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What is a smart meter, and should you get one?

Smart meters get a lot of stick — some of it fair, a fair bit of it myth. So here’s what one actually is, what it does for you, and whether it’s worth saying yes when your supplier comes knocking.

• What it actually is. A meter that sends your readings to your supplier automatically, so the end of estimated bills and “please send us a reading” texts. It comes with a little in-home display showing what you’re spending right now.
• The real upside. Accurate bills (you pay for what you actually use, not a guess), you can finally see your usage, and it unlocks the good tariffs — time-of-use and EV deals need the half-hourly data a smart meter provides. Like Economy 7 →
• The gripes worth knowing. Some older (SMETS1) meters went “dumb” when people switched supplier — the newer SMETS2 ones don’t, and many old ones have been fixed remotely. A few homes still get patchy signal; coverage keeps improving.
• So — should you? For most people, yes: accurate billing alone is worth it, and it’s what powers tools like this one to tell you, on your real data, whether you’re overpaying.

Got one already? Then the data’s sitting there waiting. Here’s how to read it → — or connect it to Joulely and we’ll turn it into plain, personal insight, free.