Using your smart meter’s in-home display

If you get smart meters installed, your energy supplier will offer you a device called an 'in-home display' (IHD). They might also call it a 'smart energy monitor'.

The IHD is a small portable device with a screen. It shows your energy usage and how much it's costing you. It is not the same as your smart meter. Your smart meter will be fixed in place, usually in a cupboard inside or outside your home. 

You can put your IHD anywhere in your home. You’ll need to either plug it in or use batteries. It will connect to your smart meters without using wifi.

If you have a smart meter for both gas and electricity, your in-home display will connect to both of them - you don’t need 2 IHDs.

Using your in-home display with prepayment smart meters

If you have smart meters on prepayment setting, your in-home display will show you your current balance and let you access emergency credit. Check the user guide on how to do this. You can use some models of IHD to add credit to your smart meter.

Using your in-home display to help you save energy

Your IHD shows you how much energy you’re using in 2 ways:

• how much energy you’re using in kilowatt hours (kWh)

• how much your energy use is costing you

You can see readings for the current day, week, month or year. The readings update every 10 seconds for electricity and every 30 minutes for gas.

You can get an idea of your energy use by turning everything off except your essential appliances, for example your fridge-freezer. Check how much energy your IHD says you're using. 

You can then use different appliances one by one to see how much your energy use and costs go up. This will help you work out which appliances are costing you the most.

Set a budget for your energy use

You can set a daily, weekly or monthly budget on your IHD. Your IHD will alert you if you go over the amount that you have chosen. 

Use your IHD to tell you how much you are spending on energy at the moment. Set the budget at a lower amount. Then you can test which appliances you need to use less or put on energy saving settings to stay within budget.

There are other things you can do to save energy at home and reduce your bills - find out how to make your home more energy efficient.

Save energy using your electrical appliances

You can save energy if you change the settings on your appliances or find ways to use expensive appliances less.

Save energy using your appliances.

You can also use our calculator to compare how much different appliances cost.

Get instructions for your in-home display

We can help you find the digital user guide for your IHD - even if you don't know what model it is. Find the user guide for your in-home display.

If your in-home display has stopped working

If your energy supplier gave you the IHD in the last year, they have to fix or replace it. If they gave it to you over a year ago, it's still worth contacting them to ask if they'll fix or replace it. 

In some cases you might be able to fix your own IHD. Check if you can fix your in-home display.

Get an in-home display

If you want to get an in-home display, the steps you need to take depend on whether you have a smart meter in smart mode. If you’re not sure, check to see if you have a smart meter running in smart mode.

If you have a disability or find it hard to use an in-home display

You might be better off with an accessible IHD. Your supplier should give you an accessible IHD if you ask. 

If you’re getting a smart meter installed, let the supplier know that you need an accessible IHD. They should make sure that they give you the right one.