Smart meters

How do I get a smart meter installed?

We’re rolling out smart meters to EDF customers across the country, and aim to give all EDF customers a smart meter by 2024. The easiest way to see if you can get one yet, and book your installation, is to go to MyAccount:

• Go to the 'smart' section in MyAccount
• Book a date and time that suit you
• Get your smart meter installed

I want a smart meter, but I have special requirements. Who can I contact?

Give us a call us on 0333 009 7000(1) to discuss your requirements. You can also find more about the smart meter support we can give to customers with special requirements in MyAccount.

My smart meter installation

If you've got a smart meter installation booked, you can reschedule your appointment up to 48 hours in advance, or cancel it up to an hour before.

Just log in to MyAccount and go to go the 'Smart meters' section to change or cancel your appointment. If you don't have access to MyAccount, you can call 0333 200 5104(1).

Sorry we can't give you a more precise time for your smart meter installation - your installer will give you a call to let you know when they're on their way to you.

What happens when you come out to install my smart meter?

We've put new procedures in place for everyone's safety. Our installers will:

• wear gloves and masks during the installation
• adhere to strict hygiene measures
• follow social distancing guidelines

When do I get my in-home display?

Once we've installed a smart meter at your property, you'll get your free in-home display:

• On the day: if your installer connected you with the network there and then
• Within three weeks: if your installer didn't connect you. Our smart meter team will work away in the background to get your new smart meter fully up and running. We'll send you a letter to let you know how to order your in-home display.

Does my in-home display or smart meter use broadband?

Worried about needing broadband to use a smart meter? Don't be! Smart meters use mobile networks, not broadband connections. Each smart meter contains its own SIM card, and sends data over a mobile GSM network (don't worry, it doesn't use your mobile data). So you don't need broadband at home for a smart meter to work.

Will my bills go down if I have a smart meter?

Getting a smart meter doesn't necessarily mean your bills will go down. But it can help you to manage your energy – and reduce your bills – because:

• A smart meter display shows you how much energy you're using, as you're using it.
• You'll see how much it's costing you in pounds and pence, so you can be more in control of what you spend.

Is it mandatory to get a smart meter?

Smart meters are the new generation of energy meters. EDF are installing them as part of a national government programme to replace older energy meters. 

All energy suppliers must aim to install smart meters in every home in Great Britain. The Smart Energy GB website explains the government’s rollout plan.

Whilst we would encourage every customer to get a smart meter so you can see how much energy you're spending in pounds and pence and get more accurate bills. This is not a mandatory requirement unless it’s stated in your EDF tariff terms and conditions. 
 

How often should my smart meter send readings?

It's best to set your smart meter to send readings every half an hour. That way, with such an accurate picture, you can see where you might be able to save energy – and cut your energy bills. You can see all your energy use information in Energy Hub in MyAccount.

If at any point you want to change how often your smart meter sends readings, you can do this in MyAccount.

• Go to 'About me' in MyAccount
• Click on 'Smart meter preferences'
• Select 'half-hourly', 'daily' or 'monthly'

You can also change your meter reading frequency by calling our 24-hour automated phone line on 0333 009 7088(1) .

How does my in-home display work?

You'll have an in-home display that shows your energy use, pretty much in real time. It also shows your energy history and current tariff information. Your installer will show you how to use the in-home display when fitting your smart meter.

You can find out more about the in-home display here, and check out the user guide for your model.

Your in-home display isn’t designed to be portable - it needs to be plugged into the mains. The supplied rechargeable batteries are for short periods when no mains power is available, for example when moving the device from one plug socket to another.

Bear in mind that the figures on your smart meter in-home display will differ slightly from your bill as they include VAT, whereas your bill shows VAT in a separate section. The energy costs on your smart meter display also take into account the daily standing charge.

If you switch tariff, it can take up to ten working days for your new prices to be loaded onto your in-home display. If the prices still don’t show after that time, get in touch.

How do I see my energy use?

Once you've got a smart meter, you'll be able to see information about your energy use in MyAccount. We upload information overnight, so if you're not seeing what you expected, it might not have come through yet. Check it again tomorrow to see if it’s updated.

If it hasn’t, it might be that your smart meter is set to send us readings once a month. If this is the case then we can’t create the energy graphs. It’s easy to change this – just go to the About Me section in My Account. Then change how often your meter sends us readings to half hourly or daily.

Why is my smart meter display showing electricity information but not gas?

If your meters have been installed in the last week please wait a couple more days as it can take longer for the gas to update for the first time.

Why is my smart meter display saying I'm using gas when I'm not?

Your standing charge shows on your smart meter in-home display each day whether you’re using energy or not.

