## 4 Conclusions  
This study provides an in-depth analysis of energy management through the integration of smart meters, highlighting their transformative role in modernizing the energy landscape. The experimental comparison between traditional electromechanical meters and advanced smart meters revealed several critical advantages of the latter. Smart meters demonstrated superior accuracy in real-time energy consumption monitoring, practically identical to renowned modern analyzers, and integration into smart grids. These attributes enhance power system reliability, minimize losses and support dynamic pricing models that encourage off-peak energy use. Additionally, smart meters were shown to significantly reduce operational inefficiencies, including energy theft and manual labor requirements. The EDMI Mk10A, a widely adopted smart meter in Greece, stood out for its precision and practicality, both in real and reactive power monitoring, hence cementing its role as a key factor of the national distribution system. The KesPlus Module by Zennio induces great characteristics; however, it is still more complex and has higher costs compared to the EDMI model. However, this study also identified barriers to widespread implementation, such as high initial costs, the need for infrastructure upgrades and consumer concerns over data privacy and electromagnetic exposure. These issues must be addressed through robust cybersecurity frameworks, transparent communication strategies and public awareness campaigns. To address data privacy, smart meters should use end-to-end encryption, data minimization, and robust authentication protocols like multi-factor authentication and digital certificates, while adhering to regulations such as GDPR or CCPA. Regular security audits and transparency about data collection and usage foster trust, with consumers given options to monitor, manage or opt out of non-essential data collection. For radiation exposure, low-power communication protocols such as Zigbee or LoRa, dynamic power control, and limited transmission frequency through duty cycling can minimize risks. Placement guidelines should ensure that the meters are installed away from high-occupancy areas, with regular EMF testing to confirm compliance with standards such as those from ICNIRP. Consumer education campaigns, third-party safety certifications, and tools for data management build trust, supported by a robust incident response plan for addressing breaches or concerns. Key communication protocols such as IEC 61850, IEEE 2030.5 and MQTT enable theseamless integration of analytics systems within smart grids by ensuring interoperability and real-time information exchange among grid operators, distributed energy resources, and consumers. These protocols support bidirectional communication, allowing utilities to dispatch energy, maintain grid stability and provide real-time feedback on usage and pricing. Combined with advanced data analytics tools and decision-making frameworks, they enhance electricity flow optimization, grid resilience and operational efficiency, ensuring sustainable and reliable energy distribution for modern systems. In conclusion, the adoption of this technology represents a vital step toward achieving energy efficiency and decarbonization targets, as their benefits far outweigh the limitations, underscoring the need for accelerated deployment. Future work should be directed to the development and implementation of an all-rounded set of metrics for performance evaluation of the five meters discussed in this study by using metrics such as mean absolute error or root mean square error. Other investigations will consider the reliability and robustness of the meters, checking failure rates and operational uptime under harsh environmental conditions regarding temperature, moisture and electromagnetic interference. The efficiency of the data transmission or communication capabilities is to be checked mainly about transmission latency, packet loss, and bandwidth utilization at the time of operation.