Skip to main content

Updated on 10/02/25 by Ben_OVO:

 

Smart Metering Equipment Technical Specification (SMETS) 2 - Your Guide

  

Thanks to @Transparent for this image

 

What's so great about SMETS2 meters and why should you get one? 

 

  • This new smart technology is supported by all energy suppliers and allows you to switch without losing your smart functionality.
  • These smart meters have highest standard of security for your data. The encryption technology was developed with help from GCHQ and follows strict new regulations and codes of practice, regulated by Ofgem.
  • Much like SMETS1 meters, these SMETS2 meters will automatically submit your meter readings to us. This means you energy bills will always be based on your actual usage rather estimates. If you opt for a daily or half-hourly meter reading schedule, you’ll also see your energy balance updated daily by logging in to your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS).
  • You’ll be able to see how much energy different appliances use by using the smart meter usage data shown on your accompanying In-Home Display and OVO Greenlight, our online tool, which can help you manage and reduce your energy use.
  • Installation is always free and easy to arrange online.

 

 

SMETS 2 meter types offered by OVO

 

(Please note that other suppliers may install other types of SMETS 2 meters.)

 

  Aclara (Elec) & Flonidan (Gas) Elster / Honeywell (Elec & Gas)
Installs Installed on all jobs Not currently installed. Installed on some jobs in 2019.
How to identify Meter Serial Number (MSN) begins:
  • Elec: 18M/19M/20M/21M..ect
  • Gas: G4F
 Meter Serial Number (MSN) begins:
  • Elec: 188K/19K
  • Gas: G4K
Appearance
  • Elec has blue A button & orange B button
  • Gas has 3 red buttons (A, B & C)
  • Elec has 2 vertical grey buttons (buttons are not labelled)
  • Gas has 3 round buttons: left arrow, circle and right arrow
Dimensions
  • Elec: 160mm H x 127 mm W x 65 mm D
  • Gas: 262mm H x 235mm W x 167mm D
 Nearly identical size as Aclara & Flonidan.
 
Reading the meter
  • Elec: Press A three times until TOU Rate 1 appears.
  • Gas: Press C to wake up, then C to access the menu. Use B to scroll and C to select the reading option.
  • Elec: Press the top button once or twice
  • Gas: Press the circle button once or twice

 

 

Size of our SMETS2 meters

 

Aclara V2.5/ Elster Electricity Meter

 

 

Height = 16 cm

Width = 13 cm

Depth = 6.5 cm
 

 

Flonidan/Honeywell Gas Meter
 


Height = 26 cm

Width = 23.5 cm

Depth = 17 cm

 

 

What do the meter buttons do? 

 

Elster/Honeywell meters (Elec MSN has a 'K')
 

Electricity - Press the top button once or twice to access the reading

Gas - Press the middle button once or twice to access the reading. 
 

Aclara/Flonidan meters (Elec MSN has an 'M')
 

Electricity - There’s 2 buttons on an electricity meter. Pressing ‘B’ will cycle through all the menus on the meter screen and pressing  ‘A’ will cycle through all the sub menus. To take an electricity reading, press ‘A’ three times - ‘TOU rate 1’ will be the electricity reading. For Economy 7 members, pressing ‘A’ a fourth time will show the second reading labelled ‘TOU rate 2’.

 

To get your export, that’s on the first submenu. So press A repeatedly to toggle through till you see ‘Total active export’. 
 

Gas - Gas meters have ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’. Pressing ‘C’ will give you the menu, the ‘A’ and ‘B’ buttons allow you to scroll through the options. When you wake up the meter it should automatically default to the reading screen. The only other screens which will display useful info are:
Screen 1 - readings, active tariff price, standing charge, export reads, meter mode
Screen 2 - date, time, MPAN, 
Screen 6 - Meter Signal strength 

If the meter is connected to the communications hub, it’ll have the word 'HAN' (Home-Area Network) on it and signal bar to show the signal strength. If there’s Wide-Area Network (WAN) and HAN coverage the WAN and HAN lights will flash every 5 seconds. If they’re searching for signal then they will flash every 3 seconds and if there’s a connectivity issue then they will flash every 1 second or not flash at all.

 

 

How does a S2 meter communicate? 

 

Unlike S1, S2 electricity meters have a communications (comms) hub attached to them. The electricity meter, gas meter and IHD all communicate with the comms hub via HAN. Only the comms hub uses WAN and it communicates with the DCC (Data Communications Company).  The DCC then communicates with our billing platform.
 

Third parties and systems that use the S2 network. Gentrack, Salesforce, ABE, MIS etc are all internal systems OVO uses. 

 

 

North/South differences

 

 
North
(MPANs 15, 16, 17, 18, 23)
 South
(MPANs 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22)
Comms hub appearance
Two lights (WAN and HAN)
Five lights (2nd is WAN and 4th is HAN)
Signal
Uses radio signal - doesn’t depend on mobile signal strength
Uses mobile signal
Aerials
Aerials cannot be installed on North comms hubs which are neither SKU1 or SKU2
 SKU1 hubs are fitted if an engineer thinks an aerial is not required
T1 and T2 aerials can be fitted onto SKU2 hubs. Members will see "SKU2 Cellular + Mesh" on the top-right of SKU2 hubs

 

 

FAQS

 

Will SMETS2 meters work with solar panels? 