Why isn't my new smart gas meter working yet?

During the installation, one of two connection issues caused the problem:

1. We couldn't connect your electricity and gas meters to the national smart meter network. Low signal strength, a systems update or even bad weather could have blocked the connection at the time of your installation.
2. We couldn't connect your gas meter to your electricity meter. This needs to happen as your gas meter sends its readings via your electricity meter.

You don't need to do anything. Our smart meter team will be working away in the background to get you connected. We'll be in touch within three weeks of your installation to let you know the next steps.

Smart Pay As You Go: You can still top up, but you'll need to use the UTRN you get after each top up to add the credit to your meter manually.

Smart (credit): Your meter will be recording your energy use in the normal way, but you might have to submit your own meter reading (only if we ask).

There's a problem with my in-home display. How do I fix it?

Take a look at how to fix common problems with your in-home display.

What's a smart Pay As You Go meter?

Find out everything you need to know about your Pay As You Go smart meter. Alternatively, watch our video to help you get the most from your in-home display.

With this kind of meter you pay for your energy up front. This means you need to top up with credit whenever your balance gets low.

If you've switched to this kind of meter from an old prepayment meter, any outstanding debt will be transferred over. This should take about four days. If you have an instalment plan on your old prepayment meter, we'll transfer this over too.

Moved into a new home with a smart Pay As You Go meter?

Please give us a call on 0333 009 7111(1) to ask us to set up an account for you. Once that's done, you can start topping up.

I can't top up my smart Pay As You Go meter after installation

When you get your new smart pay as you go meter, there will be a short delay until you can top it up with credit. You can top up when you see the credit from your old prepayment meter appear on your new meter or its in-home display. This usually happens within four days of your installation.

You'll have energy during this time; you just don't pay for it up front. Instead, debit is added to your meter. We'll automatically take a payment for this as soon as you top up your meter.

How do I top up my smart Pay As You Go meter?

You'll get given a payment card for your smart PAYG meter. But you don’t actually need it to top up your smart PAYG meter. You can top up on the EDF app, in MyAccount or over the phone without your card. You can also top up at your local Pay Point retailer without your card if you have your top-up ID.

You can find your top-up ID on your card or on your installation appointment confirmation email or letter.

To top up online:

1. Go to My payments in MyAccount and select 'Make a payment'.
2. Enter your credit or debit card details (you can store your details).
3. Click 'Pay now'.

To top up on the EDF app:

1. Tap “Top up your meter” on the home screen.
2. Choose the amount you want top up or enter in other amount
3. Tap “Confirm top-up”
4. Enter your credit or debit card details (you can store your card for future payments)
5. Click “Top up now”

To top up by phone:

1. Call 0333 009 7111(1) at any time of day or night.
2. Select option 1, and enter your EDF account number, top-up ID or phone number.
3. Give your credit or debit card details, and confirm payment.

To top up in person at a PayPoint store:

1. Take your top-up card (or just the top-up ID that's given on the card) to your nearest PayPoint retailer.
2. Buy your credit.
3. Keep your receipt as it gives your Unique Transaction Reference Number (UTRN)

Can I set automatic top ups?

Yes, you can choose to top-up automatically every time your balance reaches a certain point. For example, you can add £10 of credit every time your balance drops to £5.

To set in MyAccount:

1. Go to My payments in MyAccount and select 'Auto top-ups'.
2. Choose when your auto top-ups happen, and how much credit to add each time.
3. Enter your credit or debit card details and confirm payment.

To set on the EDF app:

1. Tap ‘Manage electricity’ or ‘Manage gas’ on the PAYG screen
2. Select 'Auto top-ups'
3. Choose when your auto top-ups happen, and how much credit to add each time
4. Enter your credit or debit card details and tap “Update auto top-up"

How do I get a new top up card?

1. Go to 'My payments' in MyAccount and click 'Order a new top up card'.
2. Choose whether you need a new card for electricity or gas.
3. Once you've confirmed your order, you'll be given the option to print off a new card too.

What happens if my credit doesn't reach my meter? What's a UTRN?

Your credit should arrive on your smart PAYG meter within about an hour of topping up.

If this doesn't happen, we'll send you a text or email with your Unique Transaction Reference Number (UTRN). It looks like this: 1234-5678-9098-7654-3210.

If you topped up in store, you'll find the UTRN on your receipt. You don't normally need your UTRN – it's there as a back up in case your credit doesn't reach your meter. You can enter the UTRN on your in-home display or meter to add your credit manually. Find out how to enter your UTRN.

When do I need to top up?

