ecotricity Smart Meter Instructions

ecotricity Smart Meter
Instructions

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What are smart meters?

They’re energy meters for the 21st century. They can help you keep better track of the energy you use, and they give you all the information you need to reduce your energy usage and save money on your bills.

With smart meters, you can top up from your sofa, manage your energy use better, pay your bills more easily, and you shouldn’t have to give us a meter reading again either.

And with an optional In-Home Display (IHD), you can do lots of useful things, like see how much energy you’ve used, check your balance (if you’re on Pay As You Go), and set up alerts.

Your smart meter guide

This guide tells you all you need to know about how to use your smart meter and In-Home Display.

The first section focuses on your In-Home Display. This is the bit of kit that lets you do all the smart stuff, like check your balance and set up alerts. It also outlines some of the useful things to know about the actual smart meter itself. The second section looks at the Pay As You Go functionality – including how to top it up manually if anything goes wrong. Finally, the third section provides some additional information and answers to frequently asked questions.

Gas

Smart meter

Electricity

Smart meter

How to use your IHD

When you look at your IHD for the first time, the screen might be blank. Don’t worry, it’s just sleeping to save you energy! To wake it up, touch the on/off button on the left-hand side. It’ll light up and show the main menu and all the things you can do.

Useful buttons on your IHD

The ‘Dual’ button

The ‘Dual’ button allows you to compare each fuel type and see how much energy you’ve used that day. You can compare your daily usage in units (kWh), cost (£) and carbon emissions (CO2). On top of that you can also see your balance for each fuel type.

You can compare what you’re using today to what you used yesterday.

Summary of electricity or gas

Press ‘Dual Fuel’ to switch between electricity or gas to see more information about that fuel. For example, you can see a list of your most recent payments/credits.

Your messages

Your inbox receives messages like an email account – just press the envelope symbol to see your messages (unread messages will be in bold). Then press the ‘View’ button to open them. Important alerts, like price changes, will pop up and stay on the screen until you select ‘OK’.

Your In-Home Display cannot send messages.

Your smart meter history

Your IHD holds really useful information about your energy consumption over the last 12 months. It lets you view your consumption by day, week, month or full year. Press ‘History’ and you can scroll through your usage, choose between kWh, CO2 and £/h for either electricity or gas.

What can I do with the tariff button?

You can look at info about your energy plan, your unit rates and standing charge. Your electricity and gas are displayed separately so just pick each one in turn to view a screen. Then use the arrows on the right to scroll through all the information.

Changing the settings on your IHD

You’re able to set energy targets as well as adjust the sound and display settings.

You can set a daily target for energy use in kWh, CO2 emissions or cost in pounds. Press the target icon and you’ll be able to choose the maximum you’d like to use each day. Throughout the day, a green light will show on the IHD if you’re on track to stay under your target. If you’re using more than your target, the light will change from green to amber to red.

How to use your smart meter

The following instructions apply to both electricity and gas smart meters.

How to take a meter reading

Press ‘9’ on your smart meter keypad. This will show the meter reading in kilowatt hours (kWh) for electricity and cubic meters (m3 ) for gas.

Economy 7

If you have an Economy 7 tariff, press ‘6’ on your smart meter keypad, then press it three more times until ‘IMP R01’ appears on the Smart meter display. This will show your off peak (night) meter reading in kWh.

Press ‘6’ again and ‘IMP R02’ will appear to give your peak (day) meter reading.

If you’ve been cut off

Before you do anything, make sure you switch off all of your appliances – otherwise they could get damaged. And make sure your oven and gas fire are turned off too.

Reconnecting your electricity supply

Reconnecting your electricity supply is simple. If you’ve been cut off, your IHD should be displaying ‘RESTORE SUPPLY’. Simply press ‘Confirm’, then press ‘Restore’ and your supply will come back on. If for any reason you can’t do this via your IHD, it can be done manually by following the steps on page 8.

Reconnecting your gas supply

Reconnecting your gas supply cannot be done using your IHD. For instructions on how to reconnect your gas supply, please see page 8

Reconnecting your energy supply via your smart meter

If you have a power cut, or run out of credit if you’re in Pay As You Go mode, your supply will disconnect. When you top up again or the power is restored your meter will go into ‘armed mode’. You can then use your smart meter keypad to reconnect your gas or electricity supply. The supply icon on your meter display will change from ‘OFF’ to ‘READY’.

