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Smart Meters

Next-generation smart energy meters are being installed in homes and small businesses across the UK, giving consumers greater insight into their energy use and enabling the development of innovative smart energy tariffs. These wireless-enabled meters also eliminate the need for manual meter readings and estimated bills.

Smart Meters

What are smart meters?

Smart meters are next-generation, wireless-enabled gas and electricity meters, designed to give both you and your energy supplier more information about your energy usage. Under the smart meter rollout, every British home and small business will be offered a smart meter for free by their energy supplier by the end of 2025. Although accepting one is voluntary, smart meters can help you reduce your energy bills and carbon emissions and reduce your hassle.

Smart meters are all connected to a secure data network, enabling them to automatically transmit information about your energy use to your supplier, either monthly, daily, or every half hour. This eliminates the need for manual meter readings, either by you or a meter reader, and for estimated bills. It also enables the use of smart tariffs, giving consumers discounts on energy used during off-peak times or when power is abundant.

Additionally, smart meters display information about your usage in a user-friendly, legible way, in kilowatt-hours on the meter itself and also pounds and pence on your in-home display (IHD). Therefore, you’ll know exactly how much you’re spending on gas and electricity and can take action to reduce your use.

What are the benefits of a smart meter?

While you don’t have to accept a smart meter, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

Pros of smart meters

  • No need to take meter readings
    Smart meters automatically transmit information about your energy use to your supplier so you won’t have to access your meter box and write down a reading to submit.
  • No more estimated bills
    Your energy supplier always has access to data about your energy consumption, so you won’t be issued with estimated bills and will only pay for the gas and electricity you actually use.
  • Access to the cheapest energy tariffs
    Many energy suppliers are already reserving their best deals for households with smart meters installed.
  • Keep track of how much you’re spending
    Your in-home display will show you exactly how much you’re spending, in pounds and pence, on energy, so you can ensure you don’t overshoot your budget.
  • Can help you identify inefficient, faulty appliances
    If your use spikes when you run your washing machine, you’ll know it’s the culprit behind your high bills and can take action to have it fixed or replaced by a more energy-efficient model.
  • Encourages energy-saving habits
    While smart meters won’t automatically save you energy, they can highlight times when you’re spending too much. As you take action to reduce your consumption, such as switching off lights and turning down the thermostat, you’ll be able to see your energy usage, and bills, fall in real time. As you use less energy, you also reduce your carbon footprint and impact on the environment.
  • Access to smart tariffs
    Smart meters will enable the development of innovative time-of-use energy tariffs with different pricing at different times, potentially saving you money. Some smart tariffs are already available, offering discounted energy overnight, for those charging electric vehicles, or cheaper rates when renewable generation is high. These tariffs won’t just save you money, they’ll also help Britain transition to using more renewable energy.
  • Smart prepayment meters are easier to use
    If you have a smart prepayment meter, you can more easily keep track of your remaining credit through your in-home display. You can also top up the meter through a mobile app.

Cons of smart meters

  • Some smart meters have 'gone dumb'
    A previous generation of smart meters could lose connectivity when the consumer switched to a new energy supplier. While these meters still displayed digital readings, they could no longer transmit that data to the supplier. A software fix has restored connectivity to most of these disconnected meters but some households still have smart meters operating without full functionality.
  • Smart meters won’t save you money by themselves
    They just provide information that helps you adjust your energy habits to reduce your bills and carbon emissions.
  • Your electricity and gas must be switched off during the installation
    Although usually only for 20 minutes.
  • Privacy concerns
    Some consumers worry that smart meters will harvest data about their lives and energy use, accessible not only by their energy supplier but also potentially by companies the supplier might sell the data to and by law enforcement. Energy suppliers insist that they alone see your data, which is encrypted as it travels over the smart meter data network, and that they won't pass it on to a third party without your explicit consent. Additionally, they say consumers can choose how frequently their meter relays readings to the supplier: either every half-hour, day, or month.
  • Energy suppliers could remotely switch you to a prepayment meter
    There have been reports of energy suppliers using smart meters to remotely, forcibly switch customers in debt from credit to prepayment meters. The industry regulator Ofgem has warned energy suppliers about the practice and says it will be monitoring how they use the remote switching facility.

