With a smart electric meter, you can track your power consumption and bills. The info is helpful in minimizing power wastage.
Your old electric meter has no feature to track power consumption. It’d be hard to know how to adjust your power usage.
That’s enough reason to find out more info about smart meters. Find out what these meters are and how to use them.
Guide on how to use smart electricity meters
To know how to use these meters, you need to know how they work. Click on this Amazon link to see how a smart electricity meter looks like.
How do smart electricity meters work?
These gadgets use a two-way signal like Wi-Fi to send information to your power supplier.
The info gives an accurate record of your power usage. You can see the records on an In House Display (IHD). The IHD shows the quantity and cost of electric energy consumed.
Also, you can see the concentration of carbon dioxide within your household.
How do I install a smart meter?
The easy way is to request the installation from your energy supplier. Here are the steps.
- They will access your traditional meter and turn off the electricity
- The smart meter will sit where the traditional meter was or somewhere nearby
- The installer will fix an In-House Display to show your daily energy consumption and cost
How do you turn your smart meter on?
To turn on your smart meter, move the switch or handle from the OFF position to the ON position. Find the switch between the meter’s entry point and the electric meter. This shift in position turns on your smart meter.
How do I connect my smart meter to wi-fi?
After the installation of your smart meter, the next step is to connect the In-Home Display to your home Wi-Fi.
To do so, activate the Wi-Fi connection of your IHD and watch it scan for available networks in your home.
Choose your home network and enter your password to connect, and start receiving your power consumption data.
Can you read a smart meter yourself?
Yes, you do not have to be tech-savvy to read a smart meter! Can you manually read a smart meter? Yes. Reading your smart meter is as easy as checking the time on your watch.
How do you read a smart meter for electricity?
- First, remember that electricity readings are always displayed in kWh
- Ignore the numbers after the decimal point
- Press ‘9’ to see your readings for meters with keypads
- For meters that come with ‘A’ and ‘B’ buttons, press ‘A’ until ‘TOTAL ACT IMPORT’ appears. The reading that appears below the ‘TOTAL ACT IMPORT indicates your electricity usage.
- If your smart meter has no buttons, the ‘R1’ on the screen shows your electricity reading.
Tip: Read your meter accurately. Knowing how to read your meter may help you know when your supplier is overcharging you.
How do you power off your smart meter?
Turning off your smart meter is not as easy as turning it on. For starters, there must be a critical situation to necessitate this. Storms and fallen power lines are some of the emergencies that may call for switching off your electric meter. To do this, extreme caution has to be applied.
- Put on non-conducting clothing such as rubber boots and gloves.
- Locate the circuit breaker in the main meter box and shut the power off.
- Proceed to your smart meter and turn it off. The first step to achieving this is to use wire snipers to unlock the tab that hangs from the bottom of the outer panel
- Using your gloved hand, lift your electric meter’s front panel, reach for the part of the meter made of glass, and twist it anti-clockwise.
- Now that the panel is open move the main switch from the ON to the OFF position
Note: Where possible, it is always advisable to contact your electric provider before shutting off your meter. It is illegal in some states to tamper with installed electrical connections.
What is a smart electric meter?
A smart electric meter is a useful household device that records and keeps track of your electricity consumption. Yes, the definition is that simple.
What are the benefits of owning a smart electric meter?
Smart electricity meters have dozens of benefits. Here are three benefits.
- For starters, there are no more estimated electric bills. The smart meter sends readings directly to your power company. As a result, you‘ll be getting accurate and timely electricity bills.
- The IHD keeps track of all your electricity expenses and helps in budgeting.
- You can identify faulty home appliances with the smart meter. The energy monitors within the smart meters give an accurate record of the energy consumed by every appliance in your home. Through the IHD, you can pick out any abnormal power usage from a particular appliance. You will then have it quickly and safely rectified.
What do the lights on my smart meter mean?
The standard lights you are likely to observe on your smart meter are green and red.
The green light shows efficient energy usage, while the red light shows there is high power usage. When the red light flashes repeatedly is a sign of energy consumption. But, a quick blink is an indication that consumption has risen.
Can smart meters detect electricity theft?
Yes. Electricity theft has been on the rise recently.
Smart meter manufacturers develop reliable smart meters that can detect tampering.
What are the common smart-meter problems (plus fixes)
Some of the issues need simple fixes that you can do yourself.
1. Your in-home display isn’t connecting to the smart meter
This is one of the common problems you will encounter when using your smart meter. Your IHD may fail to connect to the smart meter due to a low battery, or it is not well plugged in. Make a quick diagnosis of the situation by checking the plug situation and changing the battery. Contact your energy supplier for advice if the problem persists.
2. Your energy supplier is not receiving your smart meter readings
A poor connection could be the primary reason your energy supplier is not getting any readings from your smart meter. To rectify this, the energy company should send an expert for diagnosis and correct connection. In the meantime, you can submit your readings manually for accurate billing.
3. Inaccurate billing
As mentioned, smart meters send energy consumption readings automatically to the energy supplier. Inaccurate billing can only be a result of a faulty old meter or failed transmission of readings. The best way to solve this issue would be to contact your energy supplier for correction. In the above cases, the supplier should replace your unit, rectifying your problems immediately.
With a smart meter, you will not only bid goodbye to numerous complaints about inaccurate bills but also be in control of your electricity bill. These devices have come to make life easier. Install a smart meter today and experience a whole new way of managing your power bills.