You will then be asked to press ‘A’ to ‘CONNECT’ then press ‘B’ to ‘CONFIRM’. Simply follow the instructions on your meter.

Your supply will now be reconnected.

Smart Pay As You Go

Pay As You Go mode lets you pay for your energy before you use it. You simply ‘top-up’ your meter with credit. Being in Pay As You Go mode allows you to manage your energy use on a daily basis – and, if necessary, it can help you to pay off any outstanding debt in affordable weekly amounts.

Topping up your Smart meter

The first time you top up, you’ll need your customer account number and your supply address. If you had credit or debt remaining on your old PAYG meter, then we will arrange to have the balance transferred within 48 hours of your installation. It’s best that you run down any credit you have in the lead up to your installation. With a smart meter, you no longer have to travel to the shop to top up your meter. You can do it all from the comfort of your own home. There are four main ways you can top up:

• Through our PAYG app which you can download using our website ecotricity.co.uk/smartpayg. Our app is also available on the App Store or Google Play Store
• Through the Ecotricity website smartpayg.ecotricity.co.uk
• Call Ecotricity’s 24 hour automated payment line on 0345 812 4444
• If you aren’t able to top-up online or over the phone, you can top up at your local PayPoint outlet with our PAYG top up card.

Credit Alert

With the Credit Alert function you can adjust when the IHD alerts you that your credit is low. It will automatically be set to £2 and you can change it to make sure you’re reminded to top up your smart meter before you run out.

How to check your debt balance and repayment

If you’re paying back a debt through your smart PAYG meter you can check this information by simply pressing the Account button, then Debt. This will show how much debt is outstanding and what rate per day this is being collected at.

How do I add credit manually?

If you have paid for a top up but it hasn’t shown on your IHD, you can add the credit directly to your smart meter. We’ll email you a receipt with a 20 digit Unique Transaction Reference Number (UTRN). You can also find this on the receipt screen of the app. Press the blue ‘A’ key on your smart meter keypad then type in your UTRN when the display changes to ‘VEND MODE’.

When you’re finished, press the red ‘B’ key. The meter will either then accept or reject the code.

If you make a mistake whilst entering your UTRN, press the ‘A’ to delete.

Accepted

If the code is entered successfully, your smart meter will display ‘ACCEPTED’ and confirm how much credit has been added.

Rejected

If your smart meter shows ‘REJECTED’, ‘DUPLICATE’, ‘INCORRECT’ or ‘INCOMPLETE’, you’ll need to check and re-enter the UTRN.

If your smart meter displays ‘KEY LOCKED’ it means you’ve typed in the wrong UTRN five times and your smart meter will be locked for 20 seconds. If you still can’t get the UTRN to work, give us a call on 0345 812 5555.

Balance and Repayment

To check your credit amount simply push 7 on your smart meter keypad. You can check your debt repayment by pressing 5, and the onscreen display will cycle through debt outstanding.

Collecting Debt Repayment

If you’re on Pay As You Go to help you pay an outstanding debt, it will be collected from the credit on your meter. Debt repayment is collected daily and once the debt has been paid back in full, the meter automatically stops collecting. If you’re having difficulty paying your debt repayment and keeping your meter in credit, please contact us as soon as possible to discuss more options with you.

Emergency Credit

If your meter runs out of credit your electricity or gas will switch off – for this reason we recommend you keep a £10 float on your meter at all times. For those rare times when credit does run out, there’s an emergency credit facility that allows you to borrow £25. This should see you through until you can next top-up. Just be aware that while emergency credit is being used, no payment is taken for daily standing charge or debt repayments. Any charges that build up and any emergency credit that’s used will be taken from your next top up.

How to activate emergency credit

If you need to use emergency credit, press ‘7’ on your smart meter keypad. If it’s available, the screen will display ‘EC OFFER’.

You’ll then be asked to accept or ignore the offer of emergency credit. Press ‘A’ to accept then press ‘B’ to confirm.

Once you press ‘B’, your emergency credit will be active.

Wait 20 seconds until you see the default screen and then press ‘7’ on your keypad. Your smart meter will display ‘IN USE’.

If all your emergency credit has run out, the meter will display ‘USED UP’.

