Page last updated on 10th June 2025
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The accessible in-home display (AIHD): smart meters and access needs
If you are blind, partially sighted, or have difficulties with dexterity or memory loss, an accessible in-home display (AIHD) with additional features could make tracking your energy usage easier.
On this page, we explore how smart meters can work for customers with additional access needs, including deaf customers, and those who are blind, partially sighted, or have difficulties with dexterity or memory loss. Read on to learn more.
What’s on this page?
- Understanding smart meter displays: what is an accessible in-home display
- Why has an accessible in-home display for smart meters been developed?
- Does the accessible in-home display cost anything?
- Want to save money? Try using your smart meter for budgeting
- Smart meters for customers with accessibility needs
- What about smart prepayment meters?
- What is the smart meter installation process?
Understanding smart meter displays: what is an accessible in-home display?
Before we talk about the accessible in-home display for a smart meter (AIHD), let’s look at how a smart meter works. Smart meters are the next generation of gas and electricity meters. They’re being installed in homes across Great Britain at no extra cost, to replace traditional meters. Smart meters automatically send meter readings to energy suppliers using a secure network.
The smart meters in homes have two key elements. Firstly, the smart meters themselves, which replace your traditional gas and electricity meters. Plus, a portable in-home display (IHD) that comes with the smart meters and shows how much energy you have used at a glance.
An ‘accessible’ in-home display (AIHD) with additional features has been developed in partnership with the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB). The accessible in-home display has all the features of a regular smart meter in-home display, with the addition of accessibility features which include:
- Tactile buttons with feedback of button press
- Text-to-speech function for screen navigation
- Adjustable volume for the text-to-speech function
- Coloured LEDs which indicate electricity usage
- LED push button to replay speech
- Large typeface
- TFT screen with a high contrast colour scheme optimised for visual impairment and colour blindness
Understanding your smart meter display will help you see how much your energy habits cost you in near real-time, in pounds and pence, and hopefully encourage you to adopt smart energy saving habits.
*The accessible in-home display image and figures are for illustrative purposes only.
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I’m Marc, I am 31 and I live in Royston. I am registered blind and I formally represented my country at London 2012, in the sport of Judo.
So getting a smart meter installed was incredibly easy. I definitely feel a lot more in control of my energy consumption. And I also, you know, want to do my bit to look after the planet at the same time.
And no longer I have to provide any kind of information to my supplier. It’s all done through the smart meter network.
So for me the accessible in-home display is great because along with it being high contrast, the in-home display actually speaks to me too. So it means that all the information that’s on screen is relayed to me in a way that I can access it.
So I would absolutely recommend for anybody to get yourself a smart meter. I could imagine this benefitting so many other people in different situations
Why has an accessible in-home display for smart meters (AIHD) been developed?
The accessible in-home display has been developed to allow more customers, including those who are blind or partially sighted, to access the benefits of smart metering, such as helping consumers understand and reduce their energy consumption and costs.
Depending on the severity of the condition, some people may find that the AIHD meets their needs better than a regular in-home display.
Does the accessible in-home display (AIHD) cost anything?
The accessible in-home display is being offered at no extra cost to selected customers, but they are not yet available with every supplier.
How can I get an accessible in-home display?
If you think that you need an accessible in-home display please discuss it with your energy supplier.
Simply type your energy supplier in the box below and we will connect you.
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Want to save money? Try using your smart meter for budgeting
Using a smart meter’s AIHD can be a great way to prompt you to change your energy habits.
Your IHD for your smart meter will show you, in near real-time, the amount of energy you use in pounds and pence. This will allowyou to keep an even closer eye on your energy spending habits and make the necessary changes if you want to reduce your energy use.
For example, there are several household appliances that may be energy draining, and by managing their usage, you could help reduce costs. If you’d like to learn more about what household appliances might be impacting your energy bill, why not take a look at our energy cost calculator.
Smart meters for those with accessibility needs:
We have partnered with the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) to help spread the word about smart meters and their benefits to deaf people and those with hearing loss.
RNID believe that smart meters could make a difference to the lives of their members, supporters and beneficiaries. So, how can smart meters help those with accessibility needs?
