Smart Relay device

What’s a Smart Relay device?

A Smart Relay does exactly what you might expect: it ‘relays’ the signal from one smart meter to the other, if they’re too far apart. Or between smart products, like your In-Home Display (IHD) and your smart meters.

As long as we can find a suitable location for the Smart Relay, it can extend the Home Area Network (HAN) in your home by 100 metres, as long as there aren’t any thick walls in the way. 
 

What is HAN?

HAN stands for Home Area Network. It’s a secure wireless system in your home that links up your smart products and smart meters. 

It’s a completely separate network to your Wi-Fi.
 

Why do the meters need to communicate with each other?

Your smart electricity meter uses the HAN to communicate with your smart gas meter and pick up its readings. Your gas meter doesn’t have the functionality to give us your gas readings on its own, or send information to your IHD or other smart equipment.

How do I get a Smart Relay?

You’ll get one completely free if we discover that your smart electricity meter isn’t communicating effectively with your smart gas meter. Normally, we’d find out because you’d tell us you’re having problems. 

If we’ve decided to send you a Smart Relay, it can take up to 3 weeks to arrive at your door.
 

What if I need more than one Smart Relay?

That’s fine – if you’re an OVO Energy smart customer they’re all free. You can have up to 4 Smart Relays working with each other to cover the Home Area Network (HAN) range if your house is very large.
 

How much does it cost to run a Smart Relay? 

If you leave it on non-stop for 365 days, a Smart Relay will use 8.76 kWh of power, which would cost you around £1 a year. 

Your Smart Relay doesn’t need to be on every day (and we know it’s not always possible) but, if it is, there’s a much better chance of your meter readings reaching us in time for your billing date. What’s more, if you’ve opted for ‘every half hour’, you’ll find the insights about your energy usage much more detailed and useful.
 

How do I install it? 

Once you’ve unpacked your Smart Relay, just plug it into a power socket – but don’t switch it on yet. The socket should be as close as you can manage to halfway between the gas and electricity smart meters, so it can pair them successfully.

Don’t worry if the socket is already in use for another appliance or device. The Smart Relay has another socket, so you can simply plug the appliance into that.

However, before you turn on the Smart Relay, please call us on 0330 102 7517.

We’ll send a message to your electricity smart meter to put it into ‘search mode’ so it looks for your Smart Relay. You can then:

• Switch on the plug socket. A red light will come on just beneath the long black button at the top of the Smart Relay.
• Hold down the black button for around 15 seconds.
• The red light should start flashing.
• The light will then stop flashing and turn off – that means it’s linked to your Home Area Network (HAN), and your gas and electricity meters should now be able to communicate with each other.
   

What happens if I turn the Smart Relay off?

Any devices outside the electricity meter’s range will stop talking to it. For example, if you have an In Home Display (IHD), it will stop giving you real-time information until you move it within range of the electricity meter or switch the Smart Relay device back on.

Turning off the Smart Relay doesn’t reset it.
 

What do the lights on the Smart Relay mean?

Solid red light: the Smart Relay is in standby mode. It isn’t currently connected to a Home Area Network (HAN) and it’s not searching for one to link with.

Flashing red light: the Smart Relay is in search mode. It’s searching for an open Home Area Network to join.

No light: the Smart Relay is now ‘commissioned’. That means it has successfully joined the Home Area Network and is now communicating with your electricity meter.
 

I plugged in my Smart Relay but the red light didn’t come on. What should I do?

If you’re plugging in your Smart Relay for the first time and the red light does not light up when you switch it on, please try plugging it into a different socket. If the red light still doesn’t come on, please email us at [email protected]
 

What should I do if my Smart Relay stops working?

If it’s stopped working because you’ve recently moved it, try moving it closer to the electricity meter. If that doesn’t work, please email us [email protected]