OVO S2 meters are compatible with solar panels. S2 meters offered by other suppliers should all eventually work with solar panels but it completely depends on where they are in their manufacturing journey as to when this will be.

Are S2 meters compatible with storage heaters?


Yes - 5 port/terminal SMETS2 meters are now available when booking online.

Is there going to be an S3 meter? 


Not that we are aware of. Any upgrades are being done on S2 as you can upgrade all the firmware over the air.

Can S2 handle 3 phase?


Yes we can install S2 meters for three phase supplies. If you already have a three phase supply, our Support Team can book an exchange for you, making sure that the job is sent to a three phase-trained engineer. 

Will S1 communicate with S2 gas and vice versa or do both need to be the same? For example, if a meter exchange has to happen.

​​​​
As it stands they both need to be the same.

Do we offer Economy 10 for S2? 


We don’t generally offer Economy 10, however Economy 10 is available for S2 for customers with a traditional Economy 10 meter who are switching to a smart meter. Economy 10 is also available to those customers who are having S2 meters installed following the RTS shutdown.

Are we fitting semi-concealed SMETS2 gas meters? 


Yes, the meters are the same but the engineer needs a semi-concealed kit with them to complete the installation, so this needs to be flagged during the booking.

 

 

Hope you’ve found this SMETS 2 guide helpful, there’s more great advice for those considering the smart upgrade in the guides below:

 

https://forum.ovoenergy.com/smart-meters-136/are-there-any-disadvantages-to-getting-a-smart-meter-9543

 

OVO member but not got a smart meter yet? - Book today!

Smart meter stopped communicating with OVO? Our Online Form will get this raised to the right team.

Interested but not yet an OVO member? - Check out our plans!

 

when the first time smart meters were mentioned and that the governement and gas companies were gonna start rolling them out to households how did you feel about them 

An interesting discussion point this one, @Rizzlers5.

 

In case you hadn’t spotted them yet we’ve put together some guides to smart meters below.

 

 

Hope this helps demonstrate how we feel about this new technology. Have you made the upgrade to a smart meter yet?

sku1 cwlluar is not sending and hasn't sent meter readings to ovo, any helping how to sort this out greatly appreciated.

Hey @bammbamm,

 

Welcome to the OVO Online Community,

 

Was the meter installed by OVO? If not, and it’s a first generation meter, it might not be enrolled on the DCC yet. Once it’s been enrolled we’ll be able to communicate with your smart meter remotely.

 

 

If your meter has been enrolled, or is second generation you’ll need to complete a smart meter health check:

 

 

 

In the meantime I'd recommend submitting readings manually so you don’t get estimated bills. We have a live billing system so whenever you submit a meter reading remotely, your account balance will automatically update.  

 

 

Hope this helps. 

Hi. is there an option to re-enable gas supply for smets1 GE paygo meter and what buttons need to press?

Yup, should be pretty simple @Jackey !

Firstly, make sure there’s credit on the meter. Then follow the instructions at https://www.boostpower.co.uk/help/smart-meters/how-do-i-get-back-on-supply-with-a-smets2-meter

Let me know if they don’t work for you

I have tried to re-enable with the customer but still doesn’t work, not sure which button need to press, so I have raised an Engr. appointment.

Try these steps if you need to enter a UTRN

  1. Press any button to wake up the display, then press button ‘C’ to bring up the menu.
  2. Use the ‘B’ button to scroll down to ‘Prepayment’, then press button ‘C’ to select this option.
  3. Scroll down to ‘New Payment’ and press the ‘C’ button to select this option.
  4. Enter your UTRN. Press the ‘A’ button to increase the number on the screen, when you’re ready to move onto the next digit press the ‘B’ button.
  5. Once you’ve entered all the numbers of the UTRN, press the ‘C’ button to confirm and validate your entry.

Then do these

  1. Turn off all Gas appliances.
  2. At the bottom of the display the following messages will flash alternatively ‘Turn off appliances’ and ‘Press button to connect’.
  3. After pressing any button, the meter will check that there is no gas flow.
  4. If there is no gas flow the supply will be restored.
  5. If there is gas flow detected, you must start the process again after checking all gas appliances are off.

Does this work?

If not, please show me what you’re seeing.

Thanks. What if the cust. only used emergency credit to re-enable gas supply does she need to top up to turn it back on?

You MUST have a positive credit balance on the meter that brings the normal balance back above £0 after deductions for debt and EmCr before you can restore supply. EmCr alone is not sufficient, especially because it won’t last long.

Please try topping up more credit before trying to reconnect again. If you do get the supply back on, please cancel the engineer immediately, otherwise you may incur a charge.

When the meter has sufficient balance, you will be offered the option to restore the supply.

Reply


Terms & ConditionsCookie settings