Should I get a Smart Meter?
Smart Meters make life so much easier by automatically sending gas and electricity meter readings to your energy supplier on a regular basis so you don’t have to.
Wondering whether you should get a Smart Meter?
Life with a non-Smart Meter (a Dumb Meter? 😏) means first of all knowing where your meter is (around the side of the house? in the utility room?), knowing how to read it (each one is different), then actually reading the meter at the right time, taking note of the numbers, and figuring out how to send those numbers to your supplier. And you have to remember to do this each month? Forget about it.
But there’s a good reason we go through this, because…
…providing regular meter readings to your supplier is a necessary evil because it means you get charged only for what you use.
Your supplier still needs to send you a bill each month, so if they are not getting actual meter readings from you, they will need to estimate your usage in order to charge you.
If they overestimate your usage, you will be charged for more than you’ve used.
If they underestimate your usage, you will be charged less for now, but owe your supplier the difference once you leave. 👎
Another important reason for your meter readings to be accurate on an ongoing basis is that when your fixed price tariff ends, or your variable rates are going up, you will want to switch tariffs or suppliers. So you will want to find a new deal based on an accurate history of your energy usage. Otherwise you might switch to a new energy tariff that is not suitable for you.
By linking your energy account to Onedox, you will get notified when your tariff is coming to an end and when your prices are going up. Based on your energy usage and current rates, you will also get recommendations for tariffs or suppliers that you can easily switch to in order to save money.
So if Smart Meters solve this problem by automatically providing accurate meter readings to my supplier, why aren’t they a huge success?
That’s because today’s Smart Meters are 1st generation devices, called SMETS 1, which communicate only with the energy supplier that provides them.
Does that mean what I think it does?
Yup. If you want to switch away from the supplier that provided your Smart Meter, your Smart Meter turns into a ‘Dumb Meter’, and you need to go back to the painful days of sending in regular meter readings again. 🤦🏼♀️
Please tell me some good news…
The good news is that Smart Meters-turned-dumb can still read your gas and electricity supply and are miles ahead of their predecessors by being much easier for us to read and best of all, located inside your home. (No wiping away spider webs to read meters in a pokey shed!)
Also, 2nd generation Smart Meters are in the process of getting rolled out. What’s great about these is that all suppliers can connect to this type of meter, whether they provided it or not. So each supplier you switch to will be able to see your actual usage and meter readings, and your in-home display helpfully shows any suppliers’ costs seamlessly. Win! 👏
And if you already have a 1st generation Smart Meter, good news for you too: they are expected to get connected to the new infrastructure in 2019. 🙌🤞
In summary…
If your energy supplier is offering you a free Smart Meter, say yes! The benefits of today’s Smart Meters outweigh the negatives:
Pros:
If you’re still with the supplier who provided the meter, your Smart Meter automatically sends regular meter readings so you don’t have to.
If you are with a new supplier, the meter is located inside your home, it’s easy to read and one day will be smart again!
Cons:
If you’re with the supplier who provided the meter, none really — but still keep an eye on your bills to make sure you’re being charged correctly.
If you have switched away from the original supplier, you will need to read your meter each month and send those readings to your new supplier.
Read more from Smart Energy GB, the company rolling out Smart Meters, and how they work…
