How to read your smart meter
21 June 2024 | OVO Energy
Now your smart meter is up and running, you can learn how to make the most of its cleverest features.
Gone are the days of venturing into your meter cupboard to get your readings. They’ll be sent automatically from now on. But there might be times when you’ll need to take a meter reading yourself, like if you’ve switched energy suppliers or if you want to keep a closer eye on your energy use.
In this guide, we’ll cover manual meter readings, as well as the energy-saving features that come with your smart meter and In-Home Display.
If you’ve got a question and are looking for a quick answer, check our FAQs.
Using your smart meter
At the moment, there are 2 types of smart meter out there – SMETS1 or SMETS2. If yours is an SMETS1, that means it’s part of the first generation. SMETS2s are the second generation. To find out which one you’ve got at home, check our handy guide.
What the buttons on your SMETS1 show you:
1 – Energy use and costs today compared to yesterday
2 – Energy costs this week compared to last week
3 – Energy costs this month compared to last month
4 – Historical data for energy use and monthly costs
5 – CO2 data for the current hour, so far today, yesterday, last week, and last month
6 – Your tariff, standard charge, single or dual rates, and unit rates for each meter reading if you’re on an Economy 7 plan
7 – Isn’t used for anything
8 – Not used
9 - Your meter reading
0 - The time, date, and load
B - Wakes up your smart meter, and can be used to scroll back
What the buttons on your SMETS2 do:
Electricity
Gas
The different lights on your smart meter
First, let’s cover the flashing red light next to the keypad. This is known as the metrology light, and it measures the electricity passing through your smart meter.
You’ll also see 3 more lights above the screen. From left to right, they are:
The power light – this only comes on when your smart meter is first installed, or when the electricity comes back on after a power cut. So don’t worry, it’s supposed to be off.
The WAN light – WAN stands for Wide Area Network. This light shows you how well your smart meter is connecting to your energy supplier. If the connection is strong, the light will flash 5 times and then pause for 1 second.
The HAN light – HAN stands for Home Area Network. This light should be off to show that your HAN is secure.
How to submit a meter reading yourself
To take a reading, press the number 9 on your SMETS1 smart meter’s keypad. It’ll then show you the reading in kilowatt hours (kWh) for electricity, and cubic metres (m³) for gas.
If you’re on an Economy 7 energy plan
This means you pay a standard price in the day, and a lower rate for 7 hours overnight. Press the 6 button, then press it again 3 more times – until you see “IMP R01” come up. This shows your off-peak (night-time) reading in kWh. For your daytime reading, press 6 until you see “IMP R02”. Then you can send us your readings through your online account or in the OVO app.
There are different models of SMETS2 smart meters and you can check which one you have by the logo on the front of the device. Find out how to read each one.
How to read your In-Home Display
Your In-Home Display (IHD) is like a window to your smart meter. It shows you how much energy you’re using in real time, and how much it’s costing. It also lets you keep track of your energy use by day, week, or month.
Once you’ve built up a few weeks of data, you can find more info in your online account – like graphs and your energy use for different appliances.
Getting to know your In-Home Display
You can follow this guide for most devices made by Chameleon.
The Chameleon IHD3 has 7 buttons along the bottom of the screen. Here’s a quick summary of what they do:
Home – returns you to the home screen at any time and shows your energy use so far today.
Now – shows you the amount of energy you’re using in real time.
Utility or Fuel – lets you switch between gas and electricity, or both. If your IHD isn’t showing your fuel type, you might be on the wrong screen.
Calendar – shows you your daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly energy use.
Menu or OK – selects whichever option you choose.
Arrows – these take you through different options or info.
You’ll also see 3 coloured lights below the buttons. Your IHD uses a traffic light system to help you stick to your budget at a glance. A green light means you’re on track, amber means you’re getting close, and red means you could go over your budget.
Meter readings on your In-Home Display
Thanks to your IHD3, you can take a meter reading just by pressing a few buttons:
Tap “OK”
Press the right arrow three times until you get to “Meter information”
Press “OK” to see your meter readings, using the “Utility” button to switch between electricity and gas
Setting a budget on your In-Home Display
If you ask us, this is one of the most useful features In-Home Displays come with. Here’s how to set up an energy budget on your IHD3:
Press the right arrow until you see “Settings” and press “OK”.
Choose “Set budget”.
Tap the calendar to choose the time period.
Use the arrows to set your budget amount. Your screen will tell you how much energy you’ve used previously to help you decide.
Press “OK” to save.
You can set separate budgets for gas and electricity by using the “Fuel” or “Utility” button if you’d prefer. Then, once everything’s set up, the budget dial and marker will help you see how closely you’re sticking to your targets.
If you’ve got a Landis+Gyr smart meter at home, we’ve put together a more detailed guide that covers everything you need to know. And if you run into any problems, our smart meter troubleshooting page might be able to help.