Green Barometer 4 - Smart Meters
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Transcript of Green Barometer 4 - Smart Meters
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Measuring environmental attitude March 2008
Issue 4
Clever clocks
- introducingsmart meters
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IntroductionThe recent rises in gas and
electricity prices have nudged
the average household fuel
bill to around 1,040. More
than ever, saving energy is
one of the simplest ways for
people to dramatically reduce
their energy costs.
The Energy Saving Trust is
already providing millions of
people a year with personal,
specific energy saving advice.This is making a difference.
People are now installing
cavity wall insulation, buying
energy efficient products and
generally trying to use energy
more frugally.
However, one of the
fundamental barriers stopping
individuals from saving
energy is that they dont
understand how the energy
they use at home relates to
their gas and electricity bill.
Our research shows that
around a third find their
energy bill not easy to
understand and 82 per cent
dont even know what energy
tariff they are on.
On top of this, you almost need a
manual to understand what the dials
and numbers on your gas and
electricity meters actually mean.
Thats, of course, if you can locate
the meters in the first place, as theyre
often tucked away - out of sight -
under the stairs, or in the garage.
Soon estimated bills willbe a thing of the past - witha smart meter you pay onlyfor the energy you use
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Philip Sellwood,
Chief Executive,
Energy Saving Trust
www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/aboutest/blog
We know from trials conducted in
the 1970s that giving people simple,
easy to understand feedback about
how theyre using energy at home
helps them to lower consumption.And, whilst unfortunately the
technology didnt exist then to
provide feedback of this kind on a
UK-wide basis, fortunately it does
now. To this effect, the UK
Government recently announced it
wanted energy suppliers to make
clip-on displays available to
households free of charge on request.
This device clips onto the cables
coming out of the electricity meter
and gives a near instant reading of
the energy being consumed - at any
given time - via an electronic display.
Whilst clip-on displays would give
people a rough guide to their
electricity usage, the Energy Saving
Trust would like to see the Government
be bolder and offer the support
necessary to enable smart meters to
be rolled out on a UK-wide basis.
What is a smart meter? Well, in
appearance they are similar to
clip-on displays as they have an
electronic display, which details
energy consumption and the
financial and carbon costs. Where
they differ is that they offer two-way
connectivity with the energy supplier
and not only for electricity, but gas
too. This means that the energy cost
displayed would exactly match what
you owed to the energy supplier.
So, consequently there would be no
need for the supplier to send
someone round to read your meter,
or provide you with potentially
inaccurate estimated bills. It also
means you would never need to take
meter readings any more.
The installation of a smart meter
would be carried out by professionals
unlike clip-on displays - which must
be fitted by the homeowner.
The display element of the smart
meter is portable and wireless,
meaning it could be kept in any room
in the house.
Another advantage is that the smart
meter offers the opportunity to track
energy usage over set periods of time
(for example, a day, a week, or a
month), meaning you could easily
identify when consumption was at its
greatest and which appliances were
the major contributors. The upshot of
having this information would be
that it would allow you to know
where the greatest energy saving
opportunities are. Not only that, but
because the energy supplier would
also be able to see this information,
they would be able to offer you
bespoke energy saving solutions too.
And one of the most exciting aspects
of smart meters is that they will
make it viable for those consumers
with microgeneration technologies
in their home to sell back excess
power to the grid.
Smart meter technology is only
marginally more expensive to
implement than clip-on displays.
Based on a UK-wide rollout, the
initial estimates put the installationcost of a smart meter at between
100 - 200.
Ultimately, smart metering has the
potential to change how every
household in the UK views and uses
energy. Smart meters are also
relatively future proof as their
software can be upgraded
something that is not possible withclip-on displays.
Trials across the world have
demonstrated that smart meters can
achieve between a five per cent and
ten per cent reduction in carbon
emissions. If the UK really has
aspirations to be a world leader in
the fight against climate change,
then smart meters have to be part of
the solution. Thats why the Energy
Saving Trust strongly supports the
installation of smart metering in new
dwellings and during major
refurbishments, as well as a
programme for full-scale rollout -
completed within five to ten years.
Ultimately,
smart meteringhas the potential
to changehow every
household in theUK views and usesenergy
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There has been a slight rise in
consumer attitudes towards the
environment from 3.28 to 3.39
since the last Green Barometer
report. Interestingly, Wales has
seen its score drop to 3.09 the
lowest of all the nations whilst
England, Scotland, and Northern
Ireland have seen their attitudinal
scores rise.
