Privacy Policy
How Smartermeter.ie collects, uses, and protects your data.
Last updated: July 2026
Data Controller
Smartermeter.ie is the data controller for personal data processed through this site. The supervisory authority for data protection in Ireland is the Data Protection Commission.
What We Collect
- Account data — your email address and a securely hashed password.
- ESB Networks connection credentials — the ESB Networks email and password you give us, only if you use the optional feature to connect your ESB Networks account. We store them encrypted and use them to sign in to ESB Networks on your behalf and download your smart meter data — including automatically from time to time, so your usage stays up to date — until you disconnect the account or delete your SmarterMeter account. Providing them is entirely voluntary; you can instead compare by uploading your data yourself.
- Electricity usage data — the usage files you upload, or that we download for you through the connection above, used solely to calculate your comparison results.
- Profile settings — location type, solar panels, and export estimate. Used to improve comparison accuracy.
- Switch request data — name, MPRN, phone, address, and Eircode. Collected only if you choose to request a switch, and shared exclusively with the supplier you select.
- Quote request data — name, contact details, address, and Eircode, plus any information you provide about your home and requirements. Collected only if you ask us to arrange a quote from a third-party product or service supplier, and shared exclusively with the supplier you choose.
- Anonymous meter readings — if your meter sends power back to the grid (usually from solar panels, sometimes a home battery) and you answer one of our prompts about it, we keep an anonymous copy of your half-hourly usage and export readings, along with what you told us about your setup — such as whether you have solar, a home battery, or an EV. This lets us keep improving how well we recognise solar panels, batteries, and EV charging automatically. The copy has nothing attached that identifies you — no name, email, address, or meter number — just a scrambled code so we can remove it if you ever close your account.
Legal Bases
We process your account data, usage files, and profile settings because they are necessary to provide the comparison service (GDPR Article 6(1)(b) — contractual necessity). Switch request data and quote request data are processed only on the basis of your explicit consent at the point of submission, which you may withdraw at any time before the request is actioned.
If you choose to connect your ESB Networks account, we process the credentials you provide — and use them to sign in to ESB Networks on your behalf and download your data — on the basis of your consent, given when you set up the connection (GDPR Article 6(1)(a)). You can withdraw that consent at any time by disconnecting the account or deleting your SmarterMeter account, after which we stop accessing ESB Networks and delete the stored credentials.
The anonymous meter readings described above are kept pursuant to our legitimate interest in making the service more accurate (GDPR Article 6(1)(f)). They are stored on their own, with nothing attached that identifies you.
Email Communications
We use your email address to send you messages that are part of the service. These include:
- Account messages — password resets you request, security alerts, confirmation of changes to your account, and notices when these Terms or this Policy change materially.
- Service messages — when an automatic comparison run completes for you, when your uploaded data has finished processing, when we need to flag a problem with your ESB connection, or the status of any switch or quote request you submit.
The legal basis is GDPR Article 6(1)(b) (necessary to perform the service you signed up for) and, where applicable, Article 6(1)(f) (our legitimate interest in keeping you informed about your own account).
Every email we send includes a one-click way to stop similar messages. You can also manage your email preferences from your profile page, or email team@smartermeter.ie to opt out of everything except critical security and legal notices.
Retention
- Account & usage data: kept for the lifetime of your account and deleted within 30 days of an account deletion request.
- ESB Networks connection credentials: kept only while your account is connected — deleted immediately when you disconnect, on request, or when your account is deleted.
- Switch request data: kept for 12 months from submission, or until actioned.
- Quote request data: kept for 12 months from submission, or until the quote request is actioned.
- Anonymous meter readings: kept to help us recognise solar panels, batteries, and EV charging more accurately. Nothing that identifies you is stored with them, but if you delete your account we remove them too.
Security
Passwords are securely hashed — we cannot read your actual password. Any ESB Networks credentials you provide are encrypted before storage, and are used only to sign in to ESB Networks to retrieve your data. All data is transmitted over HTTPS.
Your Rights
Under GDPR you have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict, or export your personal data, and to object to processing or withdraw consent. You can delete your account at any time from your account page. For any other request, email team@smartermeter.ie — we respond within 30 days.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Irish Data Protection Commission.
Contact
Privacy enquiries: team@smartermeter.ie
Data Protection Commission: 21 Fitzwilliam Square South, Dublin 2 · dataprotection.ie
Questions about your privacy?
Email team@smartermeter.ie