Smart Meters Baffle Brits

Smart meters are already starting to appear in British households, however most Brits don’t know what a smart meter is.

It appears that Brits are baffled by smart meters as 25 percent of us don’t know what a smart meter is. Many others fear that they are devices that allow energy companies to spy on our household energy usage.

This widespread ignorance could derail the roll out of smart meters into our homes, uSwitch is warning.

One of the problems cited by the price comparison site is that smart meters are predicted to save a household only £14 a year, which is too small a saving to be of interest to many people.

Despite this, most of us would use the information provided by a smart meter to cut down our energy usage and be more energy efficient while 20% would use the information to better manage their energy account and to stay out of debt with their supplier.

Importantly, almost half of consumers (46%) would feel reassured that their energy bills are accurate.

More needs to be done to better educate consumers about the benefits that smart meters brings, says Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com:

“Smart meters have the potential to revolutionise the way households view their energy usage and how they interact with their supplier. But without the right education and information we are in danger of seeing consumers switched off before smart meters are even switched on.”

“As well as allowing households to become more energy efficient, smart meters will pave the way for suppliers to bring out more innovative tariffs built around consumption patterns – these could also help consumers to reduce their bills.”, she added.

You can learn what a smart meter is by reading an article MoneyHighStreet.com published some time ago.