Smart energy meters investigated

Smart energy meters are being installed by electricity suppliers across the UK.

They are the latest digital devices that allow utility companies and their customers to keep an eye on consumption of electricity and gas.

The Government planned for every home in the UK to have a smart meter installed by the year 2020, although the reluctance of some power companies to install them means we may not see them appearing en masse until around 2013.

However, some utility companies have begun trials and others have said they will start soon.

The first company to issue smart meters was the aptly named First Utility, which has been installing the meters in homes of new customers since September 2008. British Gas has also started sending out what it calls Energysmart meters to customers on certain tariffs.

What is a smart meter?
Smart meters are not to be confused with the home energy monitors that you may have seen (we have reviewed several). Those monitors are known in the industry as indirect metering devices.

They work by having a sensor clamped on to the live supply wire of your home’s electricity to measure the consumption based on the signals coming through the wire.

A transmitter then connects to the sensor to send data wirelessly to a small monitor so the customer can read the energy consumption. These can be useful devices but the data is ‘second-hand’.

This is because the meter cannot measure the power coming directly into the home from the energy company, so the readings from the monitor are only estimates.

A smart meter, however, replaces the conventional gas and electricity meters in the home, which is why it has to be installed by the company. The meter continuously monitors what is going into the home and can also provide notifications for events such as power cuts. It can also check the power quality and calculate the home’s carbon footprint.

Generally, with a smart meter, the energy company will receive an electricity reading from the meter every half an hour and a gas usage reading every day. Each smart meter has a mobile phone Sim card installed, and the readings are sent over the mobile phone network.

Benefits to consumers
We spoke to Bill Wilkins of First Utility, who said smart meters should end the problem of estimated bills, which can be too high. While the main benefit is to the power companies, which can cut costs by using fewer human meter readers, the new devices can also save customers money.

Users can monitor their usage history to see how they have been using electricity and gas and where they can cut back.

Mr Wilkins said: “Our experience is that smart meters make customers more aware of their energy usage. It’s hard to control energy consumption. After all, if you want a cup of tea you are going to boil that kettle. But it can show what we call the background load, which is when electrical and electronic appliances are used at night or when people are at work. For example switching off lights or heating and not leaving equipment such as TVs and computers on standby.”