How to read a smart meter
Smart meters automatically send your meter readings to your energy company, so for the most part you will not need to submit them yourself. However, it’s still a good idea to know how to read a smart meter. This is because you may be asked to send a reading if you are switching suppliers, moving home or if your supplier cannot take your reading automatically for any reason.
How to read your smart electricity meter
How you take the reading will depend on the type of meter you have.
SMETS1 electricity meters
SMETS1 meters are the first generation of smart meters. If you had your smart meter installed before March 2018 it is likely to be a SMETS1 meter.
The buttons on your meter will also determine how you take a reading.
- If your meter has an A and B button: press the A button repeatedly until ‘total act import’ is shown. The number below this is your meter reading.
- If your meter has a green A and a white B button: press and hold the green A button for at least two seconds, then press again repeatedly to cycle through the displays. The first row of numbers that comes up is your meter reading.
- If your meter has three unlabelled buttons: press the middle button once and the number shown below ‘IMP’ is your meter reading.
- If your meter has an orange and a blue button: press the orange button and your meter reading will be the row of numbers that appears.
- If your meter has two buttons labelled ‘reconnect’ and ‘display’: press the ‘display’ button until it shows a number followed by kWh. This is your meter reading.
If you’re on a multi-rate tariff, remember to take a reading for each rate. These will usually appear one after the other marked R1 (rate one) and R2 (rate two) showing a number followed by kWh. We don’t need the numbers after the decimal point.
Secure™ Smart Meters
If your smart meter is provided by Secure, it will have a keypad instead of the buttons listed above, so the way you take a reading will be slightly different.
- If you’re on a single electricity tariff: press the number six on the keypad. You will then see the code ‘IMP R01’ appear on the screen followed by eight numbers. Take the first seven digits as your meter reading, ignoring the number after the decimal point.
- If you’re on a multi-rate tariff: press the number six on the keypad four times. Your peak and off-peak readings will show up on the screen one after the other, starting with off-peak labelled ‘IMP R01’ and followed by peak labelled ‘IMP R02’. The first seven digits of these numbers are your meter readings.
SMETS2 smart electricity meters
These are the second generation of smart meters, so if you had your meter fitted or upgraded after March 2018, it is likely a SMETS2.
The brand of your meter will determine how you take a reading. Check the logo on the front of your meter to find out what brand it is.
- Honeywell Elster AS302P – press ‘select’ to wake up the screen and your electricity reading should be displayed automatically.
- Landis and Gyr (standard electricity tariff) – press B to wake up the screen. This will give you an option for a meter boost. Press A to select no and your reading will be displayed.
- Landis and Gyr (multi-rate tariff) – press the green button until you see ‘Rate 01 Act Imp’ displayed along with your first reading. Press the green button again until you see ‘Rate 02 Act Imp’ along with your second reading.
- Kaifa MA120 – This meter cycles through its four displays automatically. Your reading will be on the display with a number followed by kWh.
How to read your smart gas meter
Reading a gas meter follows a similar process as an electricity meter, and will also depend on the make and model of gas meter you have installed.
- Secure smart gas meter – press number nine on the keypad. This will then show the word ‘volume’ on the screen followed by your gas reading in cubic meters (m3). Take the first five digits of the number as your reading.
- Aclara gas meter – press the middle button to turn on the screen and your gas reading should be displayed automatically.
- Flonidan G4SZV – your meter reading should be automatically displayed on the screen, but if you have navigated away from the main screen, use the left and centre buttons to get back to it.
- Landis and Gyr gas meter – press A or B to turn on the screen and your reading should be displayed automatically.
- Kaifa MA120 gas meter – press the button on the right to turn on the screen. Your meter reading should then be displayed along with the words ‘consumption m3’ before it cycles through the other display screens.
How to read your IHD
An in-home display (IHD) is different to a smart meter, but they work together to help you to better understand your energy usage. The IHD allows you to see your energy usage in real time as well as set budgets for the amount of energy you use in a day, week or month. There are pre-set budgets of £1.60 per day for electricity and £1.95 for gas, but you can make this amount higher or lower based on your usage.
We offer two main types of IHD, an IHD3 and an IHD6. These are fundamentally the same, but the IHD6 has a slightly different interface. Read our guide to smart meters and IHDs for a more in-depth explanation of how to read the information presented on your IHD.
