Smart electricity meters are an important prerequisite for the energy transition to move forward. But the rollout of these so-called smart meters is stalling. A new law to restart the digitization of the energy transition, for which the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK) presented a draft bill in December 2022, is now expected to bring about a breakthrough. The IÖW has investigated the ecological impact of the extensive expansion and operation of smart meters.
In the future, smart meters will help to optimally adjust electricity consumption in households to the fluctuating supply of wind and solar energy. They will also make it easier to save electricity. However, the meters themselves consume electricity, mainly for data collection, processing and transfer, and the production of the hardware is associated with negative environmental impacts. At the same time, an analysis of consumption data from 1,600 households shows that the installation of a smart meter has not yet led to any significant electricity savings. Accordingly, the relevant negative environmental effects of the rollout cannot yet be compensated for by savings. However, to keep these as low as possible, a well thought-out rollout is needed in which maximum savings are achieved through efficient installation, and a data-saving strategy is needed in which the negative effects of the devices are kept to a minimum.
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