A smart meter automatically sends your gas and electricity readings to your supplier — no more estimated bills. It also shows you real-time energy use via an in-home display.
🏠Homeowner view
A smart meter replaces your old gas and electricity meters and automatically sends readings to your energy supplier every 30 minutes. You no longer need to read the meter yourself or receive estimated bills — you only pay for exactly what you use. Smart meters come with an in-home display (a small screen) that shows your current energy use in pounds and pence or kWh, updated in real time. This can help you identify which appliances use the most energy. Smart meters in the UK use SMETS2 (Second Generation Smart Metering System), which communicates via a separate secure wireless network (not your home Wi-Fi). They are installed free by your energy supplier — call and request one if you don't have one. Having a smart meter is a requirement to access smart tariffs (like Octopus Agile) and to get Smart Export Guarantee payments for solar panels.