Smart Meters Explained: Are They Worth Getting?

Smart meters replace your old gas and electricity meters. Instead of crawling under the stairs with a torch or waiting for a meter reader who never comes, they send your usage data to your supplier automatically. You also get a little display screen that shows what you’re spending, updated in near-real time.

How They Work

There are two parts. The meter itself goes where your old one was and records how much gas and electricity you use. Then there’s an in-home display (IHD) - a small portable screen you can stick in the kitchen or wherever you’ll actually look at it. The display shows your usage in pounds and pence, updated every few seconds for electricity and every half hour for gas.

The meter communicates with your supplier through a secure wireless network. It doesn’t use your WiFi or broadband, which is worth knowing because people sometimes worry about that.

SMETS1 vs SMETS2

This matters more than you’d think. If you got a smart meter before about 2018, it’s almost certainly a SMETS1 (first generation). These were built to work with specific suppliers’ systems, and they have an annoying habit of going “dumb” when you switch provider. You keep the meter, but it stops sending readings automatically and the display might stop working. Essentially it reverts to being an old-fashioned meter that you have to read yourself.

SMETS2 meters (installed from 2018 onwards) use a national communications network called the DCC, so they keep working regardless of who your supplier is. If you’re getting a smart meter installed now, it’ll be a SMETS2. If you’ve got a SMETS1 that went dumb, many are being remotely upgraded to work on the new network, though the rollout has been slow.

What’s Genuinely Useful

Accurate bills are the biggest win, honestly. No more estimated bills, no more arguing with your supplier about readings, no more nasty surprises when an actual reading finally happens and you owe far more than expected.

The real-time display is interesting at first. You can watch the numbers tick up when you turn the oven on or put the kettle on. Some people find this genuinely changes their behaviour - seeing that running the tumble dryer costs 60p an hour does make you think twice. For others, the novelty wears off after a few weeks and the display ends up in a drawer. We’d say it’s useful for the first month or two while you’re getting a feel for what costs what in your home.

Switching suppliers is easier too, because they can quote you based on your actual usage rather than guessing.

Prepayment Meters

If you’re on a prepayment meter, a smart version is a massive improvement. You can top up from your phone instead of trekking to a shop, you can see exactly how much credit you’ve got left, and you get warnings before you run out. It also makes it much easier to switch to credit mode later if your circumstances change.

Getting One Installed

Your supplier will probably pester you about installation, or you can just request one. It’s free and takes about an hour for both meters. The engineer turns off your gas and electricity briefly, swaps out the old meters, installs the new ones, sets up your display, and shows you how it all works. You’ll need to be home.

Common Problems

The display battery can die - if it stops working, contact your supplier for a replacement (usually free). Signal problems are more common in homes with thick stone walls or in rural areas, though the meter still records your usage even if it can’t send readings as often. And as we mentioned, SMETS1 meters losing smart functionality after a switch is the single biggest complaint. If that happens, contact your new supplier and ask about getting it reconnected or upgraded.

Privacy comes up occasionally. Your supplier can see your usage patterns, which some people aren’t comfortable with. You can opt out of half-hourly data sharing and stick to daily or monthly readings instead if you prefer.

Should You Bother?

For most people, yes. Accurate bills and not having to submit readings are worth the hour it takes to get one installed. Smart meters aren’t mandatory, but the government wants everyone to have one eventually, and most suppliers are pushing them fairly hard. The only real reason to hold off would be if you’re about to switch supplier and want to make sure you get a SMETS2 from the new one rather than risking a SMETS1 from your current provider. But since almost all installations are SMETS2 now, that’s largely a non-issue.