Smart Meters
What is a
Smart Meter
The old style traditional meters, which simply register a running total of energy used, smart gas and electricity meters can record half-hourly price and consumption data and provide automatic meter readings to your energy supplier.
Most homes have two meters, one for gas and one for electricity – both will be replaced with smart meters. You will also be offered an In-Home Display (sometimes referred to as an IHD), an easy-to-use handheld device that sits within your home.
This will show you the cost and amount of energy you are using, updating every 30 minutes for gas and in near real-time for electricity.
The installation will also include a communications hub, which allows the smart meters and IHD to communicate with each other, and links your smart metering system to the secure national smart meter network.
The above was taken from the Governments guide to smart meters as we think it explains things well.
Smart Meter Example
How will I benefit from a Smart Meter?
Smart meters have a wide range of benefits for individual consumers.
- No more estimated bills – your energy supplier will recieve real time data of actual usage and so you’ll only pay for the energy you use.
- Better budgetting – working from actual usage helps you budget accordingly.
- The In-Home Display (IHD) will show your energy use in near-real time and express it in pounds and pence. This will help you manage energy use, identify high energy usage appliances / energy inefficient activities and hence save money and reduce emissions that lead to climate change.
- Lower costs to energy suppliers meaning cheaper tarriffs for those with smart meters..
In addition to the above, prepayment customers will also benefit by being able to top-up remotely (or automatically) without leaving hom and see credit balances on an easy-to-access In-Home Display whilst their energy supplier will be able to see when customers are not being supplied with energy so they can identify problems and offer fast, appropriate support.
What is an In Home Display and what data does it show?
All smart meters come with an In Home Display (IHD). This is NOT the smart meter itself.
The IHD is a portable visual display that is connected to your smart meter wirelessly via a wireless connection simialr to bluetooth so you don’t even need WiFi or any form of App to connect it. You can therefore place it wherever you want although it’s usually best to try and keep it withing 10 metres and avoid the signal having to pass through too many walls if you can.
Whilst in-home displays vary by make and model all are required to show the same basic information sich as
- current energy use cost in pounds and pence
- whether your current electricity use is high, medium or low
- how much energy (electricity and gas) being used in kWh
- historical energy consumption
Some models will go a step further and display carbon emmissions too!
In addition, if you’re a prepay customer you’ll also be able to clearly see:
- remaining credit
- your emergency back up balance
- any ammount owed to your supplier (if applicable)
Smart Meter Installation
Your energy supplier takes care of this and this is NOT something you can (or should) attempt yourself.
There is absolutely no charge for installation and nothing extra will appear on your bill. It is a requirement that energy companies provide this service in England, Wales and Scotland.
Installation involves replacing any traditional meters you may have and replacing them with new smart meters – usually in the same place so you will not notice any particular difference or inconvenience. The In Home Display will also be connected up and you will get a short introduction to this and how it works.
The whole thing will only take a couple of hours at most, there will be minimal disruption and it will be scheduled in at your convenience well in advance.
How much will a smart meter cost?
Here’s the good news … it’s not going to cost you a penny!
If you live in England, Scotland or Wales the Government requires all energy suppliers to provide smart meters to their customers. Simply get in touch with your supplier and they will make the arrangements to supply a free smart meter and will arrange installation (again, without charge) at a time that suits you.
In Northern Ireland smart meters are still options but a rollout is in planning. So again, contact yourr supplier as many are actively installing them.
Do I need a new Smart Meter if I switch supplier?
No, you should be able to switch energy suppliers without any interruption to your energy readings, bill payments or gas and electricity supply. The worst that may happen is that you’re asked for a reading prior to the switch.
Are grants available for Smart Meters?
Smart Meters are provided by all the main energy suppliers. They are supplied and installed without any cost to you whatsoever. Because of this grants for smart meters are not required.