About Smart Meters

Take control of your energy usage with a smart meter

You may be used to receiving estimated bills every quarter and have no idea where your electricity and gas is being used. Smart meters put an end to this as they automatically send readings to first:utility once per day.

This means no more manual meter readings and always accurate bills, saving you time and money.

During your site’s development you can review accurate energy usage information via your online account. This helps you understand how much energy the show home is using, how much energy may be wasted on your development and the amount of carbon emissions used in generating the energy. This in turn enables you to make positive changes on site to reduce energy and costs.

How a smart meter works

  • A smart meter takes accurate readings of electricity usage every half an hour and gas usage daily
     
  • Readings are automatically sent to our network operations centre via a mobile communications link (there is no need for manual  meter readings)
     
  • We convert the energy usage data into meaningful, easy to understand information (simple diagrams and graphs) that you can view online the following day
     
  • We also accurately calculate your bill for you and present this with your usage information

Accurate, consolidated bills

Smart meters enable us to provide you with accurate, consolidated dual fuel bills for each development site. Every month, your bill will give you a detailed breakdown of the energy used by each smart meter that’s installed. As plots are sold, we provide accurate closing and opening accounts saving estimation queries and reconciliation.

You don’t need to worry about receiving over or under payments on accounts as with smart meters, there are no more estimated meter readings or unreliable bills.

View a sample developer dual fuel bill from first:utility

Free installation and equipment

We don’t charge any additional costs to install or supply smart meters. In fact, smart meters from us do not cost you any more than conventional meters would, but you reap a host of benefits.

Responsible energy supply

Smart meters empower customers to take control of their energy use, reduce costs and their carbon footprint. In provisioning new homes with smart energy supply from first:utility, you’ll be demonstrating a responsible attitude towards the environment and encouraging transparency for customers.

Contributing to the Code for Sustainable Homes

The Government’s Code for Sustainable Homes, released in February 2008, measures the sustainability of a new home against nine categories of sustainable design, rating the 'whole home' as a complete package. The Code uses a one to six star rating system to communicate the overall sustainability performance of a new home. Smart energy from first:utility contributes to code levels as smart meters installed in each new home provide accurate and detailed visibility of use, helping construction sites to be managed in way that reduces environmental impact.

To benefit from smart meter technology supplied by first:utility, call our dedicated housebuilding sales team now on 0845 215 1935