How do I read my electricity meter?
It is important to make sure that your meters are correctly set up in SMEasure and that you are recording the readings correctly so that you receive the most accurate results and most useful analysis from the software. We recommend that one person has clear responsibility for entered readings each week and that they have a substitute knows who else can do it if they are ill or on holiday) and is familiar with the meters, units, recording conventions and can log data into SMEasure.
Electricity meters are usually fairly straightforward to read, but there are some things to watch out for. In the UK most electricity readings will be in kilowatt hours (kWh.)
Electricity meters typically take one of 3 forms:
1) Digital display
2) Analogue display
3) Dial display
Digital display
If you have a smart meter it 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 your meter has this feature you want to make sure you are taking down the number that represents the total (cumulative) power consumption.
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. If you have smart meters and would find this useful let us know by emailing support@smeasure.org.uk.
The reading for SMEasure is 119626
kWh
The reading for SMEasure is 1887450 kWh.
Watch out for the x10!
Analogue display
Electricity meters can sometimes display a reading to several decimal places, it should be apparent by looking at the meter if this is the case. Usually a decimal point will be printed on the meter casing. Numbers before the decimal point will be coloured black and numbers after the decimal point will be coloured red.
Watch Out!
If you are a large energy user then your meter may read in 10’s or 100’s of kWh. Look out for “x100” or “x10” on your meter. If this is the case add one or two zero’s when you enter the reading into SMEasure.
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.
The reading for SMEasure is 4236.5 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.
Dial Display
This old style meter has a series of dials. Read the dials from left to right recording the number that each hand points to. If the hand is between two numbers always write down the lower number. Do not read any unmarked dials or red dials.
Watch out!
Adjacent dials move in opposite directions.
The reading for SMEasure is 71921 kWh
The reading for SMEasure is 94894 kWh
Always do a ‘sanity check’ when you enter your readings into SMEasure. Ask yourself:
• How does the data compare with previous readings?• Is the number of digits correct, and the decimal in the same place?
• Do the figures fall within acceptable band of use?
• Are the correct units used?
• Do meter readings reconcile with invoices?
• Are invoices estimated?
If you are having difficulty reading your meter or you are not sure what type it is please take a photo and email it to us at support@smeasure.org.uk