Smart meters are the new generation of gas and electricity meters. They are being installed in homes across Great Britain at no extra cost, to replace the traditional meters, including prepay key meters, most of us currently have ticking away under the stairs, or outside our homes. Smart meters record your energy use in the same way as a traditional meter but then send the readings automatically to your energy supplier at regular intervals, allowing them to prepare an accurate bill.

Your smart meter measures how much gas and electricity you use and securely shares this directly with your energy supplier at least once a month and your portable in-home display in near real time. You won't have to take any meter readings manually - your smart meter will send automatic readings to your energy supplier via the secure smart data network which is solely for smart meters. This works in a similar way as other wireless systems but does not use the internet.

Yes, if you're a dual-fuel customer, both meters will need to be replaced. Your supplier will aim to install both meters on the same visit to make things as easy as possible. You will only need one in-home display to view both your gas and electricity usage. If your gas and electricity accounts are with different suppliers, you will have two separate smart meter installations - one from each of your suppliers.

If your home’s gas and electricity are supplied by different suppliers, we suggest having your electric smart meter installed before your gas smart meter. We have a lot more information about smart meters and the installation process on our installation process page.

No. Smart meters use an entirely separate, bespoke wireless system. You don't need Wi-Fi in your home for it to work and it won't use your Wi-Fi if you have it. Your smart meter and in-home display communicate via a secure national network which is solely for smart meters. This works in the same way as other wireless systems like car remote keys or TVs, using radio waves.

If you live in an area with poor mobile telephone reception you can either request a first generation meter that uses this network, but may experience difficulties sending readings to your supplier automatically. Alternatively, you can contact your energy supplier and insist that they install a second generation meter, known as SMETS2. A SMETS2 meter is not reliant upon the mobile phone network and by the end of the rollout this network will have coverage of 99.25% of Great Britain.

Yes you can get a smart meter if you have solar panels. Your bills reflect the energy you are using and that you have generated yourself. Your in-home display will only show how much energy you are buying from your supplier. In the future, your in-home display may also be able to reflect the energy you're generating yourself, such as from solar panels.

Your bills reflect the energy you're using and that you've generated yourself. Your in-home display will show you how much energy you are buying from your supplier and in the future, may also be able to reflect the energy you're generating yourself, such as from solar panels.

Smart meters are as accurate as traditional meters. By law, all smart meters have to be approved by and certified by the Office of Product Safety & Standards to prove their accuracy. If you believe that there's a fault with your smart meter you can report it to your energy supplier in the same way you do now.

Smart meters come with an in-home display so that, for the first time, you are able to see how much energy you’re using in near real time. This information can help you understand your energy use and take steps towards reducing your energy consumption.

The government has made sure that all in-home displays are required to show the same basic information. Below are some of the minimum requirements your in-home display will show depending on which mode you have your smart meter set to:

If you’re a credit customer, the in-home display will show you:

• the cost of current energy use in pounds and pence
• the amount of electricity being used in kWh
• the amount of gas being used in kWh
• historical energy consumption data (up to 13 months)

If you’re a prepay customer, the in-home display will show you:

• how much credit you have
• how much you have on your emergency balance
• the amount of debt owed to your supplier (if applicable)
• the cost of current energy use in pounds and pence
• the amount of electricity being used in kWh
• the amount of gas being used in kWh
• historical energy consumption data (up to 13 months)

Some models of in-home display will also show your carbon emissions.

Click below for more information on the minimum specifications for smart meters:

In-home displays come in different makes and models and the one you get depends on your energy supplier. However, no matter how different each in-home display looks, they must all meet the same minimum specifications.

Click below for more information on the minimum specifications for smart meters:

Yes. It can take a while for the meters to transfer your meter reading and tariff information back to the in-home display. We suggest waiting 24 hours before checking it. Your smart meter continues to work, even if your in-home display has turned off. Your display holds up to 13 months of data in its memory so you'll still be able to see how much energy you've used.

Contact your energy supplier. If you've had the in-home display for less than 12 months, and the display has broken or is no longer working as it should be, your supplier should replace it free of charge. If there is evidence that the damage has been caused by you your supplier may consider applying a charge.

If you didn't want an in-home display, but have changed your mind, you're still entitled to receive one at no extra cost for up to 12 months after your smart meter installation date. Just contact your energy supplier and they will provide one. If you've had your smart meter for longer than 12 months, ask your supplier. You may be required to pay for it.

Yes. Your in-home display will only work with the smart meter it is securely paired with. If you're moving home, please leave your in-home display at your property so the new householder can benefit from using it.

You'll need to get in touch with your supplier as they are best placed to let you know more about the options available to you for getting a replacement in-home display. This wouldn’t involve replacing the meters, only the in-home display that would then be paired with the existing smart meter.

Yes, an accessible in-home display has been developed for those who are blind or partially sighted.

