Do energy smart meters save money?

by | 21 Dec 2024 | Bills, Electricity & Gas, Energy feature

You may have been told that energy smart meters save money, save energy and help you reduce your carbon footprint.

The truth is a little more complicated. While smart meters have helped many households cut their energy usage and bills, the devices alone won’t have an impact. Instead, the information that a smart meter provides makes it easier to reduce your energy consumption in a few different ways.

 

What is an energy smart meter?

An energy meter measures how much gas and electricity you consume at home. The total consumed goes up over time, and you are responsible for taking regular measurements and sending them to your energy supplier.

A smart meter serves the same purpose, with a few additional functions. Smart meters show energy consumption in real-time, as well as total use, so you can see which devices are consuming energy in the moment.

They also deliver your readings to your supplier automatically, saving you time and making sure you are billed accurately.

 

How does a smart meter save you money?

Having a smart meter installed doesn’t automatically make your energy bills cheaper. However, there are a few ways energy smart meters save money for UK households.

  • Seeing real-time energy consumption helps identify vampire devices that are wasting energy while idle
  • Having your energy consumption visibly displayed is a power motivator to save electricity
  • Some energy supplies reserve exclusive tariffs and discount programs for customers with smart meters
  • Having accurate consumption statistics sent to your supplier means you won’t be overcharged based on an estimate

 

Spot energy wastage at home

When it comes to saving energy, one of the most helpful features of smart meters is being able to see where you’re wasting electricity. The live readings can be used to identify ‘vampire devices‘, gadgets and appliances that use power while they’re on standby. Hunting these devices down, unplugging them and watching your energy consumption fall before your eyes feels great!

Your smart meter will also show changes in your energy consumption, making it easier to notice problems. This family noticed a jump in their daily energy consumption and tracked the source to their over-frosted freezer. After defrosting, their annual energy bills have dropped by more than £100.

 

Energy discounts with a smart meter

Some energy suppliers offer exclusive tariffs to customers with a smart meter. For example, Octopus Energy’s ‘Octopus Tracker’ and ‘Agile Octopus’ tariffs are only available to customers with smart meters Octopus can connect to. The

Octopus’s ‘Power Ups’ scheme that offers free electricity to customers is also only available to homes with a smart meter.

 

Are energy smart meters free?

Yes, it’s free to get an energy smart meter installed. Major UK energy suppliers now offer smart meter installation on request. The process to get one installed is simple:

  1. Reach out to your supplier to request a smart meter
  2. Book an appointment for it to be installed
  3. The installation will take around an hour per fuel (gas and electricity) and your power will be off for around 20 minutes
  4. Once the installation is complete your meters will begin automatically sending information to your supplier.

 

Which energy suppliers offer free smart meters?

You can currently request a free smart meter from your energy supplier if you’re a customer of British Gas, E.On Next, EDF, Octopus, Ovo, Scottish Power or So Energy.

 

What are the drawbacks of a smart meter?

While smart meter adoption has been high across the UK, some customers still have concerns about smart meters.

One hesitation is around the fear of smart meters preventing you from switching to another energy supplier, or losing functionality when you do. However, you have always been able to switch suppliers with a smart meter, and the loss of functionality was only a problem for the first generation of smart meter hardware. If you order a smart meter today, you’ll be free to switch suppliersat  any time with no loss of function.

Another concern is around smart meters sending incorrect readings to suppliers, and customers being billed. Occasionally, smart meters send incorrect readings to energy suppliers in error. These are usually corrected by subsequent readings, but if you receive an energy bill that’s higher than usual you should log into your online account and check your most recent readings.

 

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