Electric, Gas & Water savings. Made simple.

How Does Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) Work?

If you’re new to Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) or had one of these devices fitted and wondering how they work. Our short guide will hopefully help you learn a little more about them and how they can benefit your business.

Business energy contract due to renew? Call us on 0800 9777 000 or fill in our energy quote form to see how much you could save…


What is an automatic meter reading system?

An Automatic Meter Reader is a piece of technology that automatically collects consumption, diagnostic and status data from your gas, electricity and water supplies. The data is transferred to a database for billing, troubleshooting and analysis.

What are the benefits of an AMR system?

More accurate billing – AMR meters eliminate the need for manual meter readings which can lead to errors. It allows businesses to be confident of an accurate billing on their energy usage. No more guesstimate bills!

Costs reduced – AMR meters can help businesses reduce their costs by providing greater visibility of their consumption, this allows them to identify areas where they can save energy and money.

Efficiency improved – AMR meters can help businesses improve their energy efficiency by providing real-time data on their consumption. This allows you to identify areas within the business that are wasting energy.

Reduction in waste – Improvements to AMRs have brought a potential reduction in carbon emissions through the data received.

What is the difference between an AMR and a smart meter?

They sound pretty similar, right? They track your energy usage and send it across to your supplier, so what’s the difference between a smart meter and an AMR?

An AMR (Automatic Meter Reading) and a smart meter are very similar as a smart meter is a type of AMR. An AMR only sends data from the customer to the energy supplier whereas a smart meter will send data to both the energy supplier and the business customer.

As smart meters can send information to the user, it allows them to understand the amount of energy they’re using each day. Beneficial if you want to cut costs on your energy bills.

What are the benefits of a smart meter?

No more meter readings – An energy meter reading is normally a last-minute job, often leaving you struggling to find the number and then forgetting the login details of your energy supplier. With a smart meter, you don’t need to do any of this as your readings are sent automatically to your supplier.

Estimated billing is a thing of the past – Now that your meter readings are sent directly to your business energy supplier you won’t be overcharged on your energy bills.

Reduce your energy usage – Your energy usage will be monitored with a smart meter, so you can see where you’re using too much energy and how you can reduce it.

If you’d like to learn more, we have a guide to smart meters.

Looking to compare and switch business gas and electricity?

✔ Our customer support team is one of the best in the industry
✔ Contact Exchange Utility to switch your energy tariff in as little as 5 days
✔ We have years of experience in the comparison of businesses’ gas
✔ We have built a solid reputation for being a reliable, independent and trustworthy comparison company
✔ We can compare gas prices from industry leaders to find you competitive rates
✔ Whenever a business gets in touch with us, we always work hard to get them the right rates for their business
✔ Don’t just take our word for it see what our customers are saying about us on Trustpilot

If you have any other questions, take a look at our business energy guides section. Or contact our expert team of business energy brokers who are also available to answer any of your questions about our business gas and electricity comparison services.

Business energy contract due to renew? Call us on 0800 9777 000 or fill in our energy quote form to see how much you could save…