Home Q&A: All you need to know about the smart meter rollout

We're not quite there yet when it comes to this electrifying change, with only one in five of us using a fully digitised smart meter 

Most Irish householders continue to cling to the basic information and flat 24-hour cycles of their old disc meters. File pictures

Smart electricity meters have proven to be a point of indifference, contention and outright suspicion with many Irish consumers. Their rollout remains agonisingly slow. 

Despite the continuing nationwide invitation to change up, misinformation vying with happy-clappy marketing has created confusion regarding what they actually offer and so far, only one in five of us have a fully digitised meter, with 1.8m installed in homes and businesses across the country. Let’s dig in.

Are smart meters compulsory in Ireland?

No. Given our ferocity when faced with the spectre of water charges, I don’t see this changing in the near future. If you receive a notification that smart meter installations are coming to your area, you can write to ESB Networks and decline a change up to your existing meter. No one in overalls will soft-shoe onto your property and rudely rip your standard 24-hour or Day/Night meter out of the cabinet. Will replacement meters only be offered in a smart guise in the years to come? Likely.

Can I have my smart meter removed and go back to a flat rate deal? 

If you accept a smart meter, it may be difficult to go back to a day/night (night saver) or standard meter. I have spoken to customers who have managed to do this with the intercession of their supplier, but it’s not a given. You can find a well-priced 24-hour tariff if that suits your lifestyle, even after your smart meter install (this is what most smart meter customers actually vouch for). Twenty-four-hour contracts offer highly competitive unit prices, real-time usage information, and predictable bi-monthly charges without blind “bill shock”.

Are there problems with data being relayed wirelessly? 

Not according to ESB Networks. Electricity consumption data collected by smart meters is treated as personal data with all the importance surrounding data protection laws including the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The relay does not contain your name, address or financial details and your usage data is transmitted via the 2G mobile phone network shrouded in multiple layers of cyber security. 

Despite numerous assurances, some householders just cannot get past the idea of digitally transmitted information, remote processing or vague questions about the safety of EMF and are clinging to their old meters. If you have ropey mobile reception, you can only opt-in for Non-Interval (Bi-Monthly) Smart Services. Depending on your connectivity level (30-minute intervals require level three or four), you then only get a remote reading once every two months. You can opt to have just bi-monthly readings if you prefer.

I have a solar photovoltaic array (solar PV). Do I need a smart meter to sell my power to the grid? 

Yes, with a new PV install you need a smart meter to participate in the Microgeneration Support Scheme (FIT). This sends your solar-PV excess back to the grid for a price on the kWh, credited to the bill from your supplier. With an old-style MCC02 meter, previously the gain was estimated from the size of the array (termed "deemed export quantity"). 

Using this old system, much solar-PV use filling batteries from the sun, made more via the MSS estimate than they would with a smart meter ticking off the actual kWh. Submit an NC6 form to the ESB Networks after your array is installed. If you refuse to have a smart meter installed, you may be denied FIT payments.

Do smart meters save money on the bill? 

Only you can determine that. Meters just measure usage. Smart meters deliver more granular information. You have to act smart to get the best out of this digital pal, utilising the transparency of power use, opting for cheaper night-time tariffs if appropriate, and cutting back on peak usage. 80% of us still have analogue meters, and only around 11% of smart meter users have opted for smart time-of-use tariffs. 

Smart meters offer up to three-unit price bands. These break the day down over a 24-hour period into Day, Peak (generally 5pm-7pm) and night hours (11pm-8am). Some power deals including a two to three-hour “boost” period with unit prices under 10c per kWh, to charge an EV or top the domestic battery. It’s likely that flat-rate 24-hour unit deals will disappear as our climate responsibilities increase.

If you act on the potential of the cheaper hours in a time-of-use smart deal to run appliances, use your slow cooker, and charge external batteries, you may well save money on your previous habits. Opt for a time-of-use smart deal that trips into 50c per kWh at peak, pay no attention to what you’re doing around dinner time, and it’s possible you could see your bill escalate. Go over smart energy plans with your insight of how you use your power. 

If you still don’t have a smart meter, you can request what is termed an HDF file showing your usage from ESB Networks. After you get your smart meter in and it’s transmitting correctly, there are tools to collate your energy usage and charges every half hour.

Should I give up my day/night meter?

 This celebrated meter type comprises one 24-hour meter and one-night storage heating (NSH) meter connected to a time clock. The celebrated Day/Night unit rates beloved of EV users and those with electric storage heaters (the original intended customers for Day/Night units) are now more closely matched by time-of-use tariff smart meter deals from many suppliers. 

The CRU reported to RTÉ recently: “Using the Estimated Annual Bill benchmark, the Standard Smart Tariffs offered by suppliers are now cheaper than traditional 24-hour or Day/Night tariffs”  (cru.ie). Even with a higher standing charge Day/Night meters are still popular. Smart meter time-of-use tariffs are more comprehensive than bald, day/night rates. For example, Electric Ireland’s Home Electric+ Weekender provides unlimited free electricity between 8am and 11pm on either Saturday or Sunday. Just pick a day that works for you, like say your favourite wash day. Enjoy a flat unit rate for the rest of the week, with no peak times.

What else makes a smart meter different? 

Smart meters can record your usage every 30-minute interval in real time, offering valuable forensic feedback on when you are using your power, and where it’s going. There are no estimated bills in this new era of measuring and managing. This steady trickle of consumption information allows you to fully engage with your usage and to make positive, sustainable change. Every household appliance including your power shower and kettle, has a signature energy draw, a pattern that can be recognised by dedicated software and delivered back to you in a simple bar graph. 

Smart meters can offer more forensic information not just from dedicated software, but from your bi-monthly billing cycle.

You can benefit from this regularly monitored information whether you stick with a 24-hour unit price or go for a time-of-use contract.

The lean, green, conscientious householder will take an interest when the grid is under pressure due to high demand. ESB Networks have taken their “Is This a Good Time” program live. Anyone with a smart meter, regardless of their supplier or deal can join. Receive information and tips via email and SMS to find out when the best times are to use your electrical appliances (that is when renewable electricity is being generated). Go to esb.ie to create a free ESB Networks Online Account. Overall, smart meters are intended to help to manage the grid supply more efficiently and sustainably. For some of us, this is clearly not a powerful enough reason to change.