Your energy meter gives gas and electricity readings so you and your supplier can keep track of your usage and get your energy bills right. This is especially important if you have a capped energy deal. Suppliers usually ask for meter readings monthly.

If you're a Fused customer, you can submit your meter readings on your customer dashboard.

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How to find the energy meters in your student house

Energy meter types

How to read the electricity meters in your student house

How to read the gas meters in your student house

How to find the energy meters in your student house

Your energy meter will usually be in a cupboard in your flat, or in a meter box. These are green or brown boxes in your garden or the outer wall of your house.

You should have been told where it was in your move-in docs from your letting agent or landlord, so take a look.

How many types of energy meter are there?

Getting a reading varies from meter to meter. There are a few different kinds. Some measure different energy rates, some are digital, and some are old fashioned dial meters. This guide covers the most common meters.

Good news if you have a smart meter: You have less work to do! Often you need to give start and end of tenancy readings so that you only get billed for the energy you've used. Otherwise, smart meters do the smart thing and inform suppliers for you.

If you don't have a smart meter, you need to do a manual meter reading.

How to read the energy meter in your student house

Gas meters and electricity meters are separate, so lets break them down by energy type and meter type!

How do I read the electric meter in my student house?

There are a few types of electricity meter, so here's a look at the ones you're most likely to find in your student house. 

How do I get a reading from a digital electricity meter

A digital meter shows your electricity reading on a small screen.

  • Read the numbers on the digital display from left to right.

  • You only need to make note of the numbers in black, and any numbers before a decimal point or a space.

My student house has a dial meter for electricity: how do I read it? 

Some older meters might have dials rather than a screen. The dials will look like a small row of clocks.

  • Take note of the numbers from left to right.

  • Underline numbers the pointer points to directly.

  • Write down numbers where the pointer has only just moved past.

  • Look at the digits after your underlined numbers. f it's between 9 and 0, reduce the underlined number by one. The example above would be 1 3 9 7 0.

How to read a prepayment meter for electricity

A prepayment electric meter might have a few screens to go through before you get to your meter reading, like lots of things, this varies from meter to meter. On the left hand side of the display there'll be a letter code for each screen, or listed in the title of the screen.

  • Press the blue button to bring up the meter display

  • Press the blue button again to move through the letter screens

  • If you have a single read meter for electricity, you can find your reading on screen H

  • If you have dual rates for electricity that vary based on the time of day your readings are on screen H and J.

Remember, only take notice of the numbers in black and ignore any numbers in red!

How to read a Dual Meters or Economy 7 Meters

A two rate meter, or Economy 7 meter, will give you two different meter readings, depending on the energy rates for day usage and night usage. Two rate meters are normally found in electricity-only properties.

  • Press the display test button on your meter

  • Read the low/night rate

  • Press the the display button tests button until the normal/day reading appears

  • Make note of both sets of numbers from left to right with and any zeros at the beginning

How to read smart electricity meters

There are two types of smart electricity meters; ones with keypads and ones with A and B buttons.

How to read a smart electricity meter with a keypad

  • Press the 9 on the keypad

  • Your smart meter screen will show IMP KWH, followed by 8 numbers and “kWh” – for example, 0001234.5.

  • You'll only need to make note of the first 7 numbers (including on zeros at the start), remember to leave any numbers after the decimal point.

How to read a smart electricity meter with A and B buttons

 

  • Press the A button until the screen shows “Total Act Import”

  • This will show your meter reading. This will be a number followed by kWh

 

How to read the gas meter in your student house

Yep, there's more than one type of meter for gas readings too. Let's go through them.

My student house has a digital gas meter: how do I read it?

First of all you need to figure out whether you have a metric meter or an imperial meter.

  • A metric meter will measure in cubic meters and will show m3 on the display.
  • An imperial meter measures in cubic feet and will show ft3 on the display.

How to read the metric gas meter in my student house

  • Read the first four numbers left to right

  • Don't include red numbers, or numbers that come after red numbers.

  • Include any zeros at the beginning.

  • If a meter gets to 9,999, it starts from the beginning at zero.

How to read the imperial gas meter in my student house

  • Read the first four numbers left to right

  • Don't include any numbers after a space or decimal point

  • Include zeros at the beginning.

  • If a meter reaches 9,999 it'll go back to zero and start again.

The meter in my student house is a dial gas meter: how do I read it? 

Dial gas meters are displayed in the form of 4 or more dials. Read these dials from left to right.

  • Ignore the big dial and any dials in red.

  • If the pointer is between two numbers, read the lowest of the 2 numbers (so if the pointer is between 6 and 7, the number you read is 6). However, if your pointer is between 0 and 9, always make a note of 9

  • Look at the pointer. If it points exactly at one number, take a look at the next number to the right.

  • If the dial to the right shows 9, then take one away from the number on the dial you're currently reading. For example, if the dial you're reading shows 3, but the dial to the right of it reads 9, then the number you'd write down is 2

How to read the prepayment gas meter in your student house

Here's how to get a reading from a prepayment gas meter: 

  • Press the red button 'A' to turn the meter display on 

  • Once the screen has loaded, press the red button 'A' twice

  • You should see a screen that says 'Meter Index'. This is your meter reading.

Only take notice of the numbers in black and ignore any numbers in red.

How to read a Smart Gas Meter

  • If your screen is off, press the red button to wake it up

  • Press the button until you find “Credit On” on your screen

  • The press again until it shows “Meter Index”

  • This number is your meter reading. 

Phew! That's it. This guide has covered almost every meter type you'll find in most student houses. Some small details might vary meter to meter, but hopefully you have the info you need to get the important digits down. 

If you want to know the best way to pay your energy bills as a student, how energy bills are calculated, or anything else that might make your student bills easier, check out our student bills guide.