Smart Meters
The government aims to have smart meters installed in every one of the 27 million businesses and homes in the UK by 2020, in order to try and reduce the country’s carbon emissions levels. Energy companies are required to begin replacing current gas and electricity meters between 2015 and 2019, although many companies have already begun to do so. This installation should be done free, with no upfront cost or one off charge. If your household or business would like to have a smart meter installed sooner and your current energy provider is unwilling to do so the DECC provides some links to providers that may do installations earlier than the required start date [1].
Many households rely on estimated bills to see their energy usage, which often makes it difficult to know what appliances and tasks are costing the most. Smart meters provide accurate and real time information, by measuring not only a household or business’ total energy usage, but also by breaking this total down to show when the energy has been used and the cost. Users will also be able to compare current and previous energy by using an in-home display unit.
Some benefits of having a smart meter are:
- getting an accurate measure of your energy use without having to wait for a meter reading as energy data can be access remotely by your energy provider
- seeing the actual cost of your energy use
- seeing which appliances are costing you the most to use
- being able to better budget usage with improved energy use visibility
Energy monitors work in a similar way to smart meters, but on a much smaller scale. Rather than letting you see your total energy usage, an energy monitor allows you to see how much energy a particular appliance uses, which in turn allows you to cut down usage of high costing appliances, or replace these with more energy efficient items. By allowing users to see the different costs of certain items, energy monitors have been shown to help reduce bills by between 5% and 20% [2]. By entering your own tariff into the monitor you are able to get the most accurate readings and costs. Energy monitors do not themselves reduce energy bills, but allow the user to make lifestyle changes based on which appliances have high power usage or are unnecessarily wasting energy.
Some energy suppliers provide free monitors when you sign up for a certain tariff, but you can also purchase devices yourself for increasing lower prices. Most electronics stores will stock monitors, and great deals can be found online. Many comparison websites, such as Which? [3], also provide a wide range of options to chose from, depending on your budget and needs.
It may also be worth considering if you are using the most environmentally friendly energy provider in your area. An easy way to compare providers and tariffs is through Energy Saving Warehouse’s tool
References
[1] Department of Energy and Climate Change. Smart meters: a guide. 2013. https://www.gov.uk/smart-meters-how-they-work
[2] Towards Zero Carbon Bute. Energy Monitors. 2013. http://www.tzcb.org.uk/?page_id=353
[3] Which?. Energy Monitor Reviews. 2013. http://www.which.co.uk/energy/creating-an-energy-saving-home/reviews/energy-monitors/
