You've got your smart energy display sed first things first we need to
turn it on.
Just hold down the power button on the back of your display.
If you want to walk around your home with it you can, this is useful if you
want to check to see which appliances are using the most energy, but
remember to plug it back in with the charger provided when you've finished
with it so it doesn't run out of battery.
Don't worry though the display itself
uses very little energy, less than 80p's worth a year.
I'd imagine you want to know how much energy you're using and an idea of
how much it's costing.
If you only have a smart meter for one fuel, it will
only show the information for that fuel.
However, if you have both gas and
electricity use the fuel source button to switch between them.
Gas is shown as a flame, and electricity is a plug.
The date is shown at the top right of the screen, you can decide whether you
want to look at how much energy you're using right now, or if you'd like to
compare your usage over different time periods.
Ok, once your timeframe is
selected press the pound button, this shows you various information; the
cost in pence, current pence per unit, daily standing charge, Co2 emissions
or kWh.
This does not include VAT, your rewards or any discounts that you
may receive, so it may be slightly different to your bill.
What's great is that
you can see how much energy you've been using since you've had your
Smart meter in the last 13 months.
So press the calendar button again to select the timeframe you
want and then using the arrow keys scroll through your
past energy use and see how you're getting on.
The word 'Now' displays to
tell you what you've used this day, week month and year, and then the word
past displays to tell you you're looking at previous timeframes.
However, it's
important to remember it's the way that you use your energy that will help
to save you money, not the smart meter itself.
One of the great features of
your Smart Energy Display is the budget tool.
So let's say you only want to
spend £1 per day on electricity.
You can set that amount and it will tell you
when you go over.
So select the calendar button and choose which time
period you want to budget over.
Then press the settings button, if you have
both gas and electric from us choose which one that you'd like to budget
first.
Press and hold the £ button for 10 seconds the budget screen will
appear for your chosen time period now using the arrows select the budget
you want to aim for and press the settings button, when you exceed your
chosen budget the display will beep, to stop the beep simply press the
settings button twice and press the right arrow to switch the audio off.
If you want to check your meter reading simply press the settings button
and it will appear in the top right corner.
If you have both gas and electricity
press the fuel source button first to select which fuel you want.
With a smart
meter though your readings are sent to us automatically.
Also if you are on a tariff with different pricing plans during the day a next
tariff indicator will appear in your display.
If the price is set to increase
an up arrow will appear, if it is going to decrease, a down arrow will appear
Also before the price is due to change you'll see a count down in the top right
of the screen
You may have noticed the lights in the bottom of the display change, these
are an indication of your energy use.
Green is for low use, amber for medium
and red for high energy use.
This is a representative of your home, not
a set standard.
A lot of people keep their display in the kitchen, as that's where
most of your energy intensive devices are.
Or some people place it near the
front door so that they can check that everything has been switched off
before they leave.
As you get to use your smart energy display, over time
you'll understand how much energy you use, how much it costs and even set
up budgets to help to control your bills.
You may even be able to work out
ways of saving energy in your home.