How to Get a Reading From a Smart Meter

A smart meter still carries a physical reading on its own screen, and that reading is the one a supplier will ask for when the automatic link is not working. On most electricity smart meters, pressing the A button, or 9 on a keypad, cycles through screens until one shows IMP, IMPORT or TOTAL ACT IMPORT with a number followed by kWh: those digits, read left to right, ignoring leading zeros and anything after the decimal point, are the reading¹. On most gas smart meters in Great Britain, pressing A, or 9 on a keypad, brings up VOLUME or METER INDEX and a number followed by m3, and again only the digits before the decimal point are recorded².

In normal operation none of that is needed. A smart meter automatically sends electricity and gas readings to the supplier³, at least once a month and in many cases half-hourly, daily or weekly⁴. The in-home display that comes with every installation is a separate device: it shows usage and cost in near real time, but it is not the meter, and a reading taken for a supplier comes from the meter itself⁶.

Manual readings still matter because the automatic link can fail. First-generation SMETS1 meters can temporarily go dumb and lose the ability to send readings after a supplier switch⁷, and a supplier may ask for a temporary manual reading so bills stay accurate until the problem is resolved⁸. Knowing which button to press is what keeps a household in control of its own billing rather than dependent on a communications network it cannot see.

What a smart meter is, and what it sends to your supplier

A smart meter replaces the traditional gas or electricity meter and measures consumption in the same way, but adds a communications module. Readings are sent automatically and wirelessly to the supplier over a secure smart data network⁴. Suppliers may receive monthly, weekly, daily or even half-hourly readings, depending on what has been agreed¹¹. Smart Energy GB states the meter records electricity use in near real time and gas every half hour⁵.

The smart meter system has two parts: the meters themselves, which replace the old gas and electricity meters, and the in-home display⁵. Both are standard: an in-home display is offered and demonstrated at installation under the government's statement of consumer rights¹², and the network operator confirms one is provided with every installation⁶.

What is sent is narrow. Only the energy supplier can receive meter readings, and only at intervals arranged between householder and supplier⁹. There is no access to appliance-level detail: the data is the register readings and consumption totals.

For independence, the honest position is mixed. A smart meter removes the chore of manual readings and the inaccuracy of estimates, and gives a household near real-time visibility of its own consumption, which is the raw material for changing behaviour or shifting load. It does not reduce reliance on the grid or on a supplier. It adds a dependence: on the smart data network, on the supplier's systems, and on the meter staying in smart mode. When any of those fail, the fallback is the manual reading described below.

The in-home display: the screen where you see your usage

The in-home display is a portable touchscreen device showing near real-time energy use¹³. It reports how much gas and electricity is being used in kilowatt hours and its cost in as near to real time as possible⁶, and can be set to show either kWh or pounds and pence¹⁴. It also shows use and cost over the day, week or month¹⁵, and should show the standing charge, depending on tariff and supplier¹⁶.

The display talks to the meter over the Home Area Network, a secure network inside the property, not over the internet⁹. That matters when the display goes blank: the fault is usually in that local link or in the display's power, not in the meter's recording of energy.

Update rates differ by fuel. Electricity usage is updated every ten seconds; gas usage every half an hour⁹. The Energy Saving Trust gives the same half-hourly figure for gas⁴. Gas is slower because the gas meter reports at that interval, so the number on the display will not move the moment a boiler fires.

How to take a reading from an electricity smart meter

Electricity smart meters differ by manufacturer, so the button sequence depends on the layout of the unit. The screen to look for is the same in every case: one showing IMP, IMPORT or TOTAL ACT IMPORT with a number followed by kWh¹⁷.

Write the digits down left to right¹⁸. Where a meter cycles automatically and never reaches a kWh screen, that is a reason to contact the supplier¹.

A reading taken this way is the cumulative total the meter has recorded since installation, which is why it can be compared against a bill or against a previous reading to work out consumption over a period. That is the practical check on an estimated bill, and the same discipline described on how to read an electricity meter applies here.

How to take a reading from a gas smart meter

Most gas smart meters show the reading as numbers followed by m3². The Centre for Sustainable Energy describes the same behaviour: the screen will flash or show the word VOLUME or METER INDEX, and a number followed by M3¹⁷.

