cheryinternational.com/pc/models/tiggo/tiggo8promaxt18fl3/index.shtml

^ The BYD Shenzhen is the largest car transporter vessel in the world, carrying 9,000 vehicles.

More Chinese brands have recently arrived on our shores out of nowhere, as I forecast in previous Net Work columns. Newcomers include Chery’s blunt-looking Jaecoo 7 which has already grabbed 0.7% of the market, while Chery’s sub-brand Omoda also sold 0.6% according to the SMMT. Between them, these sales figures match the total sales of Honda cars this year.

^ The Jaecoo 7 EV is part of the phalanx of new Chinese-made EVs arriving in Britain.

In a tough market, prices are sharpening all the time, and the £26,000 petrol Omoda 5 was recently named Best Value New Car 2025 at the Autotrader Drivers’ Choice Awards. Their Car of the Year is the electric Kia EV3 (see https://www.autotrader.co.uk/cars/new/awards).

^ The Xiaomi YU7 premium EV attracted 200,000 orders in three minuites, according to Chinese news sources.

At the time of writing, Xiaomi, better known in Britain for mobile phones and smart products, has just launched the Xiaomi YU7, a premium EV saloon that ‘broke the Internet’ when it was released, says one Chinese news source. The model is gunning for the Tesla Model Y and reportedly some 200,000 orders for the new SUV were placed in three minutes. In comparison, UK car sales total about 170,000 vehicles per month. The YU7 will cost $35-45,000, and Xiaomi has more at https://www.mi.com/global/discover/article?id=4925.

Frank W. Hyde on film

^ Japan’s Honda recently launched a research rocket as the firm considers entering the low-cost reusable rocket market. (Image: Honda R&D Co., Ltd.)

Following hard on the heels of SpaceX, Japan’s Honda recently launched an experimental research rocket as it seeks to enter the reusable rocket market. Being a Honda, the rocket started first time, set off successfully and returned reliably to Earth without incident. The test flight can be seen on the NHK Japan website at https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/special/04/4086/

^ The legendary amateur astronomer Frank W. Hyde appeared in a 1960s film clip, which the author has uploaded to YouTube. (© Rank Organisation / ITV.)

Still on the topic of reaching for the stars, long-time readers of Practical Electronics will remember the popular Spacewatch column written by the late Frank W. Hyde. I wrote in Net Work, April 2023 how Frank Hyde constructed in 1960’s Britain the world’s largest amateur radio observatory. He would work with the Jodrell Bank observatory and it’s said his work influenced some experiments on board NASA’s Pioneer missions. He also appeared on BBC TV ‘Sky At Night’ with British astronomer Patrick Moore.

I’ve managed to capture contemporary footage of Frank Hyde at work in his observatory, taken from a 1960’s ‘short’ that was produced by the Rank Organisation for its very popular ‘Look at Life’ series. I’ve uploaded the two-minute clip onto Youtube, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS8c1Is21vQ which I’m sure regular PE readers will enjoy watching.

That’s all for this month.  Join me next time for more topical news of developments in energy, space programs and getting the best out of surfing online. As always, you can email me at alan@epemag.net