What is smart meter?

A smart meter is an electronic device that records information such as consumption of electric energy, voltage levels, current, and power factor. Smart meters communicate the information to the consumer for greater clarity of consumption behavior, and electricity suppliers for system monitoring and customer billing. Smart meters typically record energy near real-time, and report regularly, short intervals throughout the day. Smart meters enable two-way communication between the meter and the central system. Such an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) differs from automatic meter reading (AMR) in that it enables two-way communication between the meter and the supplier. Communications from the meter to the network may be wireless, or via fixed wired connections such as power line carrier (PLC). Wireless communication options in common use include cellular communications, Wi-Fi, LoRaWAN, ZigBee, Wi-SUN etc.

The term Smart Meter often refers to an electricity meter, but it also may mean a device measuring natural gas, water or district heating consumption.

Smart meters put you in control

• Say goodbye to manual meter readings – no more scrabbling around to find that torch. Your smart meter will send us readings automatically.
• Get more accurate bills – automatic meter readings mean we won’t need to estimate your bills, so they’ll reflect exactly the energy you use.
• Keep track of your spending – see what your energy costs in pounds and pence and set a daily, weekly or monthly budget.
• Monitor how much energy you’re using – find out which appliances cost the most to run and make small tweaks to your lifestyle to save on bills
• Help make energy greener – by combining information from smart meters with information about the weather, grid operators can make the most of energy generated through solar, wind and hydro, making the national grid less reliant on fossil and nuclear sources.
• Do your bit to cut carbon emissions – smart meters help us forecast demand and make smarter decisions when buying your energy. That’s good for the planet, but it’s also cheaper for you.