Smart electricity meter for your home - Fritz!Smart Energy 250 review

All in all, the FRITZ!Smart Energy 250 is a well-designed product that is very much in tune with the times. Energy efficiency, cost savings and sustainability are topics that could hardly be more relevant. With this sensor, Fritz provides a solution that fits seamlessly into its own ecosystem and can offer real added value.

The sensor costs around EUR 89, which is in line with other smart home components from Fritz. Unlike simple plug adapters, it allows you to monitor your energy consumption and can therefore help to reduce costs in the long term. Integration into the established Fritz! ecosystem is a major advantage, as no additional cloud or third-party app is required. The data remains stored locally, which is also impressive in terms of data protection.

The range of the DECT signal can be a challenge in some buildings, especially if the electricity meter is located in the basement and the Fritz!Box is several floors away. Repeaters help, but they come at an additional cost.

In everyday life, the usefulness of the sensor grows over time. Initially, the focus is on collecting your own consumption data, which later leads to concrete options for action. For example, if it is detected that standby consumption is higher than expected, devices can be completely switched off via smart sockets. If it becomes clear that the PV system is supplying surplus energy at midday, consumers can be started automatically. This makes the Smart Energy 250 the link between pure measurement and active control – and that is precisely where its added value lies.

The Fritz!Smart Energy 250 can be purchased directly from Fritz, but is also available from Amazon, among other retailers.

The Fritz!Smart Energy 250 from Fritz (formerly AVM) is a relatively new product in the ever-growing portfolio of the Berlin-based network specialist. Unlike the well-known smart home sockets, which can be integrated into the home Fritz! system via DECT-ULE and measure or control the energy consumption of individual devices, the Smart Energy 250 is located in a more central location: it is attached directly to the digital household electricity meter and records the total electricity consumption of the household. Fritz is thus tapping into an area that is becoming increasingly relevant in times of rising energy costs, photovoltaic systems, heat pumps and e-mobility.

The compact design is immediately apparent when unpacking the device. Measuring approximately 34 x 77 x 36 millimetres, the current sensor is surprisingly small and lightweight. It is attached magnetically, which makes installation extremely easy.

Once placed on the LED of the meter's information interface, it remains stable and only needs to be aligned correctly. This works both horizontally and vertically, so it can be combined with most common digital meters. However, this requires that the meter's infrared interface has been activated by the network operator.

Before purchasing, please consult Fritz's incompatibility list.

The Smart Energy 250 transmits the recorded data directly to the Fritz!Box via DECT-ULE. It is compatible with all current models that support smart home functions, provided that at least Fritz!OS 8.0 is installed. If you are using an older model or need to send the signal through thick walls and several floors, you can use a DECT repeater or the Fritz!Smart Gateway. In our test, the sensor could be integrated without any significant delay. After a few minutes, it was visible in the Fritz!Box user interface, and the first measurements appeared in the smart home app and browser interface.

In practical use, the reliability was impressive. After installation, the measurements ran stably and the visualisations in the app were clearly presented. Especially for users who previously had no direct access to their household consumption data, this opens up a whole new awareness of energy flow.

The support section mentioned that some users were experiencing connection interruptions. This was also the case for us at first. It is important to update the Fritz!Smart Energy 250 to the latest version first. To do this, the device should be located in close proximity to the router, and patience is required. After a night next to the Fritz!Box, the update was installed and the connection interruptions were a thing of the past.

The sensor can be powered either by two standard AA batteries or via a USB-C cable. The latter is used exclusively for power supply; data cannot be transferred via cable. This is practical because it allows for flexibility depending on the application scenario: if there is no power outlet near the meter, battery operation can be used; otherwise, the sensor can be permanently powered via USB-C. Fritz specifies a battery life of several months, depending on how often data is transferred and how stable the connection to the Fritz!Box is.

The real strength of the device lies in its data analysis capabilities. While many smart meter solutions require external portals or additional apps, the Smart Energy 250 integrates fully into the Fritz! world. The Fritz!Box allows you to view consumption and feed-in data on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. However, feed-in data is only available if your Fritz!Box is already equipped with version 8.20 or newer, which is not yet the case with our Fritz!Box 5690 Pro (version 8.03).

If you use MyFritz!Net, you can also access your data while on the move or store it over longer periods of time. It becomes particularly exciting when combined with the automation functions. For example, you can create routines that switch on a smart socket as soon as a certain feed-in power from the PV system is reached. In this way, surplus solar power can be used in a targeted manner.

The Smart Energy 250 is particularly interesting when used in conjunction with modern energy scenarios. Anyone who operates a photovoltaic system wants to know how high their self-consumption rate is and when it is best to switch on certain consumers. Those who own a heat pump or an electric car are also interested in better timing their energy consumption. This is where the electricity measurement sensor comes into its own. Routines in the Fritz!Box can be used to set up intelligent processes that optimise energy flow. The result is a small, local energy manager that does not require any complicated additional hardware.

The Fritz!Smart Energy 250 offers simple installation, clear consumption data and useful automation features – ideal for anyone who wants to manage their energy consumption more intelligently.