subject: What Is A Smart Meter And How Does It Affect My Electric Bill? [print this page] News reports all over the nation are talking about smart meters. Almost every utility company in the country is rolling out a smart grid. But what does that mean? As a customer, how does having a smart meter change things? And most importantly, what is it going to cost me? These are the things that people really want the news to tell them!
What is a Smart Meter?
We all keep hearing about smart meters, but what exactly are they? A smart meter takes the place of the manual meter that your companys representatives currently come out and read. Its a high-tech system that allows your energy system in your home to communicate with the central system operated by the utility company. So instead of a meter reader coming out once a month to find out how much energy you are using at home, the information gets automatically sent to your company at least once per day through the smart meter.
Benefits of a Smart Meter
There are many benefits to having a smart grid in place. (By the way, thats what its called when there is a system of smart meters and other smart technology put into place). Those benefits include:
The smart meter works in real time which means that at any given time the electric company (and usually you as a customer) can see just how much energy the home is using. This is great for finding out early on if theres an energy leak or even just for identifying ways to reduce energy waste in the home. Thats good for the environment and good for customers who want to save money.
This is the most efficient way for the energy company to monitor what is happening across an entire system. They can easily see where there are power surges and problems. This helps the company to find ways to prevent power outages or to restore power quickly in the event that an outage does occur.
Smart meters can be read remotely so less manpower is required. This is one way that a smart meter can be more cost-effective since a person doesnt have to be paid to go read the meter.
Are There Drawbacks to Smart Meters?
There are always naysayers whenever new technology is introduced on a wide scale like this. Some of the concerns that people have about smart meters include:
Setting up the new smart meter systems can be very expensive.
Customers may need to install smart appliances in the home to best take advantage of what smart meters are intended to do.
There are potential health risks from the radiation of smart meters. (Notably there are no studies that confirm this; this is similar to what many people feel about cell phone towers.)
The Bottom Line: Smart Meters and Your Bill
Despite the naysayers, smart meter technology is moving forward across the nation and its probably coming to you. So what youre probably most concerned about is what its going to cost you. Smart meter technology is designed to increase energy-efficiency overall and that generally means lower electric bills. However, there is definitely some initial cost to rolling out the smart meters and in some cases customers are footing the bill.
Different utility companies and different states are each handling this differently. You may find that your rates go up slightly in the short-term and then down as energy-efficiency gets realized. Or you may find that rates go down at first because the cost of smart meters is offset by investments from other sources (such as government funding). How your bill is affected depends on many factors.
What is nice, though, is that once a smart meter is available the customer almost always has access to more information about how energy is used in the home. The customer can easily see how much energy they use and where it is being wasted. This gives you as a customer the knowledge that you need to lower your own electric bills regardless of what the smart meter installation is doing to your rates.
