Smart meters will save you nothing

With the government revealing its plan to install smart meters in all households by 2020, there seems to be a large amount of confusion as to the savings they will actually bring. Gareth Kloet, Head of Utilities at Confused.com comments: "Customers will only save money if they reduce their energy consumption or opt for a cheaper energy tariff. Both smart meters and energy monitors allow customers to become more aware of how much energy they use by simply translating the KHW consumption and unit rate into pounds and pennies - this is what will encourage them to cut down. If mounted in a prominent place they could be the modern equivalent of your Dad shouting ‘turn the lights off'.

"Whilst a smart meter will perform the same basic task as your normal energy meters; to accurately record the amount of energy you use, critically they will allow the energy providers to read the meter remotely and therefore send regular and most importantly accurate bills.

"And the benefits don't stop there. Once consumers know how much gas and electricity they use, they can be more confident and efficient about searching for a better tariff.

"The Government's plans to install smart meters in all homes is a great idea but people can take a number of practical steps right now to help cut household energy bills by monitoring and reducing usage and simply changing to a cheaper tariff or provider."