Smart meter myth busters

Smart meters comply with strict UK and EU product safety laws and undergo the most rigorous safety testing regimes, ensuring that all smart meters have the same high-quality safety standards, regardless of your energy supplier.

Our smart meter engineers are fully qualified. All engineers carrying out electricity installs are NICEIC registered, and Gas Safe registered engineers carry out all gas installs. We install by the Retail Energy Code (REC) – which is the industry standard. Before our engineers leave your home, they conduct a series of safety tests to ensure the smart meter is operating properly and that your gas and electricity appliances are functioning correctly.

Public Health England (PHE) states that the low-frequency radio waves used by smart meters to take readings pose no risk to a person’s health. PHE has carried out extensive research to assess exposures from smart meters, and the results were well below the guidelines set by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection.

Their research also concluded that exposure to the radio waves produced by smart meters is likely to be significantly lower than that of everyday devices, such as TVs, mobile phones, and WiFi equipment.

Yes, smart meters are designed to be secure. They utilise a dedicated, secure communications network and encryption to protect data transmission, and are not connected to home Wi-Fi. The system was developed with input from cybersecurity experts and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to minimise the risk of hacking and data breaches.

Just like traditional meters, your smart meter simply records the amount of energy you use and does not store personal information, such as your name, address, or bank details. The energy industry regulator (Ofgem) enforces all smart meter data rules and regulations, so you know your energy data is in safe hands.

Take a look at the DCC’s website to read more about protecting data.

Smart meters cannot see or hear you, as they do not have any video or audio recording components.

Smart meters don’t need the internet or WiFi to communicate with us. Instead, they work by utilising two wireless networks: the HAN (Home Area Network) and WAN (Wide Area Network).

The HAN is a secure smart meter network contained within your home that allows the in-home display and smart gas and electricity meters to communicate with each other.

When smart meters need to communicate with an energy provider, they use WAN. This secure network is similar to the one mobile phones use to send and receive data. It’s run by the Data Communications Company and overseen by the energy regulator Ofgem. This means it must comply with strict regulations to ensure smart meter data is kept private and secure.

Your In-Home Display (IHD) also does not require a Wi-Fi connection to connect to the meters and display the data. It connects to your smart meter wirelessly through a secure protocol called Zigbee (a low-power, low-frequency radio network similar to Bluetooth).

If you choose to have a Home Mini, it requires a Wi-Fi connection to function.

Your In-Home Display (IHD) is paired with your smart meter by your installer, so it only shows information from your smart meter. If you move to a new house, please do not take your in-home display with you; instead, leave it at the old property, as it is paired with the smart meter there.

During the meter installation, the engineer will need to turn off your gas and electricity for approximately 20 minutes. Once the installation is complete, the engineer will check that all gas and electricity appliances (including your boiler) are working as they should.

We offer multiple innovative smart tariffs, tailored to meet different needs. Check them out here.

There are no up-front costs for the smart meter installation, smart meters, communications hub or In-Home Display.

Instead, just like the installation and maintenance of previously installed traditional meters, the cost is covered through everyone's energy bills.

The energy used to power your electricity smart meter isn’t recorded as part of your household consumption, so these cost nothing to run.

Gas meters use internal batteries as their power source, so are not reliant on power from the mains. These batteries are expected to last around 10 years, and are expected to last around 10 years. Once your battery is depleted, the gas meter will need exchanging.

The In-Home Display (the little display screen you should have received with your smart meter) uses a minimum amount of electricity.

The tariff you’re on and the unit rate you pay will not change when you get a smart meter installed. A very tiny amount of the cost of your annual bill goes towards the upkeep of smart meters and the network cost; however, this is the case even if you have a traditional meter.

Your bills may change after you’ve had a smart meter installed if:

1. You’re replacing an old meter that was coming to the end of its operational life. Your old meter may not have been accurately recording your usage.
2. You didn’t submit regular meter readings before getting a smart meter. Lack of readings means your bills would have been based on estimates, so you may have been paying more or less than you needed to.

Smart Meters can help you save money because you can keep an eye on your energy in real-time with your IHD and also through the Octopus Energy app, allowing you to spot power-hungry appliances.

Additionally, you can participate in our schemes and trials, such as our Octoplus Savings Sessions.

A smart meter also unlocks a world of smart tariffs where you can spend less by consuming energy when it's cheaper and greener.

Smart meters are an essential upgrade to an outdated system.

The rollout is expected to cost approximately £13.5 billion but is anticipated to generate savings of nearly £19.5 billion. Therefore, Britain is likely to benefit from an overall saving of nearly £6 billion between now and 2034.

Smart meters don’t rely on you to submit manual meter readings; they remove the chance of human error and infrequent meter readings that could cause shock bills. Without readings, suppliers have to bill based on estimated consumption, so having automatic readings means you will be billed for precisely what you have used.

