Take control of your energy costs with a smart meter
UW customers across Great Britain can upgrade to a smart meter for free.
With a smart meter, you get accurate insights about your energy usage so you can take steps to save money. And you won’t have to worry about taking manual readings ever again.
What is a smart meter?
It’s the latest type of energy meter. Just like traditional energy readers, a smart meter measures how much gas or electricity you’re using.
Instead of you having to take a reading yourself and send it to us, smart meters automatically read and submit your energy consumption so your bills are always accurate.
Smart meters also come with a free smart in-home display so you can see exactly how much gas and electricity you’re using in near-real-time and how much it costs. This gives you a better understanding of how you use energy so you can take steps to reduce your bill.
What are the benefits of smart meters?
Here are a few of the great benefits you'll enjoy with your free upgrade:
See how much you’re spending
Keep track of your energy consumption using the free smart in-home display.
Use less energy and save money
The free in-home display makes it easy to understand your usage to take steps to save energy.
Smart meters vs traditional meters
Take a look at our side-by-side comparison of traditional and smart meters to see the difference they can make in your home.
Traditional Meter
Estimated bills
Manual readings needed
Limited visual display on meter
No energy usage information
No control over settings
An obstacle to environmental targets
Holding Britain back
No average change in spending
Smart Meter
Accurate bills
Reading are automatic
Free in-home smart meter display
See real-time usage in pounds and pence
Customisable spending alerts and budgets
Helps reduce carbon emissions
Driving Britain forward
Save up to £61 a year*
How to get your smart meter
If you’re an existing UW customer, swapping your traditional meter for a smart meter is easy.
Book your upgrade
Book your free upgrade online in just a few clicks. Simply choose a date for the installation of your smart meter that works best for you.
We’ll install your new smart meter
One of our expert engineers will visit you on the day of your installation. The process to install your smart meter usually takes around two hours.
Take control of your energy
You’ll now be able to see your energy usage in pounds and pence on your free smart in-home display.
How do smart meters work?
Smart meters use the latest technology to measure how much electricity and gas has been used in a property over a specific period.
You can then see your energy usage and its cost on a separate in-home display, which wirelessly syncs to your smart meter.
Smart meters use a network similar to mobile phones, so you won’t need to connect them to your broadband or Wi-Fi – they automatically find the best available network to submit your meter readings. This means they won’t affect your internet connection.
As your smart meter readings are automatically taken each month, you may find that your bills are more accurate, as we don’t need to use estimates.
Take control with
Pay As You Go energy
Choose to pay in advance with a smart prepayment meter. It’s now easier than ever.
Top up from home (or anywhere) in minutes. Easily see your remaining balance, and how much energy you’ve used on a free in-home smart meter display. And set budgets and alerts, so you never run out of credit.
How smart meters help the future
Smart meters let you see how much energy you’re using while you’re using it, so you can make moves to reduce your usage. They also help the energy industry forecast national usage and generate energy far more efficiently. They’re a key part of the Nation’s push towards a cleaner and more efficient-energy system and its net zero target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Plus, smart meters pave the way for innovation, helping UW provide you with exciting new features, services and savings.
Smart meter reviews from UW customers
Over 74% of our customers would recommend smart meters*. But don’t just take it from us:
“It’s just lovely not needing to submit readings, being able to forget about that.
And with the display it’s interesting to be able to see which things use how much energy.”
Mr. Christopher Ford, Southall
“You can see what you’re actually using and keep a check on it.
I now know to turn a thing or two off I’m using too much. It’s a lot easier not having to check and send meter readings too!”
Miss. Joanne Willock, Sheffield