Power Generation
UK rollout of smart meters should include visual displays, says report
The UK Government should require utilities to provide visual displays when they rollout smart meters to every home in the country, says a report from the Energy Saving Trust.
Visual displays linked to a smart meter provide a real-time, easy to understand format for displaying information about electricity and gas consumption.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, immediate real-time monitoring has been shown to have an effect on consumer behaviour.
“The roll out of smart meters offers a unique chance to improve consumer understanding of energy consumption and encourage more energy efficient behaviour,” says chief executive of the Trust, Philip Sellwood.
Joel Hagan, the chief executive of Onzo, a company that produces energy displays, agrees. He claims that energy displays are associated with an average 12.8% reduction in usage.
The Energy Saving Trust canvassed opinion from focus groups on the optimum design in-house smart meter visual displays.
Top of the list is a graphic representation of real-time electricity and/or gas consumption expressed as a rate of spend in pounds per day, says the report. Those surveyed also want to see their rate of electricity consumption expressed in watts or kilowatts per day.
Other useful information highlighted by the survey includes a cumulative gauge of daily spend and the ability to compare current rates of spend to historical data.
The Energy Saving Trust is urging the Government to require that visual displays are provided to customers as part of the smart meter rollout. Anything less would be a missed opportunity, says the report.
“We believe that in-home displays should have minimum standards in order to ensure they are most effective for consumer use,” says Sellwood.
However, Hagan argues that utility companies should be free to decide how that provide information on energy use to their consumers.
For further information:
www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/
www.onzo.co.uk/
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UK to roll out smart meters to all households by 2020 (30-Oct 2008)
UK Government unveils national smart meter roll out plan (11-May)
UK Government urged to move ahead with smart meter roll out (4-Aug)