Smart Meters Explained

This makes for much more accurate readings and also eliminates the need for an employee of the power company to come to the home or business and read the meter. Right now, smart meters are used for electrical use, but more and more they’re being used to measure gas or water usage as well.

Smart meters can read energy consumption in units of less than an hour and relays the information on a day to day basis with the power company. This makes them very accurate. Before this, meters could only measure how much electricity was used in the time period between billings and couldn’t tell either the company or the customer exactly when the electricity was used. Smart meters can also inform the power company if there’s been a power outage or if electricity is being illegally siphoned off by someone who wants electricity without paying for it.

Some smart meters use radio to communicate with the energy company, while others used an SIM (subscriber identity module) card or light signals that communicate with a photodiode.

The smart meter can also be linked to energy efficient instruments like monitors or software that let the consumer know how much energy is being used on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis. This ability can help both the consumer and the power company make decisions as to the most efficient and cost effective ways to use energy. This is very important in areas or countries where deregulation of electricity has been instigated and power companies have to compete with each other for customers.

Because smart meters are efficient, they can help the energy company pinpoint how much energy is being used in different parts of the area they serve. This might make it possible for energy companies and consumers to work together to create individual plans regarding the customer’s energy use, as smart meters have the ability to reduce electrical load, turn the electricity on and off, and communicate with meters set up to read gas and water use. For example, if a customer is going on vacation for a few weeks, they might want to adjust energy use as regards to appliances, security systems and the like. And a power company can more easily give incentives to both commercial and residential clients who adjust their electricity use during off-peak hours.