Will a smart meter save me money on my energy bills?

Typically, a smart meter won’t automatically save you money on your energy bills. However, in some cases suppliers reserve their cheapest tariffs for households that have smart meters, so having one installed and signing up for one of these tariffs can deliver some instant savings.

But the main money- and energy-saving benefit of smart meters is indirect. They provide clear information about how much energy you’re using and how much money you’re spending, making it easy to identify ways to reduce your consumption.

A smart meter might show you just how much money you can save by simply turning off your appliances rather than leaving them on standby (the Energy Savings Trust estimates around £45 per year), encouraging you to keep up the habit. It also might help you identify which of your appliances are using more power than they should because they’re faulty or ageing.

You’ll have to monitor your smart meter’s in-home display and be proactive to find savings. However, most people do: evidence suggests that households with smart meters reduce their electricity bills by 3% and their gas bills by 2.2%.

Who can get a smart meter?

Under the smart meter rollout, energy suppliers must make all reasonable efforts to install smart meters in all homes and small businesses by the end of 2025. If your energy supplier hasn’t already offered you a smart meter, it will likely do so soon.

You can also get a smart meter if you’re:

On prepayment meters

In fact, smart prepayment meters make it easier to monitor your credit balance and top up.

Don’t have broadband

The meters operate over a secure 2G mobile network.

Use Economy 7 or 10 tariffs, with different rates at different times of the day (mostly used in households with storage heaters)

Most suppliers are now offering smart meters that accommodate these tariffs.

A renter

If you pay for your energy directly, you can opt to have a smart meter installed, although you may want to notify your landlord first. If your landlord pays the bills, you can ask them to have a smart meter installed.

How to apply for a smart meter

You don’t need to apply for a smart meter: your energy supplier will offer one to you. However, if their rollout hasn't reached your area, you may be able to contact them and request you have a smart meter installed as soon as possible.

How do smart meter installations work?

To install a smart meter, your energy supplier will schedule an appointment for an engineer to visit your home.

During the appointment, you’ll have to ensure that the engineer has access to your existing gas and electricity meters. This may require you to clear out a cupboard. Additionally, an adult needs to be present at the property during the entire appointment, even if the meters are located on the exterior of the home.

The installer should:

  • Show you a photo ID when they arrive.

  • Explain how the smart meter works and how to use it.

  • Demonstrate how the in-home display works.

  • Give you a useful guide to the system.

The installation itself should only take an hour per meter, or two hours if you’re having both gas and electricity meters installed. During this time, your electricity and/or gas will need to be temporarily shut off, usually only for 20 minutes each.

You won’t have to pay upfront for a smart meter to be installed, although the cost of the rollout will eventually be spread across everyone’s energy bills.

How to read your smart meter

Smart meters are designed to be more user-friendly than traditional meters. Rather than an illegible string of numbers, smart meters display your actual energy usage in kilowatt-hours.

Usually, you won’t have to take readings from your smart meter: they’ll be sent automatically to your supplier over a secure data network. However, if your meter has lost connectivity, as older smart meters could when you switched suppliers, you may need to submit a manual reading.

It’s important to distinguish between your in-home display, a small screen in your house showing your usage in kilowatt-hours and pounds and pence, and the meter itself. While you can take a reading from the in-home display, it’s best to take it directly from the meter.

There are several different models of smart meters but usually, they’re easy to read, with a screen showing your recent consumption, in kilowatt-hours (kWh). If you pay two different rates for energy, depending on the time, you may need to push buttons on the meter to see both readings.

If you’re confused about how to read your smart meter, contact your energy supplier or refer to the guide you were given when the meter was installed.

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Activity History - Last updated: 04 December 2025, Published date:

Reviewer

Mike Rowe

Energy Expert

Mike is a recognised leader in the UK energy sector with over two decades of experience, having run one of the country's most trusted Ofgem-accredited energy comparison platforms before selling in 2019. Today, he advises EnergyComparison.co.uk and works with businesses on the transition to net zero.

Activity History - Expert Reviewed on 23 November 2025 and last checked on 04 December 2025