Chameleon In-Home Displays: a complete guide

Chameleon offers sleek, award-winning In-Home Displays (IHDs) for smart meters. These little gadgets let you track your energy use in a way that’s easy to understand. They also give you detailed insights, and can help you stick to a budget that works for you.

Even though the Chameleon 3 and 6 In-Home Displays are really user-friendly, this guide is here to help you make the most of them.  

The Chameleon IHD3 and IHD6 In-Home Displays team up with your smart meter to help you track your energy use. They come with loads of useful features, like: 

• A touch display 
• A modern, user-friendly design 
• A simple traffic light system to help you understand your energy use in real time 
• A signal strength icon, so you can make sure your meter stays connected 
• The option to set budgets 
• A display that lets you switch between electricity, gas, or both  

Will my Chameleon In-Home Display work with OVO? 

Yes! Chameleon IHDs are compatible with all the smart meters we install. To get one, all you need to do is to book your free appointment. We’ll set up your smart meter at a time that suits you, and give you a Chameleon IHD too.

You can still switch suppliers with a smart meter, but your new supplier might use a different In-Home Display. That means you could lose some of the features on yours. So we recommend asking your new supplier if they can support your In-Home Display before you switch.

Getting to know your Chameleon In-Home Display 

Once your smart meter is up and running, the engineer will offer to talk you through your new Chameleon IHD3 or IHD6. But it’s no problem if you’d prefer to have a go yourself. Setting it up should be straightforward, but there are some features you could miss out on. That’s where this guide comes in handy. 

How to read a Chameleon Smart In-Home Display

If you got your Chameleon Smart In-Home Display from us, it’ll either be the IHD3 or IHD6. Although they’re similar, there are a few differences between them. So let’s start with the earlier model: the Chameleon IHD3. 

Using your Chameleon IHD3

First things first, here’s what all of the different buttons do:

• Home – returns you to the home screen. So if you ever get lost in your IHD3, this is the button to press.
• Now – shows you the amount of energy you’re using in real time. 
• Utility or Fuel – lets you switch between gas and electricity, or both. If your Chameleon IHD3 isn’t showing your fuel type, you might be on the wrong screen. 
• Calendar – shows you your daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly energy use.
• Menu or OK – selects whichever option you choose.
• Arrows – these take you through different options or info.

Reading your Chameleon IHD3 

Now, let’s take a closer look at the display. We’ll go from left to right, and end with the symbols that cover most of the screen. 

1. Budget dial – this fills up throughout the day to tell you how much of your budget you’ve used.
2. Signal strength – these bars show you how strong the connection between your IHD and smart meter is. 
3. Fuel view – the different symbols tell you what kind of energy use is being shown. You’ll see a flame for gas, a lightning bolt for electricity, or both together.
4. Budget marker – this is above the fuel view and tells you your maximum spend for the day.
5. Battery – tells you how much charge your IHD has. If it’s running low, just plug it in.
6. Time – you’ll find a handy clock in the top right of the screen. 
7. Cost display – this tells you what your energy use is costing in £ and p. 
8. Control panel – this is where you’ll find all the buttons in the above section.
9. Traffic lights – these can help you stick to your budget at a glance. A green light means you’re on track, amber means you’re getting close, and red means you could go over your budget.

Using your Chameleon IHD6 

The first difference between these two In-Home Displays is that the IHD6 comes with a touch screen, instead of a row of buttons at the bottom. 

You can use the touch screen to switch between different periods of energy use. These include:

• Now
• So far today
• So far this week
• So far this month
• So far this year

To go through the above options, tap “So far today” below the cost display. Then you can scroll through the different time periods until you arrive at the one you want. 

Your IHD6 will show your electricity and gas use in £ or kWh. Which option you choose is up to you, or you can always switch between the two.

Most of the other functions can be found in the menu. Press the square symbol in the bottom right and use the arrow buttons to scroll through the different pages. You can access your account info, history, budget, messages, and more. There’s even a tutorial if you need more help. And when you’re done, just tap the home button to go back. 

Reading your Chameleon IHD6

Here’s what all of the different symbols on your IHD6 mean. Again, we’ll go from left to right. 

