HOW A SMART METER COULD BENEFIT YOU, AND THE PERSON YOU CARE FOR
Caring for others is an important job. Whether you are a formal carer for a person in need, or help out a family member or neighbour when they need it. And we know caring for someone can be busy; there's always lots to think about. But submitting meter readings and worrying about energy bills don’t need to add extra stress.
Read on to find out how a smart meter can make life easier, and give the person you care for more independence at home.
- What is a smart meter?
- How can you request a smart meter for the person you care for?
- How does a smart meter make things easier?
- Sarah and Jean's story
- Why should you request a smart meter for the person you care for?
- Do smart meters save you money?
- What will happen during the installation?
- The Priority Services Register (PSR)
- Could an accessible in-home display help you, or the person you care for?
- Request your smart meter
- Who we're working with
- Find out more...
WHAT IS A SMART METER?
Smart meters are the next generation of gas and electricity meters. Energy suppliers are installing these in homes across Great Britain, to replace older meters.
Smart meters come with an in-home display. The in-home display is sometimes called an IHD. It shows how much energy a household is using and how much it costs.
HOW CAN YOU REQUEST A SMART METER FOR THE PERSON YOU CARE FOR?
Have a chat with the person you care for to make sure they understand the benefits of a smart meter. If they’re happy to get a smart meter installed, then you can begin the process.
As a carer, you can normally book the appointment for the person you support. Their energy supplier may ask some security questions when arranging the appointment. You should speak to the person you care for about these questions before calling.
Carers looking to act as a named third party should contact the supplier to see how they can be added to the account.
Start entering their supplier’s name below to begin the process:
If you would prefer to call, you can find some energy supplier’s free-phone and textphone numbers here.
If you need more information, there’s more on the Carers UK website, including carers’ tips on using services or arranging a power of attorney.
HOW DOES A SMART METER MAKE THINGS EASIER?
Right now, many of us are worried about higher energy bills. And when you’re caring for someone, you might have their bill to think about too. A smart meter could help.
Smart meters could help make managing your energy bills easier! This is because they provide accurate billing, so you only pay for what you use. On top of that, with a smart meter you'll benefit from automatic meter readings. So, you'll spend less time worrying about forgetting to send in readings every month. With a smart meter, you can rest assured that the people who depend on you aren’t left in the dark.
Smart meters are a great way of giving the person you care for back some of their independence, by helping them manage their energy bills. It also takes meter readings off your list, giving you the time for the things that really matter.
SARAH AND JEAN’S STORY
Sarah is a carer for her mum Jean. They live together in Scotland. Sarah supported her mum to get a smart meter.
Energy prices are rising. Like Sarah, you may want to keep a closer eye on the energy usage of the person you support. Making sure they are keeping warm and healthy. Smart meters and the in-home display can help. They allow you to see how much energy is being using and how much its costing. So, households can decide when to turn on, turn up, or turn off.
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Sarah: My main memories of mum growing up, I think, would be [that] she encouraged us to play in natural environments. Like in the glen and down in the park, and just enjoying the natural world.
Jane: Oh look at them!
Sarah: She finds it difficult to stand for too long, making her own meals, and that’s where I can help out a bit.
Jane: You can make them yourself, but it’s just such an awful effort that [when] somebody makes it for you it makes it so much nicer.
Jane: Oh, Sarah’s great! She keeps an eye on me!
Sarah: “She was quite strict as well in many ways, especially about not wasting things and environmentally she thought that was important.”
Jane: My father was always telling us to put off light, you know: “You have left the light on in the dinning room. Why have you done it?”. I tend to do that a bit.
Sarah: The smart meter is quite useful. So it helps you see [in] real time how much power you’re using. If something was left on accidentally you might not notice it for quite a while, but you would notice it on the display.
Sarah: The main things that I help out with would probably be keeping track of bills for her.
Jane: I feel the cold morning, I’m old and I feel it. I’m using too much cause you shouldn’t be using more energy than you have to.
Sarah: It makes mum more independent because she knows where the smart meter is, so that if we’ve turned the heating up, she can go and have a look.
Sarah: Lunch is ready mum!
Sarah: Suddenly the bills are not rocketing and that makes her feel more at ease.
Jane: You’ve got something checking up on how much you’re using, it is a help.
Sarah: Usually in the evenings after we’ve had dinner we will watch some TV.
Jane: Oh dear, look at that!
Sarah: I would recommend that other people who might be caring for a relative get them. I can keep a track of the bills. They’re all being done online, but it helps her not being worried about anything like that. And then also I can check that everything OK.
Would you say that, that would save you money?
Jane: I would think it must do, yes. I’d have to ask the secretary for that!
See what a smart meter could do for you and the environment.
Visit smartenergygb.org
WHY SHOULD YOU REQUEST A SMART METER FOR THE PERSON YOU CARE FOR?
Helping keep track of energy spending
The in-home display shows you in near-real time the amount of energy being used in pounds and pence, making it easier to keep an eye on energy spending habits and make small changes that translate into big savings.