You'll need to top-up your meter regularly throughout the year even when you are not using much energy. This is so you can make sure that there is enough credit for the standing charge and any debt repayment plans you have in place.

It's important to top up before your balance drops to £0 – your meter will be disconnected if you run out of credit.

How do I check my Pay As You Go balance?

• Log in to MyAccount and go to the 'Meter balance' category
• Log in to the EDF app and go to the PAYG tab
• Look at the home screen of your in-home display or the display on your PAYG meter

When the balance drops to £5, we'll send you a text or email to let your know your credit is running low. You can change your alert amount on our app or in MyAccount:

How do I change my low balance alert?

To change it in MyAccount:

1. Log in to MyAccount and go to 'My Payments'
2. Click on 'Low balance alert'
3. Choose whether you want to change the alert for electricity or gas
4. Choose a new alert amount: £10, £15 or £20
5. Click 'Update'

If you've given us your mobile number, we'll text your low balance alerts to you. If not, we'll email them.

To change it on the EDF app:

1. Go to PAYG > Manage electric/gas > tap edit Low balance alerts
2. Choose whether to change your alert for electricity or gas
3. Select your alert level: £5, £10, £20 or £50
4. Confirm your new low-balance alert

What happens if I run out of credit?

We never want you to be left without an energy supply. So we put £10 of emergency credit on your electricity meter, and £10 on your gas meter. If you dip into your emergency credit, it simply gets topped back up next time you add credit to your meter.

This means that next time you top up, you'll need to add enough credit to cover:

• The amount of emergency credit you've used
• Any daily standing charges you've missed
• Any debt repayments you've missed (we don't charge these while your meter is using emergency credit)
• Your ongoing energy use.

Remember to keep an eye on your balance and make sure you don't run completely out of credit as you'll be disconnected. You need enough credit to cover

• Daily standing charges
• Automatic / timed heating systems
• Appliances in use (e.g. your fridge and freezer)
• Appliances left on standby
• Any debt repayments you may have

Find out how to activate emergency credit, or to see how much money you owe:

1. Press 'Menu' on your in-home display.
2. Use the arrows to scroll to the 'Debts to clear' screen.
3. The figure you see on this screen tells you how much you owe.

Why was my smart meter disconnected while I was on holiday or when I wasn't even using energy?

This will happen if you ran out of credit. You might have switched off all your lights and devices, but you would still have been using credit for:

• Daily standing charges
• Automatic / timed heating systems
• Appliances still in use (e.g. your fridge and freezer)
• Appliances left on standby
• Any debt repayments you may have

To get your meter back up and running, you just need to top up with credit and then activate your supply.

What happens to debt from my old prepayment meter when I get a smart Pay As You Go meter?

Any outstanding debt on your old prepayment meter will be transferred over to your new meter. This should take about four days. If you have an instalment plan on your old prepayment meter, we'll transfer this over too.

What happens to my supply if I run out of credit?

Your smart PAYG meter will automatically disconnect when you run out of credit. To get reconnected you need to top up with credit, then activate your supply.

1. Top up with credit

Remember to add enough credit to cover:

• any emergency credit you've used
• any daily standing charges and debt repayments you've missed
• your ongoing energy use.

1. Activate your supply via your in-home display or via your meter

Watch our activation video – or follow these steps:

Model type: Chameleon 3

• Press 'Menu' and scroll through to find ‘Activate Supply’
• Press ‘OK’

Model type: Geo Trio II

1. Press 'Menu' or the 'Home' button on your in-home display
2. Use the arrows to scroll to 'Prepay'
3. Press the 'Selection' button
4. Select 'Enable supply'
5. Use the arrows to scroll to 'OK'
6. Press the 'Selection' button to reconnect your supply.

Model type: L&G

• Press any button on your smart PAYG gas meter to wake it up.
• Press the black button ('B') on your meter – you'll see 'For gas' appear in the bottom half of the screen.
• Now press and hold the black button until told to release.
• Press and hold the red button ('A') when asked to confirm your appliances are turned off; keep holding until told to release.
• Wait for the valve to open – your screen should now say 'Credit ON'.

Model type: Aclara

• Press any button to wake up display.
• Look for a message that says “Push to reconnect”.
• Press button ‘C’ to initialise valve opening and re-activate your gas supply.

I've topped up after being disconnected, but I still don't have any energy

Did you follow the steps to activate your supply through your in-home display or your meter? You'll always need to do this after your smart pay as you go meter was disconnected.

If you did, it may be that you had debt on your meter. You need to add enough credit to pay back your debt and for your energy use. You might just have to top up again. Add more credit now in MyAccount – log in and go to 'My payments', then select 'Make a payment'.