What are smart meters?
Transforming how we interact with energy
Smart meters are progressively substituting existing meters, and are a helpful tool for our customers to keep on top of energy bills.
Smart meters work with a smart energy monitor, that you can place anywhere in your home, to show how much energy you're using and an indication of how much it's costing you in real-time, in pounds & pence. You can view both your gas and electricity consumption. So you can see how much it is costing to leave your phone charger plugged in all the time, or the heating on at night, and when you can really see how much you're using, you can start to make small changes to use less and save money on your bills.
How smart meters work
The smart metering system is: one electricity smart meter, one gas smart meter, a communications hub and an in-home display unit - the smart energy monitor on which you can view your energy (read more on this device in the section below). Smart meters measure actual, total gas and electricity usage.
- Smart meters take accurate readings of your energy usage every day.
- These readings are automatically sent to British Gas using wireless technology similar to a mobile phone.
- You'll receive an accurate energy bill without having to submit meter readings.
Smart energy monitor
Your smart energy monitor makes it really easy to understand your energy usage. Traffic lights show you at a glance how much electricity you're using in real time. If the lights are red, you're using a lot - if they’re green your use is low - it really is that straightforward.
Past energy use
In half hour, daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal and annual time slots, so you can track your usage and see how you're reducing it over time.
Your tariff information
Including which one you're on and how much your energy is costing you. This is because smart meters measure exactly what energy the home is using in kilowatt hours. The pounds and pence figures on the smart energy monitor then indicate your energy costs by using your tariff to convert the energy that is measured.
Important messages from us
We can send text alerts to your monitor if we have something you need to know, for example, that you could change to a cheaper tariff.
Smart is coming your way
- Our dedicated team of Smart Advisors will contact you to arrange an installation appointment.
- On the appointment day a British Gas Smart Energy Expert (a fully trained engineer) will install your new meters quickly, safely and with care.
- The Smart Energy Expert will hand you a smart energy monitor and demonstrate how to use it so that you can view your energy and keep on top of your bills. He will also leave a Welcome to Smart pack with you, containing a brochure and a quick user guide to help you use the smart energy monitor.
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