Smart Meters | How They Help Compare Energy Prices

Smart meters are here to help people in Great Britain look after their energy use in a better way. These devices give you accurate bills, so you know what you have to pay. Smart meters also help you find good offers for your energy needs.

By 2025, more than 20.5 million homes and small businesses in Great Britain will have smart meters. This is almost two out of three places where you can get one. The UK wants to reach 74.5% use of smart meters by the end of 2025. This goal is part of the UK’s plan to build a smarter energy system and cut carbon.

These meters keep track of your energy consumption. They measure it in kilowatt hours (kWh). The data gets sent safely to your energy supplier. You do not have to do manual meter readings anymore. This means you will not get bills based on guesses. You can see how much energy you use and when you use it. Your energy consumption data goes out to your energy supplier right away.

For homes that want to look at and compare energy tariffs, smart meters can help this job to be much easier and more exact. They show real-time numbers, so you can see the price of energy from each energy supplier. Smart meters also work with flexible tariffs for electric cars or for renewable energy sources. They can help you change your energy supplier quicker and with less hassle.

How Do Smart Meters Work in the UK?

Smart meters show you how much energy you use. They replace traditional meters for both gas and electricity. A smart meter sends numbers about your energy use to your supplier. The smart meter does this using a secure network. The Data Communications Company runs this network.

Each home has a communications hub. This hub is linked to the electricity meters and gas meters in the house. The data from these meters goes through the smart meter network that covers the whole country.

The setup has an In-Home Display (IHD). It shows energy use as it happens. On the screen, you see how much you spend in pounds and pence. This helps people see daily costs. It makes them know about their energy use. It can help them change what they do to save energy.

Smart meters are important in the UK’s advanced metering infrastructure. They help to build a smart grid. The smart grid lets energy companies and homes talk to each other in real time. It makes it easier for the UK to balance supply and demand. The smart grid also helps use more renewable energy in the system.

What Are the Benefits of Smart Meters?

Smart meters help homes, energy suppliers, and the UK energy system in many ways, both quickly and for a long time. These meters show you how much energy you use. That can help you use less and save money. The UK energy system gets better at keeping the right balance between supply and demand. This work means there is less waste in the system. So, in the long run, this is good for all of us.

By early 2025, over 91% of smart meters in the UK worked in full smart mode. This means they send automatic meter readings for you. Your bills update on their own with no need for you to do anything.

About 86% of homes say that using a smart meter helped them lower their energy usage. It worked mainly by helping people build better habits. Now, many people switch off things they are not using. They also try not to use electricity during peak times when prices go up.

How Do Smart Meters Improve Energy Price Comparisons?

When you want to compare energy prices, the main thing you need is to know how much energy your home uses. Smart meters make this easy. They show you right away how much energy you use and give the right numbers.

This helps you get the right energy tariffs for your home. You will see the actual price, not only an average or a guess.

When you use an energy comparison service with your actual smart meter data, you can find tariffs that reflect your habits—whether that means high electricity use at night, variable gas use, or charging an electric vehicle during off-peak hours.

Compare energy prices based on your smart meter readings →

Energy Bill Accuracy: Smart vs Traditional Meters

Traditional meters need someone to check meter readings by hand. People do this only a few times in the year. Smart meters do things in a new way. The smart meter keeps track of your usage and sends info to your supplier safely. When you use smart meters, your bills are more right and there is not much to argue about.

This accuracy helps households and suppliers. People at home do not pay extra on their energy bills. Suppliers have less trouble, as bills are made the right way and are not based on a guess.

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Why Smart Meters Matter for Prepayment Customers

For people who have a prepayment meter, there are big benefits when using smart meters. A smart meter can run in prepay mode. You can put money on your meter online, with an app, or by text. You do not have to use a key or card now.

They also help your home keep using energy without any sudden stops. You can check your balance right away in real time. You will get alerts before your credit finishes. You can get emergency credit given to you at once even when support is not open.

Smart prepayment customers often get government help and winter payments without delay. The system connects to their meter account. So, people feel the process is faster and not as hard.

How Smart Meters Support Energy Efficiency and Carbon Reduction

Smart meters are key to the UK’s net zero plan. They show people data about their energy use. When you see the numbers, you know how much you use at one time. This helps you waste less and helps your home work better.

The Smart Energy GB campaign from the government says smart energy meters made people use less power. This drop helped save more than 1.25 million tonnes of CO₂ in one year.

