What You Need to Know About Smart Meters

There are nearly 60 million advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) installations – also known as smart meters – in the United States.

While the vast majority of smart meters are installed at homes, there are also about 7 million commercial and industrial installations nationwide.

Given the rapid proliferation of smart meters, here are five things to know about the technology.  

1. Smart meters can help improve service

A traditional electric meter maintains an ongoing record of how much electricity a home or business uses. The meter is read monthly and customers are billed for the electricity they have consumed. 

A smart meter is an electric meter that allows for valuable two-way communication between the meter and utility via a wireless network. It helps utilities quickly identify outages and resolve other services problems, often without a visit to your home or business.

2. They can help ensure grid reliability

Smart meters give energy providers more usage information, which can help them accelerate the restoration process during power outages and offer incentives that help customers curtail their usage during peak demand. Additionally, the smart grid system is generally less susceptible to natural disasters and accidents.

3. They can benefit the environment

With the usage insights and information provided by smart meters, customers can use energy more efficiently, cut their overall consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

4. They’re safe and secure

Smart meters have been tested for both safety and reliability across the country. Studies have shown that smart meters operate at a level much lower than the maximum permissible exposure limits for radio frequency (as defined by the Federal Communications Commission) and far below that of cell phones.

5. They’ll help us prepare for tomorrow

The demand for electricity is rapidly growing and smart meters help ease the integration of cutting-edge technology and clean energy sources, such as solar power and innovative energy management solutions.

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