How do I read my electricity meter?
Electricity meters are usually fairly straightforward to read, but there are like the gas meters some things to watch out for. In the UK most electricity readings will be in kWh units so this makes setting up your electricity meter(s) in SMEasure relatively simple.
Electricity meters typically take one of 2 forms:
1) A series of number dials
2) A digital display - smart meters will be in this format. The digital displays can sometimes flash a series of different information such as the date, off-peak, on-peak, power demand (kVa) etc. You may have to push a button to click through the different information options. If you meter has this feature you want to make sure you are taking down the number that represents the power consumption.
Reading your electricity meters
Like gas meters, electricity meters can sometimes display the
reading to several decimal places - it should be apparent by
looking at the meter if this is the case. However, if you are a
large energy user then it maybe those small numbers are actually
meaning your meter reading should be multiplied by 100 (& not
decimal points) - to multiply your reading by 100 simply add a
couple of zeros to your meter readings & smeasure will take
care of the rest! You'll be able to tell if this is the case within
a couple of weeks because your electricity consumption will be too
low given the size and activities of your building.
If you have a Smart Meter giving half-hourly readings then there should be a button on your meter and you will need to click through the display options and one of these will be the actual meter reading. Because SMEasure is based on presenting results for weekly energy use and does not capture half-hourly data we cannot give you feedback or plot daily consumption patterns at this time. However, we are thinking about ways to integrate smart meter data into SMEasure building profiles.
Below are some illustrations of different electricity meters. Please email us a photo of your meter if it is different to these, as it would be good to have a wider range of the options to help new SMEasurers learn how to read their meters.
Example 1: Dial Display Electricity Meter
The reading for SMEasure is 71921 kWh
Example 2: Digital Display Electricity Meter
The reading for SMEasure is 93734 kWh
If the last digit is between numbers, then always record the lower of the two digits as this represents what you have actually used.
