We’re now well over halfway through the smart meter rollout, which is a good time to take stock of the where we are and where we’re going.
When the rollout started, we were yet to witness the global events that would lead to energy price rises and the cost-of-living crisis. Since then, energy consumption has only become more of a concern, with business owners always on the lookout for ways to save money on their bills, even if only incrementally. In 2022, 52% of business owners said they needed to reduce overheads, and particularly their energy costs.
Smart meters are playing a crucial role in these cost reduction efforts. Whether your business already has one, or you’re yet to have one installed, you might be wondering what impact smart meters are already having, and what the future has in store for smart meters…
What impact have smart meters had so far?
They’ve helped businesses cut energy usage
The primary benefit of smart meters for any business is the ability to track your energy usage. If you get a smart meter display with your meter you can monitor and see how much energy your business is using in 30 minute segments, which makes it easy to identify where you can cut down. Many businesses who have adopted smart meters have seen an 11% reduction in energy use, worth up to £135 a year on average.
These readings are automatically sent to your energy supplier, so you don’t have to spend valuable time manually recording them to get an accurate bill.
They’re helping to reach net zero
As well as the financial benefits smart meters offer, there’s the environmental impact to consider. In 2022, 67% of businesses that adopted smart meters said they were doing so for environmental reasons rather than purely to reduce their bills.
Smart meters help reduce your carbon footprint by recording energy consumption which can balance out supply and demand, so there’s much less wasted energy across the board.
Smart meters will also be vital in powering electric vehicles in the future, delivering 54% CO2 reduction by 2035 thanks to higher levels of electrification. Using smart meters, EV drivers will be incentivised to charge at off-peak times, reducing strain on the grid.
Overall, the national rollout of smart meters ensures that carbon reduction and renewable energy generation will be easier to co-ordinatewith faster carbon reduction.
How will smart meters help my business in the future?
While the short-term benefits of smart meters (both environmental and financial) are well-known, you might not have considered how they could help your business in the future.
Using a smart meter could unlock new opportunities for you, enabling products and services you wouldn’t have thought about when first starting your business.
Improved tariffs (not just for energy!)
Many small business owners have used comparison services at some point, whether it’s for energy or insurance. Comparison websites could soon be able to use your energy data (with your consent) to find the best tariff for your business, rather than you having to trawl through comparison sites yourself.
Services like this could expand to offer comparisons for products such as phone contracts, broadband and insurance. We might even see services that offer all of this in one place, saving you even more time.
Seamless energy for renters
Business renters could, in the future, experience innovations in securing a good energy tariff. For example, contracts could be negotiated for an entire site, rather than individual units.
This would allow suppliers, using smart meters, to monitor the usage patterns of individual tenants and then tailor energy to meet their specific needs. With this method, you could see more fixed fees for business energy, minimalizing costs overall.
Electric vehicle options
If you’re planning on picking up an electric vehicle for your business, then energy use should be a big part of your plans going forward. In 2022, 33% of businesses said that they were moving towards electric and hybrid vehicles for their services or day-to-day running.
How to get a smart meter for your business
If you’re interested in getting a smart meter for your business and haven’t got one yet, check your eligibility with your business energy supplier. There’s a good chance that, if you’re eligible, you may already have been offered one. If you’re renting your business space, you may also need to check with your landlord before beginning the installation.
Alternatively, you can check using Smart Energy GB’s online small business hub. However, if your business works with a third-party intermediary or a broker, please contact them directly to request your smart meter.
