How to read your meter
Smart meters
One of the benefits of smart meters is that they are designed to enable energy companies to take your readings remotely. However, it is still important to know how to take a reading yourself. For example, you may need to submit manual meter readings when switching suppliers or moving home, or if for some reason we can’t take your readings remotely.
This page covers how to take meter readings from a wide variety of smart meters.
If you’re not sure what type of smart meter you have, please get in touch.
SMETS1 meters
If you had your smart meter installed before March 2018, it’s likely to be a SMETS1.
Your electricity reading will be a number followed by “KWH”. We don’t need the numbers after the decimal place.
If you’re on a multi-rate tariff such as Economy 7, we will need a reading for each rate. The two readings will appear one after another, generally followed by R1 (rate 1) and R2 (rate 2). There’s no rule as to which one is the peak and off-peak reading, but generally the reading that shows the lowest number will be the off-peak one. There may be a label on your meter indicating which is which.
After R1 and R2, a third reading marked “T” might appear. This is the total of your peak and off-peak readings combined. We won’t need this reading if you are on a multi-rate tariff.
If your meter has A and B buttons:
- Press the A button repeatedly until you get to “TOTAL ACT IMPORT”.
- The number shown 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 2 seconds.
- Press A repeatedly to cycle through the displays.
- The first row of numbers that appears is your meter reading.
If your meter has three unmarked buttons:
- Press the middle button.
- The number shown below “IMP” is your meter reading.
If your meter has an orange button and a blue button:
- Press the orange button.
- You’ll see a row of numbers followed by “KWH”, this is your reading.
If your meter has two buttons marked Reconnect and Display Select:
- Press the “Display” or “Display Select” button.
- Keep pressing until it scrolls through to a number followed by kWh. This is your reading.
SMETS1 Gas meter
Your gas reading will be a number followed by “m3”. You can ignore the numbers after the decimal place.
If your meter has A and B buttons only:
- Press the A button repeatedly until you get to “METER INDEX”.
- The number shown below this is your meter reading.
If your meter has three square red buttons (they might be labelled A, B, and C):
- Press the A (or left) button.
- You’ll see a row of numbers followed by m3. This is your reading.
If your meter has a left arrow, a circle and a right arrow:
- Press the middle “circle” button.
- The screen will show “current meter reading” at the top.
- You’ll see a row of numbers followed by m3. This is your reading.
If your meter has orange and blue arrow buttons:
- Press the orange button.
- You’ll see a row of numbers followed by m3. This is your reading.
Taking a reading for a standard electricity tariff:
- Press 6 on the keypad.
- You’ll see the letters “IMP R01” appear on the screen.
- Wait a moment – then eight digits will appear, followed by “kWh” towards the bottom right of the screen.
- Take the first 7 digits – this is your reading.
Taking a reading for an Economy 7 electricity tariff:
- Press 6 on the keypad four times.
- Wait a moment – your day/peak and night/ off-peak readings will show up on the screen one after the other, starting with off-peak.
- For your off-peak reading, you’ll see “IMP R01” onscreen. A second later, you’ll see your meter reading: eight digits, with “kWh” towards the bottom right of the screen.
- For your peak reading you’ll see “IMP R02”. A second later, you’ll see eight digits, with “kWh” towards the bottom right of the screen. You’ll only need to take the first 7 digits when taking each of these readings (i.e. nothing after the decimal place).
Taking a reading from your smart gas meter:
- Press 9 on the keypad.
- The word “VOLUME” will show on the screen.
- Your gas reading, in cubic metres (m3) will appear.
- Take the first five digits as your reading.
SMETS2 meters
These are second generation smart meters. If you had your meter installed after March 2018, it’s likely to be a SMETS2.
Below you’ll find guidance on taking readings from some of the most commonly installed second generation smart meters. Check the logo on the front of your smart meter to find out what brand it is.
Taking a reading from your electricity meter:
- Press ‘A’ to wake up the screen.
- Keep pressing ‘A’ to cycle through the options until you get to ‘Total Active Import’. You should see your reading.
Taking a reading from your Aclara gas meter (not installed by Good Energy)
Press the middle button to wake up the screen. This should automatically display your gas reading.
Honeywell Elster AS302P – electricity meter
Press ‘select’ to wake up the screen. This should automatically display your electricity reading.
Flonidan G4SZV – gas meter
Your meter reading should automatically be displayed on the screen. The display will show a large ‘V’, followed by a number, followed by ‘m3’.
If you have navigated away from that screen, use the left and centre buttons beneath the screen to get back to it.
On this page you’ll find advice on how to read different types of electricity and gas meter. From traditional single and multi-rate meters to a wide range of smart meters.
Looking for information about prepayment meters? Check out our dedicated guide.
If you’re not sure what type of meter you have, please get in touch.
Top tip: Whatever type of meter you have, the general rule is that you don’t need to include any of the numbers displayed either after the decimal point, or in red.
Electric meters
Single rate digital meter
- Read the numbers from left to right, including any zeros and ignoring the final digit
- Don’t worry about sending anything that comes after a decimal place or in red
- If in doubt, check your reading is 5 digits long
The reading in the image below would be 71683.
Electric dial meter
- Read the dials from left to right
- Dials next to each other move in opposite directions
- If the pointer falls in between numbers, always note the lower number
- If your pointer is between 9 and 0, 9 is the lower number
- Ignore any red dials
The reading on the left would be 88589.
Economy 7 Meter
- Read the numbers from left to right, including any zeros and ignoring the last digit of each rate
- Your low rate is often referred to as your ‘night reading’ while the normal rate is also known as ‘day reading’
- The two readings allow us to distinguish how much electricity your using in the day vs the night and bill you accurately
The low rate reading on the right would be 03781.
The normal rate reading on the right would be 54814.
Electronic meter
You could have an electronic meter if you are an Economy 7 or SuperDeal/Flexiheat (only available in certain areas in the South) customer.
- Ignore the red button
- Press the blue button to change the screen display to show what you want
- Ignore anything after the decimal point
This reading would be 55868.
Display settings (for Economy 7 and electronic meter setups)
This table details what data will show based on the number you press on the meter.
Economy 7 | Display | SuperDeal / Flexiheat |
Normal display total units | ||
1 | Test display (shows system is working) | 1 |
2 | The time | 2 |
3 | The date | 4 |
4 | Rate 1 – Day unit rate | 5 |
5 | Rate 2 – Night unit rate | 6 |
6 | Total number of day and night units | 7 |
Heat units | 8 | |
7 | Display returns to normal display | 9 |
Gas meters
Gas digital meter
- Read the numbers from left to right, including any zeros
- Ignore any numbers in red
- Ignore any numbers after a decimal point
- Use only the white digits
The reading on the right would be 78328.
5 digit digital meter
- Read the numbers from left to right, including any zeros
- Use only the first five numbers
The reading on the left would be 85965.
Gas dial meter
-
- Dials next to each other revolve in different directions
- If the pointer is between two numbers, choose the lowest number of the two
- If the pointer is between 9 and 0, 9 is the lowest number as 0 is the start of the next revolution
- Ignore the dials marked ‘100 per rev’, any red dials, and the large dial
- Read the digits from left to right
The reading on the right would be 8859.