Hopefully by now, everyone’s aware of what a smart meter is. But just in case you’re not, smart meters send us data about how much energy is being used in your home automatically, as well as providing you with an in-home display you can use to manage your energy use.


But how can smart meters help be part of the clean energy of the future?

Well, because they can help households save energy, while at the same time benefiting the whole electricity grid. The more people get smart meters, the more benefits we’ll see. It’s why there’s such a push to get them into every home. Let’s take a look at how they can be so helpful.


Can smart meters help you save energy?

Not sure how energy efficient your home is? The data your smart meter provides gives you all the information you need ‒ to take the small steps that can have a big impact. Whether it’s hanging out your washing more, turning your PS5 off standby, or changing all your bulbs for energy saving LEDs, you’ll be able to quickly see the impacts of these changes. All of this is done through that wonderful device: your in-home display.


Making the most of your in-home display.

Your in-home display receives data from your meter, so you can see how much energy you’re using in real time. Just turned on the kettle? Watch as your electricity usage goes up. Switched on the heating for a bit to warm up after that walk? You can see how much gas you’re using at that moment.


Let’s get a smarter electricity grid.

Smart meters aren’t just great for helping you manage your energy, they’re also brilliant on a national scale. By having everyone on smart meters, we can understand how much people are using and when. It means we’re more able to understand demand. This means less wasting of energy, while helping us use more renewable energy, as everything will be more efficient.


Common smart meter myths.

​​​​​​​While there are a lot of positives around smart meters, there are also several misconceptions. These cause people to be unsure if they’re right for them.

​​​​​​​Are smart meters dangerous?
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Smart meters emit low levels of radiowaves. You are actually exposed to much higher levels from common devices such as your mobile phone and Wi-Fi. Therefore, they are well within the guidelines and evidence currently shows that they pose no risk to your health1.

Here are a few more:

• Not all homes can have a smart meter.
• Smart meters are being used to spy on you.
• If you’re renting you can’t get smart meters installed.
• You can’t switch suppliers when you have smart meters.
• Economy 7 and 10 smart meters aren’t available.

If you’re worried about any of these, or they’re putting you off getting smart meters installed, then give us a call on 0808 501 5200 and one of our Energy Specialists will be happy to explain everything to you.

​​​​​​​Published 18/02/21

1 https://www.gov.uk/government/public...ves-and-health