Smart meters ‘leave householders feeling frustated’
The Government’s £11bn plans to have energy smart meters installed in every home by 2020 to reduce consumption may not have much effect, as people tend to ignore them after a while. That’s according to new research presented to the international conference in London of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). The theory is that by showing information on in-home displays, smart meters allow households to reduce their bills by seeing how much electricity and gas they are using.
But the results of a 12-month study by Dr. Tom Hargreaves, of the School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, in homes where monitors displaying electricity use have already been installed, has shown that the effects quickly wear off after an initial burst of energy saving when the monitors are brand new.
In some homes, their use was abandoned; in others there were rows over energy consumption between parents and teenagers or between partners.
Dr. Hargreaves said: “Rather than feeling motivated to save more energy and money householders were left feeling frustrated and despondent that the changes they could make were very small and they were receiving little or no meaningful support from anywhere else, such as government and local authorities. However, the roll-out of smart meters isn't solely about reducing energy consumption. It's also about developing a so-called 'smart grid' that can support higher levels of low-carbon generating capacity (such as intermittent renewables and micro-generation and so on) and other cost savings to consumers from the ease of switching between suppliers, greater billing accuracy, and the reduced need for an army of meter readers.”
In December 2009 the United Kingdom's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) announced its intention to have smart meters for gas and electricity in all homes in Great Britain by 2020.
Contact Details and Archive...
Related Articles...