31 January 2024 , 20:00
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Ahead of Channel 5 documentary Smart Meters: Should You Get One?, we take a look at just how effective these nifty electronic devices really are.
Smart meters record information, including energy consumption, which is then handily communicated to users and their suppliers. They have however faced some criticism, with some expressing concerns over security issues and previous issues with faulty devices. Others believe smart meters to be a waste of money and don't consider them to be a meaningful investment when trying to cut back on household bills. Others have claimed they actually increased their bills.
So are they a cost-saver or a scam? Energy expert Katey Bell, who works as a manager at the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE), told the Mirror that she believes the pros outweigh the cons.
One expert believes smart meters have been 'missold' in the past (Stock Image) (Getty Images)According to Katey, smart meters aren't likely to save you an enormous amount of money - an average of £100 a year as per CSE research - and you'll only reap the full benefits if you keep your in-home display out where you can see it.
Urging users to keep their displays out of the drawer, Katey explained: "You might notice, 'Oh I'm using loads, I could go and turn off some lights', or 'I could turn down the heating or something'. In reality, most people just have those displays out for the first few weeks, then they put them away because it's quite depressing seeing how much you're using. So we think it can be useful if you want to know what's using a lot of energy in your house"
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For Katey and the rest of the CSE team, however, the real benefits are less about money saved and more about the accuracy of bills. Many customers tend to forget to send over meter readings and then end up faced with a huge reading when they do remember. Others will end up with really high estimates from their energy companies, despite having fairly low usage. According to Katey: "Whereas if you've got a smart meter, you're only paying for the energy that they can see you've used."
For diagnostic reasons too, smart meters can also apparently be a godsend. Katey shared: "We'll have a lot of customers who'll call up, and they don't know why their bills are so high. Sometimes that can be for lots of different reasons, but one of the reasons we find is that it's something they're using that's really expensive. It's really tricky when you don't have a smart meter to figure out what that is. So having to get people to take photos of their meters at different times of day, trying to figure out what they're using at that time."
She continued: "Whereas if you've got a smart meter, you can just go onto your app or go onto the website, and you'll see a graph, and the graph will show you half-an-hour increments for the whole day. So then you'd see a spike at a certain time, and you can figure out what you're using."
One of Katey's customers just couldn't figure out why she was being charged a whopping £30 a day for her energy usage. It 'took forever to figure out' as the woman didn't have a smart meter, which would have allowed Katey to figure out the issue straight away - an eroded immersion tank that was hoovering up £21 worth of energy per day.
For those conscious about the environment, having a smart meter installed will reportedly also make it much easier to switch to more sustainable forms of energy. Katey said: "In order for the UK to move away from relying on gas, we need to rely more on wind and solar. And what's going to happen is there's going to be a load of new tariffs that are much cheaper to use energy when the sun's shining, or when the wind's blowing. Those tariffs will have different rates, so it will be like if it's sunny, suddenly your energy will only be 10p an hour whereas it's normally 28p, and you'll need a smart meter to get those rates."
The Mirror also spoke with technology expert James Bore about some of the concerns users have expressed over smart meters and security. According to James, smart meters having 'the same risks as normal meters'. He explained: "If someone starts splitting off from your energy or perhaps your gas line, then you're going to find you're spending a lot more, but beyond that, they are pretty much the same. The main difference is that they're computerised, and that they give readings in real-time. And that could also provide you with pricing information in real-time, which is where they become useful for saving money."
Meanwhile, energy expert Will Hodson, praised smart meters as an 'excellent tool' for households looking to get a better handle on their energy usage. Will, who sold his energy-switching business to Go Compare after bagging a coveted Dragon's Den deal, told the Mirror: "We are billed thousands of pounds a year by companies often relying on an estimate of our usage, taken on a 'finger in the air' basis.
"Smart meters solve that problem. They protect you from being overbilled by providing your supplier with your exact usage automatically. In real terms, this means no nasty shocks or over-charging based on guesstimates."
The successful businessman went on to advise that, lowering energy usage aside, smart meters could help you access lower prices. He added: "Whilst most of us pay the same price for energy all day, there are times when the underlying cost of that energy is far lower. For example, late at night, when the wind is blowing hard enough to power the country but the nation has gone to bed, the National Grid is willing to virtually give away that energy for free. If you're charging an electric vehicle or powering a heat pump, this could be a mind-blowing bargain."
You can catch Smart Meters: Should You Get One? on Channel 5 at 8pm this evening (January 31).
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