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Smart meter contents
How to use your smart meter - Help guides
What are smart meters? - FAQs
Smart meter installation process - FAQs
Your in-home display (IHD) - FAQs
Top up your smart PAYG meter – Help with Pay As You Go
How to use your smart meter - Help guides
How to read your SMETS 1 meter:
Your smart meter will send us readings automatically each month, so you shouldn’t really need to read it very often. If you would like to read your meter though, it’s really simple. Just press number 9 on the keypad and you’ll see the reading on the screen. If your meter is in Economy 7 mode, you’ll need to press number 6 three times and take down each reading as it’s displayed.
How to read your SMETS 2 meter:
There are lots of different types of smart meter so the way you take a meter reading may vary depending on what type of meter you have installed. To find out how to read your meter, identify what meter you have based on the descriptions below.
Reading an electricity Smart Meter
Meters with A and B buttons
Press the A button until the meter display shows ‘TOTAL ACT IMPORT’
The number on this screen will be your meter reading
Meters with an A button and a B button where the reading hasn’t automatically come up on the screen
Press and hold the A button for a few seconds
Then press the A button to cycle through the displays
Look out for the first row of numbers, this should be your meter reading
Meters with three buttons
Press the middle button
This should bring up the meter read display
You can find the read you need underneath ‘IMP’
Meters with an orange button and a blue button
Press the orange button to bring up the meter read display
The numbers shown here followed by kWh is your electricity meter reading
Meters with an orange button and a blue button
Press the Display button to scroll through the displays on the meter
Look out for a display showing ‘IMP’ (01/02) in the top left corner with a number followed by kWh - that is the reading
Economy 7
If you are on an Economy 7 Tariff your meter will have two rates and you’ll need to take a meter reading for each rate. Follow the above instructions based on the type of meter you have.
The two meter readings should appear one after the other on your meter and will often display 01 or 02. Some meters will also show a third reading which is known as the ‘Totaliser’ (this shows the total of your 01 and 02 reads combined). We only need your 01 and 02 reads. Your meter will show you your electricity meter reading in kilowatt hours (kWh).
Reading a gas Smart Meter
Meters with A and B buttons
Press the ‘A’ button once to wake up the meter - as it spends most of its time on standby to conserve battery, scroll through the displays on the meter
Look out for the ‘METER INDEX’ display
The number shown below this is your meter read
Meters with three red buttons (A,B,C)
Press the left (A) button
This brings up your meter reading followed by m3
Meters with two arrow buttons and a circle button
Press the circle button
This brings up the ‘current meter reading’ screen
The number followed by m3 is your meter read
Meters with orange and blue buttons
Press the orange button
This brings up your meter reading followed by m3
You can download our smart meter guides using the links below.
Your in-home display (IHD) - FAQs
An in-home display (IHD) is a device a bit like a smart phone that shows you how much electricity and gas you’re using at any time.
It can also show you how much this is costing you in pounds and pence (as well as kilowatt hours), so it can help you understand how your home is using energy – information you could use to help you save money on your energy bills.
An IHD is an integral part of the meter and belongs with it. If you’re moving home, please make sure you leave it for the new occupier as it won’t work with another meter.
You should keep the in-home display in a place that is convenient for you to see and use it. Many customers keep their IHD in the kitchen but make sure that the IHD maintains a signal with the meter in whichever location you choose. The internal battery allows you to carry the IHD around the house to investigate the effects of turning appliances on and off. This battery will last for approximately 1 hour before it needs to be reconnected to the power source.
Our meter installer will send you instructions for your IHD and an energy efficiency guide after your installation. You can also read your smart meter guide online.
Our meter installer will send you instructions for your IHD and an energy efficiency guide after your installation. You can also read your smart meter guide online.
Geo, our IHD manufacturer, have made an extended IHD guide available on their website. Download the Trio Touchbutton User Manual : Trio Touchbutton (geotogether.com)
They also have a useful self-help section with videos guides.
You should be able to carry on using your IHD with your new supplier.
