Smart meters and their benefits
So, what are smart meters all about and why is everyone talking about it? Like traditional gas and electricity meters, smart meters measure your energy use. They give both you and your energy provider accurate and regular updates on how much electricity and gas you use.
Here are some of the benefits of installing a smart meters:
Save a bit of money
Your energy supplier will install your new smart meter at no extra cost, then it’s up to you to see how much it can help you save. Being aware of your energy use is the best way to help bring it down, so with your handy in-home display (IHD), you’ll always know exactly what you’re spending and where you can reduce costs.
Save a bit of time
You will no longer need to go into the meter cupboard to take your own meter reading and no strangers will turn up at your home to read the meter. The meter sends your meter reading directly to your energy supplier, saving you time and effort.
Get accurate bills
Smart meters mean that your bills will be accurate, not estimated by your energy supplier. Once you have a smart meter you’ll get accurate bills from your energy supplier, just as you do with your telephone bill.
Keep track of what you use
Using your smart meter’s IHD, you can see how much energy you’ve used in real-time for each day, week or month and compare it. This nifty tool will help you save time and energy.
Do your bit for the environment
Smart meters can help the nation to conserve energy which benefits the environment. Just by choosing to get a smart meter you’re helping the environment by enabling a smarter energy system, which is more prepared to incorporate green energy production. We all want to make big changes to help our planet. And sometimes to make big changes, we have to start small. Smart meters can’t solve climate change on their own, but with the smarter and more energy efficient system they’ll help create, they are a good start.
Make your home greener
Getting a smart meter will help you to see how different things in your home use different amounts of energy. It is one of the best tools to make your home greener and smarter. Making small changes such as turning off the lights in an empty room, or turning down the thermostat a degree or two can make a big difference to the amount of CO2 Britain produces. To put this into context, Britain is set to spend an additional £5.6 million every day on heating for every additional degree this winter.
Keep your energy data safe
Some of the top data security experts in the country are behind the creation of a new secure network that allows your smart meter to communicate with your energy supplier.
They can help people during difficult times
During the Coronavirus pandemic, smart meters have played a role in supporting people in vulnerable circumstances, particularly as people found themselves spending more time at home. Some of these benefits include:
- For prepay customers, a smart meter allows them to top up directly online, by phone or by text, and therefore limits the need to leave the house and visit a shop to do so. There’s also an emergency credit button that can be pressed if customers need a bit of extra time before being able to top up, say if they are waiting for funds to clear
- Spending more time at home may have resulted in customers seeing their energy bills rise. The information provided through the in-home display (IHD) allows customers to see their energy consumption at a glance and therefore better manage and control usage
If you’d like further advice on how to install smart meter in your home, please contact the Green Doctor team at GreenDoctorSouth@groundwork.org.uk or call 0800 233 5255