Daily, monthly or just once a year – how often do you look at your electricity meter? And should you do it more often?
Once a year, network operators ask their customers about their electricity consumption. At least if you have an older model. So-called smart meters can send the annual electricity consumption directly to the network operator. This means that reading the electricity meter would no longer be necessary.
Despite the service, many people do not want to do without regular checks, as a survey shows. What are the reasons and how often do you check your own electricity consumption?
Control or trust?
One in four (26 percent) say they monitor their electricity consumption monthly. Almost one in ten (8 percent) even checks it weekly. Three percent say they look at the electricity meter every day. A quarter (24 percent) look at the meter when asked to do so by the network operator. The rest check their electricity meters either every six months (21 percent) or annually (17 percent). To make control easier, the majority want an app that always shows them the latest data.
But why does almost one in three consumers monitor their own electricity consumption so frequently? Among other things, to keep an eye on your own energy consumption and to be able to act quickly in the event of deviations. If the energy requirement increases significantly, this could indicate a defective or incorrectly set device. Because high electricity consumption is associated with a higher financial burden.
For this reason, “cost savings” comes in first place among those surveyed when it comes to the reason for using energy efficiently. Sustainability and climate protection take second place, and security of supply for society as a whole comes third.
How often should you check the electricity meter?
As a rule, it is sufficient to check the electricity meter reading annually. Exception: If there are two different electricity tariffs (night tariff and high tariff), the meter reading must be read twice a year and reported to the network operator.
About the methodology
The survey was carried out online by the market research institute Statista Q of the online platform Statista on behalf of Eon Energie Deutschland GmbH. The survey period is March 8th to 14th, 2024. A total of 2,000 private individuals between the ages of 18 and 69 took part.