1. Keypad meter: press 9, VOLUME appears, wait until it changes to numbers followed by M3².
2. A and B buttons: press A until METER INDEX appears; the numbers next to m3 are the reading².
3. Button to the left and right of the screen: press either and wait until 01 appears with numbers followed by M3².
4. Orange and blue arrow buttons: press the orange button².
5. Circle button with two arrows: press the middle circle button².
6. Two white buttons to the right: press the right button, which may be labelled OK or carry an arrow².

Record only the numbers before the decimal point, ignoring leading zeros, to avoid an incorrect submission². A gas reading in cubic metres is not a bill: the supplier converts volume to kilowatt hours, which is covered in converting gas meter units to kWh.

Gas smart meters are battery powered and report less often than electricity meters, which is why the in-home display lags and why some suppliers take a gas reading monthly¹⁹. Neither affects the register itself: the number on the meter is always current when the screen is woken.

Reading rules: which digits count and which to ignore

The rules are consistent across meter types, and they exist because the last digits are fractions of a unit that suppliers do not bill on.

• Read left to right¹.
• Ignore zeros at the beginning of the number¹.
• Ignore anything after the decimal point¹.
• On electricity meters, ignore red numbers after the decimal point or comma; CSE advises reading the first five numbers¹⁷.
• On a digital metric gas meter, write down the numbers before the decimal point and ignore everything else²⁰.
• On a two-rate digital meter, note the numbers before the red number and ignore the red number²⁰.

Older non-smart meters in the same home follow parallel rules. On a digital meter, Age UK describes noting the first five figures and ignoring the last figure if it begins with 0.1²¹. On a dial meter, Citizens Advice sets out reading the first five dials left to right, ignoring red dials or dials marked 1/10, taking the lower number where a pointer sits between two, writing 9 where it sits between 9 and 0, and underlining a number the pointer is directly over then reducing it by one if the next dial is between 9 and 0¹⁸. Dials without numbers or hands are disregarded²². On a digital imperial meter, the first four numbers are recorded and red numbers ignored²⁰. These matter when a smart meter is exchanged, or when a household compares an old reading with a new one.

Getting the digit count wrong is the commonest cause of a wildly wrong bill, because a single extra digit multiplies the apparent consumption tenfold. Where a reading has already produced a disputed bill, reporting a faulty or inaccurate meter sets out the route.

Day, night and Economy 7: why some meters show more than one reading

Some electricity smart meters show separate readings for day and night tariffs, Economy 7 pricing, and peak and off-peak usage¹. All smart meters can support tariffs that charge different prices at different times of day and night, including Economy 7, and Economy 10 meters are also available²³.

An Economy 7 meter carries two registers. One is for on-peak hours, which may be marked "normal" or "day", and one for off-peak hours, marked "low" or "night"; they may instead be shown as Rate 1 and Rate 2, or R1 and R2¹⁷. Confused.com describes the night or off-peak reading as the bottom one, marked "low" or "night"²². On digital and prepayment meters each reading is usually reached by pressing a button on the meter²². Some meters carry a number marked "day rate" alongside a red button pressed to bring up the night rate²⁴. On some smart meters, pressing 6 on the keypad until IMP R01 appears with eight digits gives what is usually the night or off-peak reading²⁵.

Both readings must be recorded, written left to right for each¹⁸. Submitting only one leaves the other register estimated, which defeats the point of a time-of-use tariff.

Time-of-use pricing is where a smart meter connects to independence in a practical way: it lets a household shift storage heating, hot water, an EV charge or a battery into cheaper hours. Ofgem's position is that smart meters give access to more flexible tariffs, including dual-rate tariffs³. Whether the arithmetic works for a given household is covered in is Economy 7 worth it.

When a manual reading is still needed

Once installed and working in smart mode, regular manual readings should not be needed²⁶. Ofgem states plainly that a household with a working smart meter does not need to submit meter readings itself³. But the exceptions are real, and Smart Energy GB lists them: switching supplier; the meter temporarily losing its connection; monitoring energy use more closely; changed meter settings; switching with a SMETS1 meter; and a supplier confirming recent usage¹.

Even with a smart meter installed, readings can still be provided manually if the supplier requests them¹. Where a meter cannot communicate over the designated wireless network, the supplier may ask for a temporary manual reading so bills remain accurate until the problem is resolved⁸. Ofgem's performance guidance confirms that manual readings remain possible on smart meters not operating in smart mode²⁷.

The practical upshot is that the buttons on the meter are the household's backstop. Smart meters can go dumb, particularly in older models²², and a household able to read its own meter is never at the mercy of an estimate. Submitting the figure is covered in submitting meter readings, and readings taken on the day of a move in do I need to take meter readings when moving home.