At the moment energy suppliers are gauging demand for accessible in-home displays and some now have stock available for eligible customers, however, they are not currently available from every supplier.

If you require an accessible in-home display, it is important to make your energy supplier aware of this.

Click below to find out more about the accessible in-home display:

Yes, smart meters are safe. They're covered by strict UK and EU product safety laws. These ensure that smart meters all have the same high quality and safety standards, regardless of your energy supplier. Working with government, the energy industry has committed to ensuring the highest health and safety standards during the smart meter rollout including strong systems to make sure any issues are identified and dealt with swiftly. If you have any concerns about your smart or traditional meter you should contact your supplier directly. If you smell gas you should call the national gas emergency number 0800 111 999 immediately.

Security has been at the heart of the whole smart meter rollout programme from its very inception, and the system has been specifically designed to prevent hacking. Smart meters do not use the internet, and they have their own closed, dedicated communications system. Smart meters have been designed with top cyber security experts, including the government and GCHQ, to ensure that security best practice has been incorporated at every stage.

Yes. Your in-home display is paired with your smart meter by your installer, so it only shows information from your own smart meter. Smart meters have been specifically designed not to interfere with other wireless products in your home, and there is legislation in place to prevent interference.

No. Public Health England sees no risk or dangers to health from smart meters. The smart meters used in Britain have undergone one of the most rigorous smart safety testing regimes in the world and exceed every UK and EU safety standard. Public Health England, the government's agency on public health, has said that exposure to radio waves from smart meters is many times lower than the exposure from Wi-Fi and mobile phones and is well within guideline levels. For more information, visit smart meters and your health: the truth.

Personal information such as your name, address and bank details are not stored on your smart meter. The meters simply record your gas and electricity readings in the same way as your traditional meter. The meter readings collected can only be shared with your energy supplier to allow them to prepare an accurate bill and they cannot share this without your permission. The data is transmitted safely, using a dedicated and secure wireless network. All this information about your energy use is strongly protected.Depending on what you've agreed with your energy supplier, your smart meter will share half-hourly, daily or in some cases, monthly meter readings. You can change your preference at any point by getting in contact with your supplier directly.

If you have given them permission to do so, your energy supplier may also use this information to offer you tailored energy efficiency advice and improve the service they provide for you.

Some of the components for smart meters will be manufactured abroad, but factories in the UK are likely to be doing the final assembly and technical configuration of the millions of meters that will be needed for the rollout.

Smart meters are not compulsory; it's entirely your choice. The government requires energy suppliers to offer smart meters to all homes and small businesses across Great Britain by the end of 2025, but whether you accept them is completely up to you.

There is no additional cost for installation of your smart meter. At the point of installation you may be offered an in-home display that shows your spending in near-real time for no additional cost. You won’t have an extra charge on your bill because you choose to have a smart meter. The costs will be spread across everyone’s bills, just like the cost of running and maintaining today’s traditional meters are.

From the moment your smart meter is installed, you are helping to reduce our carbon emissions as a nation. Smart meters help to create a smart energy system. With a truly smart energy system we can better match supply with demand, and integrate more renewable energy sources such as wind and solar into the system. These forms of generating energy create less air pollution and emit significantly less CO2 into the atmosphere.

Smart meters are an essential upgrade to an outdated system. The savings of £19.5 billion will far outweigh the investment of £13.5 billion – meaning an overall net benefit of £6 billion between now and 2034.

The United States, Canada, Italy, Australia, New Zealand and The Netherlands are among the countries already benefiting from smart meters and most other EU countries are currently rolling them out. In Great Britain, the rollout has been specifically designed with the consumer at its heart with a focus on using the smart meter and associated in home display to help monitor energy use and manage bills, and will help Britain move towards a lower carbon economy.

Did you know, smart meter installers group appointments by location? They do this so they don’t have to travel long distances between installations, so they reduce the carbon emissions given off when they travel. Great!

Try to avoid cancelling your smart meter appointment so installers don’t have to make an extra trip to your area, increasing their carbon footprint. Don’t miss out while installers are in your area – book an appointment when you know you’re going to be available.

Smart Energy GB is the not-for-profit campaign helping everyone in Britain understand the importance of smart meters and their benefits to people and the environment. Our national campaign is reaching homes and small businesses across England, Scotland and Wales.

While our job is to spread the message to everyone, we have a particular duty to make sure low-income, vulnerable and prepay customers benefit from smart meters.

For more information on Smart Energy GB and our responsibility in the smart meter rollout click here.

Yes. People with a smart meter can switch energy supplier and tariff in exactly the same way that anyone with a traditional meter can. Find out more about switching supplier with a smart meter here.

Yes. Smart meters will make prepay as easy as pay-as-you-go on your mobile or tablet.