Households can see where they use the most energy in their homes. This shows them what things they can change to save money. A few simple steps can help, like using LED bulbs, setting your heating a bit differently, or making your home warmer with better insulation. These changes will not cost a lot of money, but can save you more over time.

Over time, smart meter data can help the national grid work better with solar panels and other sources like wind power. This means there is a good way to track the energy from these clean sources. The national grid can respond fast and give people power when they need it. Smart meter data also helps us know what is happening with solar panels. It makes it easier to use these systems well for everyone.

How Regional Differences Affect Smart Meter Performance

Most homes in Great Britain now have smart meters. But, the way people use smart meters is not always the same everywhere. This is because the network and setup can take different amounts of time in each area.

Smart meters may not work well in some rural or coastal areas. This is because the connections in these areas can be bad. When there is no good connection, the smart meters can switch to dumb mode. In this mode, they work just like traditional meters. At this time, they do not send real-time data. Because of this, automatic billing and changing power suppliers might not be right. This can give people trouble when using their smart meters.

Ofgem and the DCC both try to get better signal coverage. They also make new hubs that use 4G. This helps to lower these signal problems.

What Happens to Smart Meters During Power Cuts?

Smart meters help you keep your data safe even if the power goes out. Electricity meters store a record of your use. They send your data when the power is back. Gas meters have batteries. So, they keep the record of your use even when there is no power.

Power cuts might happen, but they will not stop us from getting your energy back to you. You might not see fast updates on your in-home display at this time. The updates will show on the screen when the connection is working again.

How Smart Meters Help with Time-of-Use and Electric Vehicle Tariffs

Smart meters let energy companies see when people use the most energy. Because of this, they can make new plans that fit the way people use energy. This can be:

• Time-of-use tariffs – These cost less at night or when it is not peak times.
• Tracker tariffs – These move up or down with the price of energy in the market.
• Electric vehicle (EV) tariffs – These let you pay less to charge at night.

If you own an EV, using a smart meter helps you track how much electricity you use for charging. It also allows you to get cheaper night rates that lower your annual energy bills.

Compare EV and off-peak energy tariffs for your smart meter setup →

How Smart Meters Improve Switching Between Energy Suppliers

Smart meters help you move to a new supplier with no trouble. Your new supplier gets your consumption data right away through the DCC. You do not have to give meter readings to them. This means you get accurate billing from your new supplier from the first day.

The Energy Switch Guarantee helps make sure you do not lose your power when you change to a new provider. Smart meters are used to help the switch go faster. This is because you do not have to read the meter yourself or wait for someone to come to your home. Most of the time, you can change your energy supplier in about five working days.

Privacy and Security in the Smart Meter Network

All smart meter data in Great Britain uses a secure network that the Data Communications Company runs. Your name or address does not go with your energy usage data.

Only your energy supplier and approved agencies have access to the information. They use it for billing or to help make the energy system better.

The UK Health Security Agency says smart meters the be safe for your health. Ofgem says this too. Both follow all rules from the Data Protection Act 2018. This helps keep your data safe.

Technical Specifications and Smart Meter Generations

The UK uses two generations of smart meters:

Most houses now have SMETS2 devices. The SMETS2 device keeps smart functionality working all the time. Even if you change your energy supplier, it will still work for you.

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Smart Meter Data and Energy Management

Smart meters collect data every 30 minutes. A household can choose to send this data every day or only once a month. The information helps suppliers manage the energy grid in a good way. Suppliers look at it so they know how much energy people will use. They also use the info to make new types of tariffs.

This information shows you how much energy you use in a day. You can use digital devices and apps to keep track of your energy and take control of your energy management. With this, you know the peak times when energy costs more. You can plan to use energy in the hours when prices are lower. This helps you save money but still use what you need.

Future of Smart Metering and Renewable Energy Integration

As the UK begins to use more renewable energy sources, smart meters will become even more important. These meters show live data from people’s homes and from businesses. With this information, suppliers are able to spot changes from solar or wind power right away when they happen. So, this helps them look after the UK power grid in a better, smarter way.

These meters can be used with Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) schemes for homes that use solar panels. In this plan, your supplier gives you money for the extra energy you send back to the grid.

Check renewable energy tariffs and export options for homes with smart meters →

FAQs About Smart Meters and Comparing Energy Prices