Measuring energy use

Knowledge is power

Clever meters could cut energy consumption—and prices

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Readers' comments



Actually Smart Metering is starting to be old news. The adoption of mass market distributed generation (whether solar or car batteries) combined with whiteware demand management technologies have the potential to be disruptive of 'old' electricity competitive markets ... shifting load management to intermediatories who control the many different devices through the internet. This outcome will probably happen before smart meters are rolled out - making them irrelevant.


Meters are nice but to get off fossil fuels, either nuclear or industrialize the whole of the UK countryside with windmills.


The reduction in energy use shown in the BERR figures (only up to 2007) claims a startling reduction 2004 to 2007; far greater than any price rises (big rises were in 2008).
How are these figures collected? BERR figures look to have a large sampling errors (e.g. 1996 consumption).

Canadian Engineer

This may be very good news. We have seen a number of areas install smart meters - on electricity only... The bad news about that is that much of the savings in electricity use end up appearing on the gas meter - because the heat needs to be replaced for much of they year.. One Canadian utility recently released a paper showing that compact fluorescent lights save only about 7% when total energy was considered in their area (air conditioning use is limited..) They suggested that if one used these lights where propane or oil were used for heat, total costs might actually increase. They conveniently said nothing about natural gas - where costs would not increase - but emissions would indeed go up.

If the UK is demanding meters that read both gas and electricity on a time of use basis - and they show total live total energy use for the customers - as well, perhaps, as emissions, then I would suggest that there could be real progress.

Unfortunately, it seems that gas meters that do the job are much more costly than the electric meters - so we have seen relatively little use of this technology... If this change does nothing but result in good quality interval meters for natural gas, that alone will at least be a big step forward.


I'm pleased that this is being introduced, but I suspect that there is more to this than meets the eye. We are approaching (1) peak oil and (2) a UK "energy gap".

Through these metres it will be possible, if necessary, to (1) ration gas and electricty (2) introduce multiple charging bands i.e. the more energy you use the higher the charging band (3) introduce off-peak energy to help operation of the energy grid.

Sorry folks, it is going to be necessary.


Read the register for the skinny on how this is just a way for power companies to generate more money from the consumer.


What do the generatiing companies get:
1. Big reduction in costs (meter reading)
2. The ability to remotely cut off electricity.
3. The ability to charge more during peak periods

What does the customer get?
The ability to monitor usage- Huh I can do that already.

Does anyone remember the 1980s - how deregulation was going to make power cheaper and more efficient? Does anyone remember how obscenely rich the power companies became?


Adding smart-meters to all UK power users is an excellent plan that will help to move us towards a more sustainable energy internet/smart grid. However, the rollout needs to happen over 2 to 3 years, not eleven.
Godo, author, "The Carbon Charter"



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