Pressing ‘7’ again will display the amount you’ll need to repay to restore your supply (including the amount of emergency credit you’ve used).

Moving home?

Please leave your In-Home display behind as this is linked to your meters. If you’re in Pay As You Go mode, make sure to run down your credit before you leave.

Let us know you’re moving by calling 0345 555 7 500 or visiting ecotricity.co.uk/customer-service/moving-home.

Useful information

• We’ve included an Energy Saving Advice leaflet in this pack and the engineer will also offer further advice during your meter exchange appointment. If you’d like more information on energy efficiency you can visit energysavingstrust.co.uk or call 0300 123 1234
• If you have micro-generation in your home please let us know so we can make sure everything is set up correctly to work with your new meter
• Please complete any necessary internal work before your appointment – we’ll need safe and clear access to the meter, the connected customer consumer unit (fuse box) and the mains cut-out switch to the property. The mains cut-out switch is located on the incoming supply. If your property is a flat or apartment within a larger building, the cut-out switch may not be located next to the meter. In this instance, please contact your managing agents to obtain its location
• If either your gas or electricity is supplied by another provider, they’ll be in touch to arrange a separate smart meter installation for this fuel
• In the unlikely event that a fault occurs with your smart meters we’d exchange or fix them free of chargee
• Similarly, if the In-Home Display was found to be faulty within 12 months of your installation this will be repaired or replaced free of charge
• Please get in touch if you’d like any of this information in another language, braille, audio transcription or large print
• If you have any questions or would like to discuss any of this information, please call us on 0345 555 7 100 or email [email protected].
• If there are any specific requirements that we need to know about before your meter installation please let us know

FAQs

Will a smart meter save me money?

It’s not the meter that saves you money, it’s how you use the information you’ll get from the meter that will help you make savings. By using a smart meter to get control of what you’re using, you can learn how to save energy – and potentially cut down your bills. You’ll get a clearer insight into how much energy different appliances use, and you can change your behaviour to make savings. It’s the small and easy changes that will see you save energy – things like only boiling a mug’s worth of hot water if that’s all you need. You might also turn off appliances overnight. And if you always use sunny days to line-dry your laundry, you’ll see energy savings adding up.

I’m on Economy 7 – will my smart meter show me separate readings for my off-peak and daytime use?

Yes – to see your On Peak (Day Rate) and Off Peak (Night Rate) tariffs you will need to press 6 on the meter’s keypad. You will then be able to scroll through the tariff registers. Your smart meter on peak times are 7am – midnight and off peak times are midnight – 7am. Remember, you can also use your In-Home Display to check on your ongoing energy use at any time.

My energy has disconnected, what can I do?

Make sure that you have switched off any electrical appliances before you reconnect. You will also need to confirm the reconnection on your IHD or on your meter by following the prompts. See page 7.

Why are my electricity CO2 emissions on my IHD displayed as zero?

The amount of CO2 emissions that Ecotricity produces while generating electricity is zero, so your IHD will display zero for your electricity.

What should I do if I’ve lost my gas supply?

If you’ve got gas fires, a gas oven or a gas cooker as well as a gas boiler, check whether they’re all off supply or just the boiler. If it’s just the boiler, check that the mains electricity switch is on and the pilot light is lit. If all your appliances are definitely off supply, please check your emergency control valve (ECV). If the lever is in line with the pipe, it’s ‘open’ and allowing gas to flow through. However, if it’s at right angles to the pipe, it’s ‘shut’ and stopping gas from coming through. If so, you need to turn it until it’s open. If your ECV is open and all your appliances are still off supply, please call us on 0345 555 7400 and we’ll look into what’s happened. If just some of your appliances are affected, the problem isn’t in the smart meter, so you’ll need to contact a gas safe engineer. You can find a list of registered gas safe engineers at gassaferegister.co.uk.

How often will a meter reading be taken?

We’ll be able to view reads daily from the meter which will improve the accuracy of your bills. If you would prefer us to view readings monthly instead, please contact us.

What are the minimum and maximum top up amounts?

You can top up between £2 and £99 each time.

Can anyone else top up my Gas or Electricity for me?

Yes, a guest can top up for you using your eight-digit Customer Account Number. They’ll need to know which meter you want to top up and provide a valid billing address for their payment card.

What payment cards can I use to top up?

