Should you get a smart meter?

This is the exact conversation I had with my mother this week. She is retired and has a traditional gas and electric meter.

Her meters work well and she hasn’t had any issues with them but asked me if she should consider changing. She couldn’t see why she would need one. Why put yourself through the hassle?

I am sure lots of people have the same question. I was very sceptical before I switched BUT personally, I think they are worth considering if you want to save money.

How can you save money with a smart meter?

There are so many ways you can save money if you are an Octopus Energy customer and you have a smart meter. Octopus is all about tech and trying to change how both customers and suppliers think about energy use. They have designed software, called Kraken and systems that allow them to offer cheaper rates of energy when there is less demand on the national grid. Sometimes you can even get free energy!

Octopus Energy runs lots of pilot projects and smart tariffs. Their aim is to prove to the government that people will change when and how they use energy if they can get it cheaper. They use the example of an airline that has lots of empty seats. In order to fill those seats, they offer a cheaper rate. Octopus wants to change the energy market so that it can do this with energy.

@sarah_go_green Replying to @hucmc #smartmeters should you get one. Will they save you money on your #energybill #costoflivingcrisis #energypricerise #octopusenergy ♬ original sound – sarah_go_green

You can already get an Octopus smart tariff that allows you to shift energy off-peak so you can get it cheaper and they constantly pushing the boundaries. They use this data to try and show the government that energy market reforms are needed.

Review of Electricity Market Arrangements – REMA.

In October 2022 the government are coming back with findings from a review called Review of Electricity Markert Arrangements. This is because companies like Octopus have been demanding change. The review is looking into the viability of scaling up Octopus work on time-of-use tariffs as this may be an answer in part to the energy crisis and spiralling energy bills.

To take advantage of any offers I suspect that you will need a smart meter. So why not get one installed now so that you are ready? If you are already an Octopus customer you could even consider a smart tariff now.

How long will you wait to get an Octopus smart meter installed?

Both my brother and mother have requested a smart meter within the last month or so and they had an appointment within 3-4 weeks. They live in Cardiff which I think helps as they are quite central. I waited quite sometime a few years back but I live in a semi-rural location.

If nothing else getting a smart meter will help you keep an eye on how much energy you use. In today’s energy crisis that’s not a bad thing.