How to Read a Smart Meter | Gas and Electricity

Smart meters automatically send readings to your suppliers, so needing to take a manual reading is much less common than with a traditional meter. Still, there are a few circumstances where you may need to take a smart meter reading. Here, we’ve gone over how to read a smart meter – for electricity and gas smart meters alike. Thankfully, the method is usually pretty similar from one smart meter to another.

How to Read a Smart Meter

When getting a smart meter, it’s fairly common to get the meters themselves mixed up with your in-home display. During a smart meter installation, you usually get an in-home display – this is a small portable device that displays energy usage information. It’s sometimes possible to take a reading from this in-home display, but most energy suppliers recommend using the actual meters.

Because smart meters automatically send readings to your supplier, you won’t normally have to take a reading at all. However, there are a few situations where you might need to read your smart meter, such as:

• When you’ve just switched energy supplier. You’ll usually need to send the first meter reading yourself
• You’ve switched supplier and they’re unable to connect to your meter. This is most common when you have an older smart meter
• You may also want to check your smart meter to see how it’s changed recently

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Navigate our article on meter readings:

• How to read a smart electricity meter
• How to read a smart gas meter
• Submitting meter readings

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How to Read a Smart Electricity Meter

The way you take a reading from a smart electricity meter depends on the type of meter you have.

If your meter has a keypad

1. Press 9
2. Wait until the letters ‘IMP KWH’ appear
3. You’ll then see a series of numbers followed by ‘KWH’ – this is your reading
4. Write down any numbers from left to right, ignoring any zeroes at the start and any numbers after the decimal point

If your meter has A and B buttons under the screen

1. Press the A button
2. Press the A button again. You should then see the words ‘TOTAL ACT IMPORT’, along with a series of numbers followed by ‘KWH’
3. Write down any numbers from left to right, ignoring any zeroes at the start and any numbers after the decimal point

If your meter has a green A button on the right of the screen and a white B button below it

1. Press the white B button – the screen should then light up
2. Wait until the screen says ‘meter boost’. You then need to press ‘A’ in order to select ‘no’. This will cause a series of numbers to appear, followed by ‘KWH’
3. Write down any numbers from left to right, ignoring any zeroes at the start and any numbers after the decimal point

If your meter has 3 buttons to the right of the screen

1. Press the middle button on the display
2. Write down any number below ‘IMP’ from left to right, ignoring any zeroes at the start and any numbers after the decimal point

If your meter has 1 orange button and 2 blue buttons

These types of meters display a row of numbers, followed by KWH.

1. Press the orange button to the left of the screen
2. Write down any numbers from left to right, ignoring any zeroes at the start and any numbers after the decimal point (if there is one)

If your meter has two white buttons on the right of the screen

These types of meters should have ‘Kaifa MA 120’ printed on them. They’ll automatically flick between four different screens, so there’s no need for you to press anything.

1. Wait for the screen to appear that shows a series of numbers, followed by ‘KWH’
2. Write down any numbers from left to right, ignoring any zeroes at the start and any numbers after the decimal point (if there is one)

If your meter has 2 buttons on the right of the screen and one says ‘reconnect’

These types of meters will have one button that says ‘reconnect’ and another that says ‘display’ or ’display select’.

1. Press the ‘display’ or ‘display select’ button. Press it again, until a series of numbers followed by ‘KWH’ appear
2. Write down any numbers from left to right, ignoring any zeroes at the start and any numbers after the decimal point (if there is one)

If your meter has a green A button and grey B button on the right of the screen

1. Look at the screen – there’s no need for you to press any buttons
2. Write down the numbers next to ‘KWH’ from left to right, ignoring any zeroes at the start and any numbers after the decimal point (if there is one)

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How to Read a Smart Gas Meter

The way you take a reading from a smart gas meter depends on the type of meter you have.

If your meter has a keypad

1. Press 9 – the word ‘VOLUME’ will then appear on the screen
2. Wait until this changes. You’ll then see a series of numbers followed by ‘M3’
3. Write down any numbers from left to right, ignoring any zeroes at the start and any numbers after the decimal point (if there is one)

If your meter has A and B buttons under the screen

1. Press the A button. Press it again, until the words ‘METER INDEX’ and numbers followed by ‘M3’ appear
2. Write down any numbers from left to right, ignoring any zeroes at the start and any numbers after the decimal point (if there is one)

If your meter has three square red buttons

1. Press the far left button (this might be A)
2. Write down any numbers from left to right, ignoring any zeroes at the start and any numbers after the decimal point (if there is one)

If your meter has a circle button and two arrow buttons

1. Press the middle circle button
2. Write down any numbers from left to right, ignoring any zeroes at the start and any numbers after the decimal point (if there is one)

If your meter has orange and blue arrow buttons

1. Press the orange button
2. Write down any numbers from left to right, ignoring any zeroes at the start and any numbers after the decimal point (if there is one)

If your meter has two white buttons on the right of the screen

These types of meters should have ‘EDMI’ printed on them.

1. Press the far-right button – this could be labelled as ‘OK’ or may have an arrow on it
2. Write down any numbers from left to right, ignoring any zeroes at the start and any numbers after the decimal point (if there is one)

If your meter has a button on the left and right of the screen

These types of meters should have ‘G4’ and ‘GWi’ printed on them.

1. Press either of the buttons on your meter, then wait until you see ‘01’, followed by a series of numbers and ‘M3’
2. Write down any numbers from left to right, ignoring any zeroes at the start and any numbers after the decimal point

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Submitting Meter Readings

The more regularly suppliers receive gas and electricity readings, the more accurate your bills will be. Without regularly readings, they’ll be forced to estimate your usage which may lead to higher bills.

If you have a smart meter, then readings should be automatically sent to your supplier on a regular basis (with every month being the minimum). Otherwise, all you need to do is call your supplier to give them the readings. If they have a function for doing this through their website or on an app, then these methods will probably end up being a little quicker.

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