The smart meters we install undergo rigorous testing and comply with a host of UK and European regulations to ensure they accurately record readings. However, if you believe your meter is displaying or sending us inaccurate readings, you have the right to request an accuracy test for your meter.

The accuracy test is free of charge if your meter isn’t showing accurate readings; however, a charge applies if your meter is tested and found to be working correctly.

Smart meters send your meter readings to us automatically, provided everything is set and working correctly. You can choose whether we receive your meter readings on a half-hourly, daily, or monthly basis, and you can update this setting at any time via your online account. If you wish, you can still provide manual readings.

A non-functioning smart meter would function as a traditional meter, so you’d just need to submit manual meter readings. See here for how to read your smart meter.

As a smart meter customer, you’ll get an extra spin of the wheel per fuel compared to non-smart meter customers. This means you’ll get four spins of the wheel if you have smart meters on both your electricity and gas!

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is leading the smart meter rollout in Great Britain.

There are many reasons to want smart meters in the UK:

• They provide you with near-real-time information on your energy usage.
• Smart metering will eliminate estimated billing, ensuring you are billed for the energy you use.
• At a national level, smart meters are central to Britain’s shift to a cleaner, more flexible energy system.
• Smart metering paves the way towards a more energy-efficient future. As smart meters can record your energy use every 30 minutes, energy suppliers can offer tariffs that reduce your charges if you use power when it is cheaper for them to buy it on the wholesale market (i.e on a sunny or windy day). Check out our smart tariffs, Agile Octopus and Octopus Go!

For more information about the government's ambitions, please visit this link.

You’re not legally obliged to have a smart meter.

It depends on what smart meter you have.

Since 2019, all suppliers have been installing the latest generation of smart meters (SMETS2). They will stay smart if you switch supplier and offer increased functionality and flexibility to be future-ready for developments in smart tariffs and smart home tech.

The Data Communications Company (DCC) has been enrolling and updating older SMETS1 meters onto the DCC network, so the majority should work if you switch supplier. However, this is not entirely guaranteed.

SMETS1 meters that can't be successfully enrolled will be replaced with SMETS2 meters at no additional cost.

Do you have a SMETS1 meter that needs to be upgraded? No worries, we'll reach out to you to book you in for your meter upgrade once we have engineers available in your area.

It is a common misconception that your little display screen is the smart meter. Your smart meter is the physical unit installed by the engineer and connected with wires to your house. The smart meter provides automatic readings to your energy supplier, so that you may be billed accurately.

The IHD is the portable touch screen which displays usage data received from the smart meter.

The engineer will fit your new meters in the same place as your current meters, and provide a single in-home display that will display usage from both fuels.

Alternatively, you can request that the engineer move them 1 meter distance from your current meter. If you’d like them moved further than 1 meter, you’ll need to ask this of your Distribution Network Operator (DNO). We can try to arrange your smart meter appointment to be the same date as your DNO appointment.

We install smart meters because traditional meters are no longer being manufactured or refurbished.

We also need to ensure we install an MID-certified meter and all smart meters are MID-certified. Traditional meters are older and may not be correctly certified.

We also need to comply with the ‘New and Replacement Obligation’ (NRO), set by Ofgem, which requires energy suppliers to take all reasonable steps to install smart meters for all new connections and replacement meters at domestic and non-domestic premises. So if your standard meter breaks, your only option for replacement is a smart meter.

We receive information on your meter through industry processes when you switch to us, including the 'certified until' date of your electricity meter. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) sets this certification date.

Once an electricity meter has passed its certification date, we need to replace it. This ensures the energy you use is always measured accurately to the levels specified by the OPSS, and you only pay for the energy you use.

If you're paying your energy bills and they're addressed to you (not your landlord), you’re entitled to request a smart meter from your energy supplier. However, we (and Ofgem) recommend that you check with your landlord first in case there are rules in your tenancy agreement.

Smart meters currently being installed (second-generation) don’t rely on mobile phone networks. They have their own secure, wireless network run by the Data Communications Company (DCC). It covers 99.3% of homes and small businesses in Great Britain, according to the DCC.

If you're in the remaining 0.7% you're unlikely to be able to have a smart meter that connects to the network. Depending on where you live, the network uses mobile phone or radio masts. However, where the signal is weak, it may be possible to install additional aerials to boost it, depending on location and availability.

First-generation meters used mobile phone networks, so you may have trouble sending your supplier meter readings if the mobile signal is poor where you live. This should change as your meter is connected to the smart meter network.

If we’re unable to commission your meter, it’d function like a traditional meter, and you’d need to continue submitting monthly meter readings.

The WAN network is expanding with each smart meter installed, so your area's coverage may improve over time.

If you’d like us to check your WAN signal strength, please email us at hello@octoenergy.com.

We can still install your smart meter, even if you have an Economy 7 setup.

You can still have a smart meter, but there may be a slight delay in booking your appointment as you’ll require a specialist engineer. Please email hello@octoenergy.com to arrange your smart meter installation.