Smart meters need live displays to help households save money

Smart meters must come with clear visual guides in order to help households save up to £130 per year, according to Government watchdog the Energy Saving Trust (EST).

By Louise Gray, Environment CorrespondentPublished: 2:24PM BST 05 Oct 2009

The 'intelligent' electricity and gas readers will be fitted like normal meters in all homes by 2020 as part of efforts to cut household emissions. Smart meters use mobile phone technology to tell electricity companies how much power is being used so it is no longer necessary to take meter readings.
However a study from the EST said the new technology will not help people save money unless they come with visual monitors. The stand-alone devices give an idea of how much energy is being used at any one time, for example it would indicate if a light has been left on.

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The study also found that households would like to see how much money they are spending and how much CO2 is being produced on the movable monitors.
The Government announced the plan to make energy companies install smart meters earlier this year.
As well as helping energy companies to be more efficient by giving a better idea of real time demand, the new meters will also mean an end to estimated bills and having to wait at home for readings.
However the plans do not necessarily require energy companies to provide separate energy monitors when they install the new meters.
Already consumer groups and the Local Government Association have called for the movable visual monitors to be included in the package after research showed that households could save up to £130 per annum on their fuel bill because people are more aware of how much electricity they are using.
Now the Government's own agency to help the country cut energy, the Energy Saving Trust, has added pressure.
Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive of the EST, urged the Government to insist smart metres comes with a visual aid.
“The roll out of smart meters offers a unique chance to improve consumer understanding of energy consumption and encourage more energy efficient behaviour, and our research has shown the importance of displays in making consumers more conscious of their day to day energy consumption," he said.
“Furthermore, we believe that in-home displays should have minimum standards in order to ensure they are most effective for consumer use. We urge the Government to stand by its preferred position of requiring smart meters to be accompanied by visual displays.”
The Government is expected to publish its response to a consultation on the roll-out of smart metres later this year.