The actions taken to help the
environment score has risen
substantially since the last report,
from 1.96 and 3.17. This can be
attributed to the increased number
of boiler installations over the
winter months. Whilst this is an
expected seasonal variation it
highlights the importance for
consumers to check and service
So where are we now?
their boilers before the colder
months arrive. There has also been
an increase in the number of
energy saving light bulb
installations since the last report.
There has beena slight rise inpositive consumer
attitudes towardsthe environment
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3.41
3.54
3.59
3.06
UK attitudes towards doingsomething to help the environment:
Climate change will affect me and my family
If the government wants me to do more to conserve energy, it needs to start
letting me know what I can do
The government isnt doing enough to tackle climate change - so why should I?
I can feel a growing pressure to change the way I live to reduce the impact
of climate change
There is a real link between the energy I use at home and climate change
The UK should do more to lead the world in fighting climate change
I feel so strongly about the environment that Ive stopped buying from the
organisations that I think damage it
Installations of cavity wall insulation Installations of loft insulation
Installations of condensing boilers
The number of people claiming to turn off lights when leaving empty rooms
The average number of energy saving lightbulbs per household
The number of people claiming to turn their TVs off standby
The number of people claiming to consciously walk rather than
take the car for at least one journey in the past week
UK actions taken to help the environment
The attitudinal basket is made up of seven views, on
which people were asked for their level of agreement.
These are:
The behavioural basket is made up of seven measures which people could
take to save energy. These are:
Negative
1
2
3
4
5Positive
3.39
3.17
Negative
1
2
3
4
5Positive
UK attitudes - nation by nation
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What is a Smart Meter?
Smart meters are the next generation of
energy meter. They will display accurate
real-time information about the amount of
gas and electricity you are using at home.
Export excesselectricity generated
by solar PV back to thegrid with smart meterused to measurethe amount
Two-way communicationsbetween the energy supplierand the household.Communication via powerline,radio, mobile/GPRS technologyproviding accurate timely billing
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Frequent data on energy consumption (both gas and electric)
Time of use data
Historical use data
Differential tariffs based on time of use
Greater control over peak demand
Ability for supplier to communicate with consumer
e.g. energy saving messages
Accurate and timely billing
Net metering for microgeneration
Improved security of supply
Ability to switch between credit and pre-payment functions
Smart meters:
the key benefits and opportunities
for the consumer and energy supplier
In-home displayof real timeenergy consumption
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Ontario Hydro One customer display trial
Location Energy saving
Northern Ireland Prepayment meters
Eastern Australia Trial by Country Energy
Sweden Trial (Birka Tecknik og Miljo)
USA Trial (Niagara Mowhawk)
Canada Trial (1992)
Trials aimed to reduce peak demand;full rollout by 2006
Studies on how people perceive
and relate to energy consumption
in the home were carried out as
long ago as the 1970s. They
involved simple experiments that
looked to see whether giving
people an idea of their previous
days energy consumption would
affect how much energy they
used. What these simple tests
revealed is that feeding back to
people how much energy they
were using resulted in them
lowering their consumption.
Further studies showed traditional
billing is inadequate and does not
provide people with sufficient detail
to enable them to make a choice.
A Kempton and Layne 1994 study
remarked -consider groceries in a
Why smart meters?hypothetical store totally without price markings, billed via a monthly
statementHow could grocery shoppers economise under such a billing scheme?(1)
Looking abroad
Despite the market dynamics being different to those in the UK, much can be
learned from the trials and rollout of the technology in other countries.
The table below outlines just some of the smart meter trial results. (2)
86% said thesmart meter wouldencourage them toturn down theirheating
California
7% - 10%
3% - 10%
0% - 25%
20%
3% - 27%
12%
0% - 4%
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Looking at the UK
Our own UK consumer research, carried out in February 2008, shows that
nearly a third (32 per cent) of householders found their energy bill not
very easy or not at all easy to understand, making it the least understood
of all the household utility bills/statements as the table below shows.
When you consider that 82 per cent
of people dont even know what
energy tariff they are on, it means
that currently UK householders
simply do not have the means to
easily understand how using energy
in their home impacts both
financially and environmentally.
Smart meters are the solution to this
problem. The international trials
demonstrate that. And consumers
want them too - with nearly half (46
per cent) saying theyd be interested
in having one installed and of those
interested, 96 per cent would use it
to save energy. Also encouragingly,
given that heating is the major
energy cost in the home, 86 per cent
of people said the smart meter would
encourage them to turn down their
heating thermostat by one degree.