What the in-home display shows in credit mode and prepay mode

The display has two modes, depending on how energy is paid for²⁸. Smart meters themselves can operate in credit or prepayment mode¹².

In prepay mode the credit balance is visible in pounds and pence alongside consumption³², and the display gives warning before credit runs out³¹. In credit mode the value is different: the display turns an abstract quarterly bill into a running daily cost, which is what makes the effect of an immersion heater or a tumble dryer visible.

Topping up a smart prepayment meter no longer requires a shop in every case. Ofgem states that a smart prepayment meter may be topped up online or through a supplier's app³³, and the network operator describes credit added over the air across the smart network³⁴. NEA notes topping up by app, website or phone³⁵, and Smart Energy GB lists online, telephone, text message or smartphone app, with no gas card or electricity key needed³⁶. Cash top-ups remain available: a supplier should provide a barcode, card or reference number to give to a shop, credit should be added immediately, and keeping the receipt gives proof if there is a problem³⁷. Traditional prepayment meters are topped up at a Paypoint store or Post Office using a key, card or barcode³⁸. More detail sits in topping up a prepayment meter.

If the display stops updating or the screen goes blank

A blank or frozen in-home display does not mean energy has stopped being recorded, and it does not mean readings have stopped reaching the supplier: the display sits on the Home Area Network, a separate link from the one carrying readings to the supplier⁹. The meter's own screen is the test. If the meter still wakes and shows a kWh or m3 register, the recording function is intact.

Where a meter should cycle between screens automatically and does not reach the kWh screen, the supplier should be contacted¹. The Welsh Government's guidance is direct on responsibility:

Ofgem describes the two distinct fault modes: a smart meter may stop recording the energy used, or may no longer send readings to the supplier³. Those need different responses. A meter that has stopped recording is a metering fault. A meter that records but no longer communicates leaves the register correct, and manual readings keep billing accurate in the meantime.

A display that has failed on its own can be replaced. The supplier should be contacted for a replacement in-home display, which should not involve replacing the meters: the new display is paired with the existing smart meter⁴⁰. Where a fault is not resolved, the complaints route is set out in how to complain about an energy supplier.

What happens to your readings if you switch supplier

Switching is possible with a smart meter, but what survives the switch depends on the generation of the meter. With a second-generation meter you can switch and keep all smart functions without interruption; a first-generation meter may lose some smart functionality¹⁶.

SMETS1 meters could temporarily go dumb and lose the ability to send automatic readings after a supplier switch⁷. Where that happens, readings may need to be sent to both the old and the new supplier around the switch⁴¹, and switching may mean temporarily estimated bills, with manual readings needed until the meter is upgraded over the air¹⁶. Trading standards guidance makes the same point: a new supplier might not offer all smart meter services, such as remote meter readings, and the meter may need replacing⁴². Ofgem's guidance on a supplier going out of business notes the meter may not work in smart mode with the new supplier, with manual readings submitted instead⁴³.

None of this affects the register. The digits on the meter are the record of energy used, and an opening reading taken on the switch date is the evidence that closes the old account and opens the new one at the right point. The process is set out in how to switch energy supplier.

Checking whether the meter is in smart mode

A meter in smart mode is sending regular readings to the supplier⁴⁴. The simplest household test is that a display shows current energy use: if it does, the meter should be in smart mode⁴⁴. A second sign is administrative: where a supplier has said readings are no longer needed because it is receiving them automatically, the meter is working as a smart meter⁴⁰.

For a definitive answer, Smart DCC points to the smart meter checking tool on the Citizens Advice website, which uses the MPAN from an electricity bill and the MPRN from a gas bill, along with the postcode, to check meter status⁴⁵. Finding those numbers is covered in how to find your MPAN and MPRN.

Where a household has no smart meter, one can be requested from the supplier⁴⁶, and manual readings remain necessary to avoid estimated bills⁴⁷. Private renters can choose a smart meter where the energy bills are in their name or they prepay for energy, after checking the tenancy agreement and letting the landlord know²³.

Smart meters do not need home Wi-Fi, broadband, a router or an internet package²⁶. They use a secure smart data network that exists solely for smart meters and does not touch the public internet or the home network⁶. For a household thinking about resilience, that is a meaningful distinction: a broadband outage does not stop readings, though it may stop an app-based top-up. The wider picture of reducing reliance on external systems is set out in taking more control of your home's energy, and the full set of household energy tasks in the home energy how-to guide.