If you choose smart prepay, you should be able to:

• Conveniently see how much credit you have left on your in-home display, using an app, over the phone, or via text.
• Top up from the comfort of your home on a website, via apps, by phone or text (depending on your supplier).
• Top-up in person at your local store/outlet (you'll still be able to top-up with cash), without any need to put a key or card back into a meter. Payments will automatically be added to your account.
• Pay the same rates as everyone else - smart meters remove the need for prepay to be more expensive than other tariffs.
• Switch between payment modes (credit and prepay) without physically changing your meter. 

If you have an Economy 7 or 10 electricity supply, you can get a smart meter as part of the national rollout. But it does depend on which energy supplier is ready to install one for you. Smart meters of this type will be available at a larger scale later in the rollout.

Your smart meter's in-home display will cost less than £2 a year in electricity.

*Cost calculations are based one national average of 34p per kilowatt hour(kWh)
(Energy Price Guarantee, March 2023)

No. You're protected by strict regulations against your energy supplier switching off or disconnecting your gas or electricity supply. This protection remains as strong with smart meters as it is with traditional meters.

Yes. Your in-home display is for information only. You will still receive regular energy bills in the same way you do now, whether that's in the post or online, but now they'll be accurate, without you having to submit a manual meter reading. Depending on your energy supplier, you may also receive some energy efficiency advice.

Yes. Smart meters can help us to identify situations where we're using a lot of energy and might want to make changes to this. If you use the information shown on your smart meter in-home display to reduce your energy use, you could reduce your energy costs. Smart meters also mean accurate bills as they bring an end to estimates, so you can be confident that you're only paying for what you've actually used.

As with all wireless technology, smart meters may occasionally experience connectivity issues. Just like mobile phone or Wi-Fi networks, these problems can be caused by a number of issues that can usually be resolved quickly. If your smart meter cannot communicate with your energy supplier via the designated wireless network, they may ask you for a temporary manual meter reading so that your bills will remain accurate until the problem is resolved.

The first bill you receive after having your smart meter installed may still be estimated. If you are still receiving estimated bills after this, you should contact your energy supplier.

No, an energy supplier cannot charge you based upon when you use your energy unless you specifically choose such a tariff (known as time-of-use tariffs). Time-of-use tariffs could mean lower bills if you use energy outside peak times. They will also help energy suppliers to better manage periods of peak demand. Time-of-use tariffs are not compulsory and if they suit your lifestyle, could save you money. There are already some time-of-use tariffs such as Economy 7 and Economy 10, or even tariffs which provide free energy at certain times of day, but smart meters mean that time-of-use tariffs can be more flexible.

If you have a smart meter, you can choose a smart time-of-use tariff, which offers a different price for energy at different times of the day.

These tariffs have been designed to help you save money on your bills, as you will be financially rewarded for using energy when demand is low or excess energy is available. For example, if you use your washing machine when there is a lot of renewable energy being produced (on windy or sunny days), your energy could be cheaper. Or, charge your phone at night when less energy is being used by others.

Time-of-use tariffs already exist and are popular with electric vehicle owners who can save money by charging their cars at off-peak times.

When you accept a smart meter, you’ll have a choice to send your meter readings to your supplier about your usage every 30 minutes. These half-hourly readings will help energy suppliers understand how much energy is being used around the country, and when. With this information, energy suppliers will be able to buy more accurate amounts of energy to supply their customers.

This will help us to reach net-zero by reducing our reliance on fossil fuels – great!

But that isn’t the only benefit, with suppliers only buying what they need to supply your home, consumers stand to save. And the more that consumers move some of their energy use to off-peak periods, the greater these savings will be. With the electricity system running more efficiently, Ofgem estimates that consumers could save between £1.6 billion and £4.5 billion by 2045.

Small businesses with fewer than 10 employees, or their full time equivalent, may be eligible for a smart meter.

Smart meters can bring many benefits to small businesses, such as:

• they send your energy readings directly to your supplier, meaning accurate bills and an end to manual meter readings.
• they give you the opportunity to monitor how much energy you're using, in pounds and pence, every day, week and month. So you can spot the activities that cost the most and take action to save money.

Yes. As every home across Great Britain will be offered a smart meter from their energy supplier by the end of 2025, you will be eligible for a smart meter if your small business is run from domestic premises. If you have a separate meter for your small business in your home, you may also be able to upgrade that to a smart meter.

Yes. If you pay the energy bills you can make the decision about whether to get a smart meter. If your landlord pays your energy bills, speak with them about getting a smart meter for your building.

You may need to check with your landlord that any changes to your meter are allowed within your rental contract.

Many small businesses can get a smart meter at no extra cost. Depending on your business’s energy supplier and tariff, you may be charged for a part of the upgrade or for access to your energy usage data. Your supplier will let you know about any charges up-front.

Installations normally take about two hours and are arranged in advance so that you can make any necessary arrangements beforehand to ensure minimal disruption to your normal business operations.

Energy suppliers will work with you to find a time that’s convenient for you both. Some suppliers offer installations on a Saturday or in the evening to minimise disruption to your small business; please speak to your supplier to find out what is available.