Best answer by jewelie
Updated on 23/10/25 by Ben_OVO
Sorry for the inaccurate usage costs you’re seeing on your In-Home Display (IHD).
With a smart meter the tariff information showing on the device should match the rates showing on the ‘plan details’ page of your online account or app. If the tariff figures loaded on your device aren’t correct, it may appear that your usage costs are far higher than they should be - reach out to our Support Team to get that corrected. You can find out how to see your plan details using this guide:
It is worth bearing in mind the following:
If the unit rates loaded on to your device are not accurate the daily costs shown here will not match what you are actually charged. For this reason we’d always advise checking the actual usage charges on the ‘Billing’ page of your online account or app. You can find out how to use the Usage pages using this guide:
Having a smart meter installed won't directly increase your costs. There are no hidden effects on usage, and your tariff won't change.
The meter will clock accurately. Old meters (this does depend on how old your previous meter was) can slow down, or even speed up meaning they're not measuring your energy usage correctly. We'd only expect to see this with very old meters. A brand new meter, smart or otherwise, will clock what you're using accurately.
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+4Remember that appliances such as Washing Machines use power in bursts and not all the time.
For a washing machine it fills with water then uses the water heater clocking up in the KiloWatts, but once the water is up to temoerature the heater turns off and it’s only using about 80-90 watts for the motor to turn the drum (and it does that in bursts too with pauses between as it changes direction).
What you describe may be due to something like a fridge/freezer.
They also work in bursts, cooling things down then sat doing nothing until the insides get a bit warmer again. (Often because you opened the door to get a cold can of drink out?).
That would tend to happen more often in the warmer afternoons, just like you have noticed.
You can usually adjust the range of that colour dial in the display* to suit your housholds usage levels.
If you have set your IHD to show ‘Low Use’ then even such an event as a fridge kicking in can swing the needle up into the amber/red.
*On my GEO Trio you go into the MainMenu > Settings > Advanced > Usage Level and choose between High/Low/Medium
Here’s a picture. The arrow is in the red even though I have one cooling fan on at the moment
and everything else is either appliances or on standby. I had my smarted meter installed on 15/5/25
+4Hey
Is there much change to the dial when you turn the fan off? How old is the fan?
I know my kettle turns my dial into red, albeit for a short amount of time because it only takes a couple of minutes to boil, so the dial does return back to green once that turns back off.
Nukecad also left some really helpful advice about some appliances using bursts of energy, like a fridge/freezer or washing machine.
The following Forum guide about Geo Trio In-Home Displays may also be helpful:
Hi there, The cooling fan is a year old and is on most of the day to keep my two dogs comfortable. The arrow on the dial usually returns to the green at some point. I’m just trying to pinpoint why these power spikes are occurring and I’m not having much luck so far. I’ll take a look at the home display FAQS you suggested. Thanks.
+8This issue is not about the power spikes, equipment uses power in bursts, it’s more about what you are using during a day and whether that corresponds to what equipment you have on. You are probably over-interpreting the display and drawing the wrong conclusion.
Peter
Looks like something power hungry is turning on and off. To use that kind of power it must be a heater of some kind such as immersion, dish washer, washing machine. electric cooker,kettle, electric poiler or EV charger. What devices do you have that heat stuff up?
Bruce
Hi Brichard, the odd thing is I don’t have any appliances on the go that you mention when these spikes occur. That’s the reason why I ended up posting on here as I find it strange. Not to worry, if it was permanently on the amber or red, I would be contacting OVO right away. Thanks anyway.
+4I don’t know your tariff but at 72p I’d say it looks about 2.8kW to 3 kW in total being used.
So say it’s a 2 kW 2.5 kW on/off spike then that does sound like a heater of some type switching on and off.
Although why ‘mostly’ in the afternoons is a bit of a puzzle. You don’t have air conditioning by any chance do you?
We occasionally see this kind of thing and the user always says that they have nothing like that plugged in.
Most often it’s a plug in heater (or more than one) somewhere that is on a thermostat so going on and off. (The user alwars swears they thought they had turned them off or unplugged them).
It’s worth having a double check of every socket in the property just to be sure nothing like that has been left plugged in and on.
Dont forget the garage/shed/greenhouse and while you are at it check for patio heaters/ motion sensing security lights/…….
I don’t know your tariff but at 72p I’d say it looks about 2.8kW to 3 kW in total being used.
So say it’s a 2 kW 2.5 kW on/off spike then that does sound like a heater of some type switching on and off.
Although why ‘mostly’ in the afternoons is a bit of a puzzle. You don’t have air conditioning by any chance do you?
We occasionally see this kind of thing and the user always says that they have nothing like that plugged in.
Most often it’s a plug in heater (or more than one) somewhere that is on a thermostat so going on and off. (The user alwars swears they thought they had turned them off or unplugged them).
It’s worth having a double check of every socket in the property just to be sure nothing like that has been left plugged in and on.
Dont forget the garage/shed/greenhouse and while you are at it check for patio heaters/ motion sensing security lights/…….
I have two Quantum storage heaters that I use in the winter and they are definitely off at the moment. I couldn’t wait to switch them off as they cost a fortune. I don’t have air con, but use a cooling fan. Thanks for the reply.
+8Does it still shift to the red if you unplug the fan ?
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