% 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Energy bill 32%
Water bill 19%
Phone bill 16%
Credit card statement 8%
Bank statement 8%
Cable bill 7%
Household utility bill/statements - how hardare they to understand?percentage of people who found them not very easy, or not at all easy to understand
Easiest to understand
Hardest to understand
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Based on the percentage of people who mentioned the benefit
54%
35%
32%
26%
21%
The benefits of smart metering
More accurate billing
No need to have the meter read
Energy supplier can giveaccurate advice by analysing exact usage
Provides ways of visually tracking usage trendse.g. weekly, monthly, or on internet
Helps monitor usage in an area to prevent powercuts in times of exceptional strain on the national grid
bill by five to ten per cent. With theinstallation of a smart meter likely to
be around 100 200 it will be
important for these costs to be fairly
distributed across industry and
households over the lifetime of the
meter. Even taking the conservative
assumption that smart meters would
only help to lower the average
household energy bill by five per cent
this still equates to a saving of 1.2
billion pounds worth of energy and a
reduction in carbon dioxide emissions
by 7.4 million tonnes.
Smart metering wouldenable the user to knowexactly how much theirenergy was costing
of energy and then offer bespokeenergy saving solutions.
Going forward another key benefit
of having a smart meter is that it
will enable people who have
microgeneration technologies in their
home to receive an accurate reading
of the level of energy they are
exporting back to the grid.
The Energy Saving Trust estimates
that the mandatory roll out of smart
meters across the UK would help
each household to lower their energy
This table shows that people view the
main benefits of the smart meter as
more accurate billing, and being able
to know at any point what their
energy use, carbon emissions and
current spend is. Likewise, people
clearly identified with the fact that
having a smart meter meant the
irritation of waiting for someone to
come round and read the meter
would become a thing of the past.
But what this table also tellingly
reveals is that people are keen to
understand their energy consumption
and want accurate advice on how to
reduce usage. The Energy Saving
Trust already offers householders
energy saving advice based on a
number of personalised factors, such
as house type, number of rooms,
household appliances and total
expenditure on energy. However,
what no-one has done before is
provide advice based on patterns of
energy consumption. Having a smart
meter will make this possible. It is
exciting to think that an energy
supplier could analyse on which days,
and at which times a household was
consuming the greatest amounts
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A closer look at thesmart meter consumer survey - nation by nation
Scotland England Wales N Ireland
50% 47% 45% 20%Quite or very interested
How interested would you be
in having a smart meter installed in your home?
Would you use the smart meter to help reduce your energy use?[Base: Of those who were 'quite' or 'very interested' in having a smart meter]
Which of these would you try doing?[Base: All those who said they'd use the smart meter to save energy]
Which, if any, of of these subsequent smart meter benefits appeal to you?
How easy do you find it to understand your energy bill in
relation to the link between usage and the amount charged?
Do you know which energy tariff you are on or how much you pay per unit?
Scotland England Wales N Ireland
25% 38% 21% 12%No need to read the meter/have someone callto read the meter for the purposes of your energy bill
49% 56% 43% 26%Get accurate bills by paying for actual usageand not estimated usage
35% 33% 21% 19%Energy supplier can give accurate adviceby analysing exact usage
28% 27% 13% 11%Provides ways of visually tracking usage trendse.g. weekly, monthly
17% 22% 11% 27%
Can help manage usage in an area to prevent power cuts in times
of exceptional strain on national grid (e.g. by sending out textmessages advising when best to use appliances in the next day)
Scotland England Wales N Ireland
92% 96% 96% 94%Yes
Scotland England Wales N Ireland
67% 76% 88% 75%Turning television off standby
72% 74% 79% 75%Turning computers/printers off at the mains plug
94% 85% 92% 81%Turning heating thermostat down by 1 degree
79% 81% 83% 75%Turning lights off when not used in rooms
Scotland England Wales N Ireland
21% 20% 14% 39%Not very easy
8% 13% 5% 4%Not easy at all
Scotland England Wales N Ireland
13% 19% 16% 7%Yes
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Energy Saving Trust, 21 Dartmouth Street, London SW1H 9BP Tel 020 7222 0101 www.energysavingtrust.org.uk
CO135d Energy Saving Trust March 2008. E&OE.
Printed on 9 Lives 55 Silk which contains 55% recycled fibre.
Methodology
1,219 households were interviewed
during February 2008. Interviews
were in the home and conducted
face to face. The sample is
representative of the UK population.
The survey is a quarterly national
tracker of behaviour and opinion run
by the Energy Saving Trust.
References
1. The effectiveness of feedback on
energy consumption: A review for
Defra of the literature on metering,
billing and direct displays - Sarah
Darby (2006), Environmental Change
Institute, University of Oxford
2. The consumer's energy analysis
environment - Kempton W and
Layne LL (1994)