1. Signal strength – these bars show you how strong the connection between your IHD and smart meter is. 
2. Home – returns you to the home screen. So if you ever get lost in your IHD3, this is the button to press.
3. Energy use dial – tells you how much energy you’ve used according to your budget. Electricity is the yellow line, and gas is blue.
4. Budget – the purple line on top of the energy use dial lets you see and change your budget. 
5. Fuel type – the different symbols tell you what kind of energy use is being shown. You’ll see a flame for gas, a lightning bolt for electricity, or both together.
6.  Time – you’ll find a handy clock in the top right of the screen.
7. Electricity use – shows how much you’ve spent in £ and p, or used in kWh in the time period selected.
8. Gas use – the same as above, but for gas. 
9. Time period – tells you which time period all the info refers to, whether it’s right now, today, this week, this month, or even for the entire year.
10. Battery – shows you how much charge your IHD has. If it’s running low, just plug it in.
11. Menu – lets you browse and select different functions.

As well as your Chameleon IHD6, you can also use the OVO Energy app to track your energy use and manage your account.

How to pair your Chameleon In-Home Display

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you set up either of these In-Home Displays – it should only take a few minutes. We'll start with the Chameleon IHD3. 

Pairing your Chameleon IHD3

Power up – turn on your IHD3 by holding down the button on the back. Then you’ll be able to connect it to your Wi-Fi so we can get updates, and make sure your IHD is working as it should. 

Connect to Wi-Fi – go to “Settings” and press “OK”. Then scroll through your Wi-Fi options until you find the right one, and select “Join network”.

Choose a connection option – pick whichever option works for you and follow the instructions. If you can’t get onto the Wi-Fi, you can ask for help during installation or contact the OVO support team.

Pairing your Chameleon Smart IHD 6

Power up – turn on your IHD6 by holding down the button on the back. 

Go to settings – click the “Menu” button at the bottom right of your screen. Then use the right arrow to get to “Settings”. 

Select Wi-Fi – the Wi-Fi button should appear in the upper left of the screen. You can then click the “On” button to join. 

Choose a connection option – these include a WPS push button, WPS pin entry, or network name. Pick whichever option works for you and follow the instructions. If you can’t get onto the Wi-Fi, you can ask for help during installation or contact the OVO support team.

How to set a budget in a Chameleon In-Home Display

Setting a budget on your Chameleon IHD3

If you ask us, this is one of the best features the Chameleon In-Home Displays come with. Here’s how to set up a budget in the IHD3.

1. Go to the menu screen and press “OK”.
2. Select “Adjust settings”.
3. Tap the calendar button to choose the time period. 
4. Use the arrow to set your budget amount. Your screen will tell you how much energy you’ve used previously to help you decide.
5. Press “OK” to confirm.

You can set separate budgets for gas and electricity by using the “Utility” button if you’d prefer. Then, once everything’s set up, the budget dial and marker will help you see how closely you’re sticking to your targets.

Setting a budget on your Chameleon IHD6

1. Tap “Budget” – it’s a purple button above your energy use dial. 
2. Choose the fuel type you’d like to set your budget for. The lighting bolt means electricity, and the flame is for gas.
3. Tap the time period at the bottom to choose between day, week, month, or year.
4. Use the plus and minus buttons to increase or decrease your budget.
5. When you’re done, press “Set” then “OK”.

You can switch between your budgets by pressing the lightning bolt or flame symbol, or you can go via the menu. 

See your energy use in real time

If you’ve got a Chameleon IDH3

The “Now” button shows you how much energy you’re using in kilowatts, and how much it’s costing per hour at that exact moment. 

If you want to see your energy use at a glance, take a look at the traffic lights at the bottom of the screen. They give you a good idea of your energy use, and whether you’re on track to meet your budget.  

If you’ve got a Chameleon IDH6

Tap the time period below the cost display, until it says “Usage now”. You’ll then see your energy use in kilowatts, and how much it’s costing per hour.

The IHD6 doesn’t have a traffic light system. Instead, it shows your electricity and gas use as a dial. So it’s easy to see how close you are to your budget – by day, week, month, or year. 

Customising your display

You can customise the display on both the Chameleon 3 and Chameleon 6. Here are some of the ways you can change it.  

• Adjust the screen brightness
• Activate night mode
• Set a budget alert
• Choose between English or Welsh languages, and select your own key tones

The Chameleon IHD3 also lets you switch between gas and electricity on the home screen, but this isn’t possible on the IHD6.