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Smart meters measure how much gas and electricity is being used and show how much it’s costing you in pounds and pence on the useful IHD.
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Smart meters send your gas and electricity readings automatically to your energy supplier so you shouldn't have to call your supplier.
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Smart meters enable accurate, not estimated, energy bills, so you know exactly how much your bill should be and how much to budget.
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Top tips for saving energy around the home
Information about smart meters from Smart Energy GB
Washing
Wash your clothes at 30°C instead of 40°C and save around £9.
Dry your clothes naturally instead of using a dryer and save about £23.
Lighting
Turning your lights off when you’re not using them will save you around £15.
By replacing all the bulbs in your home with LED lights, you could save £40.
Cooking
Only fill the kettle with the amount of water that you need to save around £6.
Use a bowl to wash up rather than a running tap and save £25.
Appliances
You can save around £35 by remembering to turn your appliances off standby mode.
Do not charge electrical items once they reach 100% or leave them charging overnight, this wastes unneeded energy.
Insulation
Draught-proofing around windows and doors could save you around £20.
Curtains lined with a layer of heavy material can reduce heat loss from a room through the window at night and cut draughts.
Bathing
Spending just one minute less in the shower will save up to £8.
Replacing your shower head with a water efficient one could save a four- person household as much as £38 on gas for water heating.
Heating
Installing radiator reflection panels could save around £19.
Turning down your room thermostat by just one degree can save around £60.
Put a stop to energy waste around the home with a smart meter
A smart meter can help you to adopt energy efficient measures in your household. The in-home display (IHD) offered with your smart meter, shows you in near-real time the amount of energy you use in pounds and pence. This allows you to keep a closer eye on the amount of energy you are using. This information can then help you to find ways to reduce energy waste around your home and save money.
Sound good?
Get in touch with your energy supplier to learn more. You’ll find their details on your gas and electricity bill.
What about smart prepayment meters?
You may have heard of smart prepayment meters, which are smart meters in prepayment mode. They’re also sometimes called smart pay-as-you-go (PAYG). Smart meters in prepayment mode work similarly to analogue prepayment meters. They measure the gas and electricity you use, and you pay in advance for your energy.
The difference is that, with a smart prepay meter, it’s easier to see what remaining credit you’ve got left using your IHD by checking online. So, you can avoid the lights turning off at the most inconvenient times. It also means you can top up wherever and whenever it suits you – online, via mobile, or at the shop.
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Smart meters are available for prepay customers. They come with a handy in-home display that clearly shows you how much credit you’ve got left. Then simply top up, however, and wherever you like. You can do this online, by phone, text, or via an app.
This may vary depending on your supplier. If you prefer, you can still top up in person at your local shop and credit will be added to your account automatically. They could also help with household budgeting, because you’ll be able to see in near-real time just how much energy you're using and how much it’s costing you.
Of course, smart meters are set up to work for both prepay and credit customers. if you'd prefer to change between credit and prepay, your supplier can make this change without you needing a whole new meter. How very smart indeed.
For more information on the installation process, watch our BSL video below:
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There are a few important things you’ll need to prepare before your smart meter installation. Firstly, make sure you know where your current gas and electricity meters are located and check that they’re easy to get to. If you think this might be an issue or you believe your current gas and electricity meters are difficult to access or locate, please let your energy supplier know well in advance.
Your supplier will have been in touch to arrange this installation. They will never turn up on your doorstep unexpectedly. When the installer arrives, they'll take all reasonable steps to keep you safe. They should present you with a valid identity card including the company name and phone number, as well as their name and photograph. You can ask to see this if the installer does not present it upfront.
You’ll need to be present during the installation, which will take around an hour for your gas meter and an hour for your electricity meter, during which time your energy supply will be cut off for a short period. Once your smart meter has been installed, the installer will talk you through how to use your new in-home display. If a gas meter is being installed, the installer will also perform a visual safety check on your gas appliances as part of the installation. It’s worth remembering that smart meters are provided at no extra cost, so you will not have to pay your smart meter installer.
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Please note:
• Eligibility of smart meters may vary
• Consumer action required to obtain cost savings and budgeting benefits of smart meters
• Data is courtesy of the Energy Saving Trust 2021