Are British Gas smart meters free?
Yes, British Gas smart meters are free. They are being offered by British Gas as part of a nationwide upgrade. To get a British Gas smart meter, contact British Gas by phone or email. British Gas will establish your eligibility for you, and then book in your smart meter installation.
Smart meters are supplied and fitted exclusively by your existing energy supplier. British Gas supplies and installs smart meters for free. Smart meters are a part of the Government’s plan to reduce carbon emissions. The hope is that by giving consumers a greater level of understanding of their energy use, those consumers will make more of an effort to reduce the amount of energy they use.
Related: British Gas call centres: Where are they located?
Everyone will be offered smart meters by 2020, and British Gas are rolling their smart meters out now, with an initial roll out to some 10 million customers. To get a smart meter now, however, you will have to be eligible according to British Gas. If you’re not eligible, British Gas will put you on a waiting list and contact you as soon as you can have your smart meter fitted by them.
How do British Gas smart meters work?
1. Smart meters take an accurate meter reading of your energy use;
2. Those meter readings are sent to British Gas through WiFi;
3. British Gas then sends you an accurate energy bill based on smart meter data;
4. You can see how much energy you use on your smart meter’s energy monitor.
Further reading: Smart meters and Data Protection
Monitoring your energy use with My Energy
British Gas has a free online tool which you can use to in conjunction with your smart meter to track your energy use by day, week, month and year. Called ‘My Energy’, this online tool let’s you see how you’re doing and you can compare your energy use with homes near you. This tool also provides personalised tips on how to save energy and money, and it will tell you how much energy you’re likely to use performing certain tasks, such as cooking a Sunday roast or turning on the central heating.
Further reading: Smart meters – your rights and choices
How will a British Gas smart meter help me?
Smart meters automatically send British Gas your meter readings, so you don’t have to, and they will help you to see how much energy you use performing certain tasks; the benefit to this being, that you can save energy by cutting out your bad habits. British Gas Pay As You Go customers are also now eligible for smart meters. By 2020, all British Gas customers will have a smart meter installed in their home, however as previously mentioned, you may not be eligible right now. If you are a British Gas customer and you would like a smart meter, we recommend that you contact British Gas to find out more about smart meters, and to see when you will be eligible for a smart meter.
Ultimately, a smart meter will help you to monitor your energy use better and help you to reduce the amount of energy you use. To find out more about smart meters, read our smart meter guide.