You may have heard of Smart Meters and be wondering what these are and what they offer consumers. Smart Meters are basically the next generation of gas and electricity meters which offer real time usage data rather than relying on meter readings or estimated readings.
The UK Government announced in May 2009 their plans to make Smart Meters compulsory for all homes by the end of 2020 and consulted on how this will be carried out during the rest of 2009. Details of the consultation can be found on the DECC website. At the end of 2011 the government published its updated delivery plan
for the implementation of smart meters. Visit the DECC website for more information. Smart Meters are designed to enable householders (or businesses) and suppliers to monitor usage, billing accordingly and, hopefully, using the information to think about ways to reduce usage. This should not only save consumers money but also energy and therefore carbon dioxide emissions.
A further advantage of Smart Meters is that they will make it easier to sell Renewable Energy back to suppliers, an added bonus when producing your own solar, wind or other form of renewable energy.
Some gas and electricity suppliers already offer their customers Smart Meters, but if they are not available from your supplier, consumers can also monitor their own usage by using one of a number of products readily available. Check out our reviews of some of these at the following links – Eco-Eye Elite, Efergy, Wattson.
Source: www.decc.gov.uk 2012
