Is your smart meter really that smart?

All across the UK homes are being fitted with smart meters that claim to make energy use more visible, but the question has been raised as to whether this will actually reduce energy consumption. With three quarters of the British public in favour of smart meters and the sharing of energy use data, the hopes are high and the government plans to have the smart technology installed in every home and business before the closing of the decade. But will homeowners actually pay attention to their metres and monitor more efficient appliances in their home or use as much as they always have to meet their needs? Lets take a look:

What is a smart meter?

Smart meters help people to understand and quantify their energy use. The give real-time accurate results about energy use instead of estimations like traditional meters. Homeowners can either request a report from the energy company who supplies the energy for their home or they can install a display at home. Homeowners will be able to compare their energy use on a month-to-month basis as well as look at past consumption.

Why they will be helpful

For the most part, homeowners hugely underestimate the energy use of appliances in the home such as the energy that a dishwasher uses, or a washing machine. Smart meters will help homeowners to understand how much energy they are actually using. Research does support the idea that homeowners are more conscientious of energy use when they know which appliance use what.

Is the smart meter the answer?

There is concern that smart meters may not be the answer in capturing the attention of homeowners and that the cost of installing the meters may be a waste. Competition has suggested that weblinks or a smartphone app would not only be cheaper but a better way of reaching the community of homeowners. Others have argued that these alternatives, however, are more likely to distract homeowners and are better as complimentary services.

Basic Human Behaviour

When it comes to changing people and their habits, steps need to be small and powerful but easy to do. People generally enjoy helping the environment. It gives them a feeling of achievement; makes them feel like they are doing their part. People also like to ‘one up’ one another, to be the first house on the street to use energy efficient technology and so on. This competitive behaviour is exactly what the energy saving industry needs to take over in neighbourhoods across the country.

How the smart meter can use human behaviour to an advantage

The smart meter provides data on consumer usage in the home. This data can be used to compare households with other households on the street, a program that Opower has adopted in the USA. The peer pressure involved in this type of scheme could drive people to change their habits purely based on a desire for social approval. A similar device available in the UK is the Compare my Energy tool that compares consumer usage with similar households in the country, not on the same road.

Individual Privacy

The manipulation of human behaviour as described above could arguably be an abusive use of the data provided by smart meters and potentially a reason why the meters won’t be effective. There are also concerns that hackers and immoral energy companies could abuse the data and cut off the supply of energy to homes. By being so exposed, the country makes itself susceptible to threat; for example, the entire nation’s grid could be hacked cutting the supply of energy off from homes all over the UK.

So are they the right choice? Many are hoping that the market will respond with a less imposing solution to this issue. Obviously promoting energy efficiency in the home is very important but with any scheme there is an element of trial and error before the final product is produced. The smart meter readings are the first in a long line (let’s hope) of energy efficient monitors that will help people to use less energy in their homes.