Know how much energy bills should be
Having a smart meter means getting a bill based on how much energy the person you support has used – not an estimate. This could take the guesswork out of balancing the budget for you and the person you care for.
Automatic meter readings
Smart meters send gas and electricity meter readings directly to a secure network (the DCC), who pass them onto your energy supplier, meaning no need to take meter readings from the back of a dusty cupboard! That’s one thing off the list.
You don’t need wi-fi to get a smart meter
Smart meters aren’t connected to the internet. The in-home display isn’t connected to the internet, either. There’s no need to have internet access to get one. So, you can request one for the person you care for without worrying about connectivity.
Your energy data is in safe hands
The only people who can see how much energy is being used are you, the person you care for, and their energy supplier. The only information that gets sent to energy suppliers is how much energy is being used and when. Suppliers can’t see what’s plugged in - or when the washing machine is on!
Prepay customers can top up remotely
With prepay smart meters you can now top-up online, via telephone or text message, or even with a smartphone app - no gas card or electricity key necessary. Meaning no more last-minute trips down the shop in the rain when the meter runs out!
SO, DO SMART METERS SAVE YOU MONEY?
It's great learning about modern technologies, like smart meters. But could getting a smart meter help you save money?
Smart meters can help households save energy, but it’s not automatic. Many carers find the in-home display useful. It allows for you and the person you support to have more information about their energy usage. Helping you both work out where to save energy and money.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN DURING THE INSTALLATION?
Smart meters are installed by gas and electricity suppliers. They replace your old energy meters, and do it all safely and securely. There is no extra cost to the customer. Here’s how it works:
- Contact your energy supplier to arrange a time and date for the smart meter to be installed.
In most cases, you can make the appointment for the person you support, but the supplier may ask some security questions.
You can make sure it’s a time when you can be there too. The supplier should check if the customer – the person you care for – has any specific needs, like needing a carer to be there. - The person installing the meter will turn up at the arranged time and show you, or the person you care for, their ID. If they don’t show you ID, you can ask to see it.
- They will disconnect the existing meter and replace it with a smart meter.
- Once the smart meter is working, the person installing the meter should show you and the person you care for how to use the in-home display.
Some homes can’t get a smart meter yet but will be able to get one before the end of the rollout. The energy supplier can tell you if the person you care for can have one. They can also tell you how soon it can be installed.
It is important to remember:
- Someone will need to be at home when the smart meters are installed. It can be you, the person you support, or both.
- If you, as a carer, have informed the supplier that you need to be present when the smart meter is installed, and for any reason you’re not there, the supplier must not install the smart meter.
- If the gas and electricity meters are being replaced at the same time, it will take around two hours. If it’s just one meter, it could be quicker.
- The energy supply will be turned off for a short time while the smart meter is being installed. If the person you care for needs energy to help them with a health condition, please let the energy supplier know when you arrange the appointment.
THE PRIORITY SERVICES REGISTER
It may also be a good idea to get the person you care for on the Priority Services Register (PSR).
The PSR is a free and voluntary system that means the most vulnerable customers get the right support from energy suppliers. That might include advance notice of any planned service interruptions or priority in a power cut.
Once someone is on the PSR, they may also be able to request large-format or braille bills, or ask for account statements or bills to be sent to you, instead of – or at the same time as – them.
If you think being on the PSR would help the person you support, contact their energy supplier to find out more.
COULD AN ACCESSIBLE IN-HOME DISPLAY HELP YOU, OR THE PERSON YOU CARE FOR?
Some energy suppliers also offer an accessible version of the in-home display, sometimes called an AIHD. The AIHD has been developed in partnerships with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).
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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.
The AIHD has features that may help you or the person you care for. For example, they have larger buttons and can read information out loud.
An AIHD could be helpful if you, or the person you support are blind or partially sighted, have difficulties using your hands or wrists, or have difficulties with memory loss.
Watch how the AIHD has helped Paralympian Marc, who is registered blind, take control of his energy consumption.
Please note: Eligibility may vary.
REQUEST YOUR SMART METER
If you're ready to request your smart meter, or to request a smart meter for the person you care for, you can click the link below to begin the process.
And if you want to find out more about getting an accessible in-home display, you can contact them there. Eligibility may vary.
CARERS UK
We are proud to be partnering with Carers UK, the UK’s only national membership charity for carers. The partnership will raise awareness of smart meter amongst unpaid carers in Great Britain.
Previous research published by Carers UK shows unpaid carers find it challenging to help manage their loved one’s affairs on top of many hours of physical and emotional support. Smart meters have the potential to make life easier for time-pressed family members and friends caring for older, disabled or seriously ill relatives.
WANT TO FIND OUT MORE?
- How smart meters are helping people save money - Read these smart meter reviews and see how people are using their smart meters to save money.
- How smart meters could transform health and social care - In the future, smart meter data could be used to help provide better care for those who need it. For example, those with dementia. With the consent of the householder of course.
- Smart Energy Explained - New research reveals that people living with a long-term disability, on low incomes or in later life say having a smart meter has made their lives easier. So, we've worked with Ade Adepitan MBE to explain the different ways smart meters can benefit you.