Energy Guides

What is a smart meter?

By Hazel Cottrell hazel.cottrell@consumerchoices.co.uk

Smart meters are set to revolutionise the way we use and pay for our gas and electricity. This guide tells you what you need to know about smart meters… (9/2/10)

The government hopes to have smart meters in every home in the UK by 2020, and has ordered that energy suppliers pay for their roll-out.

But what are smart meters and how will getting one affect your energy bills?

In this guide we explain what smart meters are and how they could benefit you, as well as showing you how to get your hands on one now.

• What is a smart meter?
• What are the benefits of smart meters?
• What are the disadvantages of smart meters?
• How can I get a smart meter?

What is a smart meter?

Smart meters are electronic gas and electricity meters which will be able to send and receive information, to and from your energy supplier. This means that suppliers will be able to check and record your energy use remotely, so there will be no need for estimated bills or meter readings.

The minimum specifications for smart meters have not yet been set, but the government has said that they will come with standalone visual display units. These wireless energy monitors will show real time energy usage and are designed to help consumers monitor and reduce their energy consumption.

What are the benefits of smart meters?

Smart meters themselves will not necessarily mean smaller energy bills, although they will ensure your bills are more accurate. The real potential for cutting bills lies with the consumer, and their use of handheld energy monitors.

It is hoped that by showing real time energy usage the wireless energy monitors will help consumers reduce their energy use and so cut their energy bills and emissions. Brits will only benefit from lower bills however if they proactively use their energy monitor and make an effort to identify where they could reduce their energy usage.

Smart meters also have great potential for changing the way we interact with our energy supplier. Npower has suggested that the roll-out of smart meters could mean a surge of new, more flexible tariffs appearing on the market, including “happy hour tariffs”, offering cheaper energy at variable off-peak times.

Plus, smart meters will make it easier for consumers to export their own microgenerated electricity to the grid, and they pave the way for new “smart” appliances which can be set only to run when energy is at its cheapest.

What are the disadvantages of smart meters?

Energy suppliers will make big savings with smart meters, as they will remove the need for employing meter readers, and it has been suggested that suppliers should pass on these savings to the consumer.

However, suppliers do not have a great reputation for passing on savings, and as they will be responsible for funding the roll-out of smart meters, there is a danger that this cost will be passed onto the consumer instead.

News: Brits don’t want to foot the bill for smart meters

How do I get a smart meter?

While the government has decided that energy suppliers will pay for the roll-out of smart meters, the project is still very much in the planning stages.

The roll-out could take up to a decade to complete and industry body the Energy Retail Association has said it will be: “The biggest change project in the energy market since the conversion to North Sea gas in the 1970s.”

So, if you don’t want to wait 10 years for a smart meter, what can you do?

If you live in the Midlands or East Midlands you could get a smart meter by switching to First:utility. It’s offering a free smart meter to all customers who sign up to its Smart tariff. First:utility is the only supplier that is currently installing real smart meters, and it’s only installing them in these two distribution areas.

If you live elsewhere, unfortunately you can’t get a smart meter right now. However, if you want to monitor your electricity usage, you can get a standalone electricity monitor.

Electricity monitors are easy to install and show you how much electricity you are using in real-time, normally in kWh and pounds, which could help you reduce your usage.

A number of energy suppliers are offering free electricity monitors for customers who sign up to certain tariffs – for example the British Gas EnergySmart tariff. Or alternatively you can buy an energy monitor for around £30-50 from retailers like Tesco or Amazon.

Read our guide to electricity monitors