You can use Visa Credit and Debit Cards, Maestro Debit Cards and MasterCard Credit Cards.

How do I know what my current credit or debt balance is?

You can see your balance on your meters and on the IHD, see page 9.

Why is my credit lower than my top up amount?

This is because you’ll have topped up from a position of debt, so the debt will be subtracted from however much you top up.

What if I have poor mobile phone signal in my area?

Smart meters use mobile phone signals to communicate. They’re able to operate off low signal and use multiple networks, so they can usually still work even if you get poor mobile phone signal in your home. However, as the signal varies your meter may sometimes struggle to communicate. This means we may not always receive the automated meter reading from your meter or your top ups may not always hit automatically when you’re in Pay As You Go mode. You may be able to help by not storing metal objects such as ironing boards in front of your meter as this can block the signal. If you are experiencing long term signal issues we’ll be in touch to let you know, as we may need you to give us a meter read if your meter can’t.

What happens if I move house?

It’s important you tell us that you’re moving. Please leave your IHD for the next occupier to use. It’s paired to your meter so wouldn’t work in your new home.

Smart meter data – A guide to your rights and choices

The key facts

• Smart meters are being offered to every household in Great Britain between now and 2020. Your energy supplier will tell you when they plan to install your smart meter between now and then
• The Government is overseeing the rollout of smart meters and has set out the rules for the management and use of data collected from your smart meters
• Your Energy Supplier will continue to hold your personal details on your account.

What’s new?

• Smart meters record more information than current gas and electricity meters. They will store the amount of energy you have used in each 30 minute period
• Your energy supplier will collect meter readings remotely
• You can choose how much of this information you share with your energy supplier, if you do nothing your supplier can collect a daily meter read.

The choices you can make

• How much data your energy supplier collects from your smart meter, e.g. monthly, daily or half-hourly meter reads
• Whether your supplier shares details about your energy consumption with other organisations
• Whether your supplier can use your meter reads for sales and marketing purposes
• How you can access information about your energy use and get the most benefit from it
• Once you have made your choice on any of these, you can change your mind at any time.

The Smart Metering Installation Code of Practice (SMICoP)

The Smart Metering Installation Code of Practice specifies the minimum standards for members to follow in relation to the customer facing aspects of the installation of Smart Metering Systems.

The code aims to ensure customers have a positive experience during their meter installation, including getting all the information they need and protecting the customer during the installation process.

We hope you always receive a great service from us, however, if you want to make a complaint we have experts in every team who handle any customer issue or complaint. They have access to every department and every team member – at every level. If you have a problem they’ll be in touch straight away, often the same day. Their job is to get to the bottom of the issue, find out what went wrong and why – and resolve it promptly. They will give an impartial, factual account, communicated openly and honestly to you and us. And of course, they’ll fix the problem, usually in just a few days.

To make a complaint you can give us a call on 0345 555 7 100 or email [email protected].

If you’re a Micro Business, please call us on 0345 230 6102 or email us at [email protected] so that we can ensure that you are being billed accurately.

For more details about:

• The smart meter roll-out
• Making use of your smart meter data
• How your data will be used and who it will be shared with
• Making any of the choices above
• Any other questions about your data you might have

Please contact us on 0345 555 7 100.

For independent advice about your rights and choices relating to your personal information contact The Information  Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk or via the ICO Helpline on 0303 123 1113.

If you smell gas:

• Switch the gas meter off by turning the emergency control valve vertically – if you’re unsure how to do this call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 , 24 hours a day
• Open all windows and doors and keep them open until the leak is repaired
• Call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 , 24 hours a day
• Don’t smoke or use electrical switches, matches or naked flames
• Make sure someone is available to provide access to the property when the emergency engineer arrives
• Call the Fire Service on 999 if fire breaks out.

Lion House, Rowcroft, Stroud, GL5 3BY

tel 0345 555 7100 email [email protected] web ecotricity.co.uk

Printed on recycled chlorine-free paper with vegetable-based inks.

References

• Home | Ecotricity
• Help with Moving Home | Ecotricity
• Help with Smart Meters | Ecotricity
• Gas Safe Register - The Official List of Gas Safe Registered Businesses - Gas Safe Register has replaced CORGI registration. Don't cut corners, only use a Gas Safe registered engineer.
• Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

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