You’ll be able to check how much energy you use in kWh, but your new supplier will need to update your meter with your new tariff before the IHD can tell you how much you’re spending on energy.
Talk to your new supplier about this or ask them whether they can offer you a replacement at no extra charge.
The IHD calculates your consumption using your current tariff’s unit rate and daily
standing charge. It does not take into consideration debt repayments which are included on your bill. If your IHD unit rates do not match what is on your bill then this is normally due to a recent price or product change. Please allow up to 7 days for these changes to be reflected on your IHD.
We receive your usage readings direct from your smart meters – it doesn’t matter whether there’s an IHD connected or not.
If you’d like a replacement IHD, we can send you one free of charge.
Once you’ve received your new IHD, we’ll link it to your smart meters so you can stay on top of your energy usage. We can do this remotely, so we won’t need to visit you at home.
Getting your in-home display to show your usage
Your in-home display should show your current energy usage, as both kilowatt hours (kWh) and in pounds and pence. If it isn’t showing this data, the following steps should get your in-home display up and running.
Make sure your IHD is 5 metres or less from your electricity meter, and plugged in. If your IHD is too far from your electricity meter, it won’t be able to receive any data. Try moving it closer to your electricity smart meter, which will be fixed to the wall.
Turn your IHD off and on again by using the flat round button at the back. Wait 10 seconds and then press the button again to switch it back on.
If the screen is blank, the in-home display may have run out of power. Plug it back in to recharge it and press the flat round button on the back to restart it.
IHD still not working?
Sometimes IHDs lose connection to the gas and electricity meters, this isn’t a big problem they just need to be remotely re-joined. If your IHD appears to have disconnected from the meters, please let us know by emailing home@ecotricity.co.uk and we can get it reconnected for you.
Electricity usage shows every 10 seconds to give near instantaneous usage info on your IHD display. Gas usage will only update your IHD display every 30 mins however – this is to preserve battery life in your gas meter (for safety reasons, there is no mains power supply to gas meters).
Yes, the smart meter stores your consumption data and once your IHD is powered back on, it will retrieve your consumption information from your meter, which will be visible on the display. Your data will normally be refreshed within 30 minutes although the Electricity data will be available sooner.
After you change tariff it can take up to 7 days for this to be reflected on your IHD. Please be assured that this will not impact your bill in any way and that you will be billed on your new tariff rates even if they aren’t yet on your IHD.
The cost of your energy is split into two parts:
1. The standing charge – this is a set amount per day
2. The unit rate – this is based on your tariff and how much energy you use
The standing charge is applied daily, which means that even if you’re not at home and not using any gas or electricity, you’ll still pay a small daily fee.
The standing charge will appear on your monitor between midnight and 1 AM every day, so your smart energy monitor will show a slight spike in energy use at this time.
Your new IHD is designed to provide you with real-time updates on your energy usage and also to show your consumption history. Most people’s consumption varies day to day and may be different due to a number of factors. For example, having more people in the house normally leads to higher consumption or having set days for washing and drying clothes could mean you use more energy on certain days.
Helpful energy efficiency information is available on our website and in our smart meter guides.
Top up your meter
Find out how to top up your meter here.
We are also able to offer an accessible IHD
AIHDs include features such as, larger, tactile buttons, a bigger screen so the information can be displayed in a larger font and with high contrast. There is also a speaker so that information can be played rather than read. The accessible IHDs have been developed in partnership with RNIB. (Royal National Institute for the Blind)
If you would like to request one please email us on: metering@ecotricity.co.uk
Can't find an answer to your question?
Send an email to home@ecotricity.co.uk, our average response time for email and app queries is 2 working days.
If you would like to speak with someone, give us a call on 0345 555 7 100
Monday to Friday 9am - 7pm
Saturday and Sunday 9am - 5pm
Prefer to phone a landline, or calling from abroad? Call 01453 761482
Alternatively, if you are a business customer, please contact business@ecotricity.co.uk
Smell gas? Call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999