Smart electric meters

freeman3030

Hi all, I'm a first time buyer and am really hoping to exchange contracts very soon! Vendors solicitors dragging their heels a bit, so instead of contemplating on that, I've turned my mind to something productive. Electric companies!
We're buying a ground floor flat with electric night storage heaters... I can imagine the flat has an economy 7 meter, not sure though.
I've been looking up energy companies on the popular comparison sites and the annual price varies considerably, between £450 (incredibly cheap - and don't believe it) to £1,000, which I thought to be far more realistic.

I know the rules on how to save energy, but have noticed on the energy companies website that by 2019, smart meters will be standard.

As we're moving in, is it possibly to negotiate a smart meter to be installed or do they do it as and when they see fit? I would love to know my actual energy consumption and will enable me to budget even better!

Also, when I change to a different provider in the future, will the smart meter still work?

Many thanks

[Deleted User]

In my area in South Yorks, British Gas have been installing them for over three years, none of the others other than First Utility have started yet. I have one and think they are very good, I can see how much an hour I am paying in money, how much i spent yesterday, last month etc. They are far better than energy monitors. So far "smart switching " has nt been implemented. First Utility smarts dont work if the customers switch , they revert back to an ordinary meter ( or dumb meter ). With British Gas you can apply for one

macman

Why do you need a smart meter to monitor your kWh consumption? A conventional meter does that just as well, just not remotely.