What kind of Energy meters do I have?

Electricity and gas meters come in various shapes and sizes! Here's how to work out which type of energy meter you have.

Traditional (non smart) meters

Any meter installed before 2011 will definitely be a traditional meter, as that’s when the smart meter roll out began. But traditional meters were still widely installed up to about 2017.  If your meter has dials, or a display with 4 to 6 black, white and red numbers, it’s very likely you have a traditional, non-smart meters.

Smart meters

Smart meters are the new generation of electricity and gas meters. They send readings to your supplier automatically using a secure wireless network. If you’ve got a smart meter, you’ll usually have a portable device called an in-home display (IHD) which helps you see how much energy you’re using. 

Multi-rate meter

If you’re on a plan like Economy 7 that gives you different prices for your electricity between day and night, you have a multi-rate meter. You’ll need to take 2 readings from it. Some multi-rate meters have 2 displays, showing your different rates. Others have a button you need to press to switch between the 2 readings.

Different makes and models of meter use different terms for the 2 rates. Here’s a table to help you know which reading’s which. 

You can get smart and traditional multi-rate meters.

Pay As You Go meters

You pay for your energy before you use it with a Pay As You Go (or Prepayment) meter. In short, you top up whenever you need more. 

Pay As You Go meters can be traditional or smart. If you have a traditional Pay As You Go meter, you top it up using a card, token, or key. You take this to your local Pay Point or Post Office, to top up with cash.

Smart Pay As You Go meters can be topped up online or using your Energy supplier's Top-up process usually found on their website.