The Telegraph reported last week that the roll out of smart metering to homes in the UK will no longer be mandatory, that is to say that although the energy suppliers are likely to roll out smart metering regardless the householder has a right to refuse. This right stems from concerns in the US about electromagnetic effects and data security. However, the benefits from smart metering to both householder and energy supplier seem to make it generally a sensible thing to do. The mandated smart meter roll out is due to run from 2014 - 2019 and will see updates to gas and electricity meters, making estimated bills a thing of the past - hopefully. Although all the details are yet to be sorted, including the specification of compliant metering equipment, the key elements of a smart metering system will include:
* automated meter reading of your electricity and/or gas meters
* an "IHD" In home display which will display various data such as instantaneous energy usage and cost
* a local area network to connect the meters and the in home display wirelessly (and potentially connect to other smart energy devices in the future)
* a wide area network to take usage data back to a central point to help manage supply in the gas/electricity network, and to provide usage data to the suppliers so they can bill accurately.
A question often asked is "will these things make a difference to energy usage?" The answer, on 90+ pages is in a report of trials in multiple countries covering some 450000 households over a period of years. If you're keen to dispel the myths, or having trouble getting off to sleep, then this is the document for you. (Warning - approx 3.4MB file size)
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