Smart Meters Help Reduce Heating and Utility Bills

According to new figures by the government, every home in the UK will have a smart meter installed by 2020. The suppliers use the meters to record customer's gas and electricity use, and together with display device, they let consumers see how much energy they are using. This is beneficial in the sense that it eliminates the need for customers to stay at home for meter readings. Or even to receive over-estimated bills.

With the economic climate on a downturn, the experts on energy and climate change are pointing out that the meters we currently have in our homes are not suitable any more. It is more important than ever before for us to be more careful with our expenditure.

The government's proposals for the smart meter

A smart meter enables consumers to monitor their own energy use at their personal discretion, and to make reductions in energy consumptions and carbon emissions. It has been claimed that this a huge project, one that is affecting millions of homes and businesses.

The government has set out some proposals as a way of rolling out the smart meters across the UK. The first one allows the energy suppliers to take all the responsibilities, which include the supply and installation, and the data management.

A second idea is that the energy suppliers take on the responsibility for the maintenance and installation of the meters. However, have a third part handle the energy data. This particular option is the government's favourite proposal.

Has there been a missed opportunity?

Although quite a few of the leading manufacturers of high efficiency boilers are happy with the government's proposals, they do believe that the delay in enforcing them has resulted in a missed opportunity for consumers to upgrade their heating systems. The latest figures show that there are around 17 million standard boilers that are still being used across the country.

Some have claimed that making a device available for homeowners that allows them to monitor their energy usage can only be good, however delaying it will only result in a missed opportunity. There are environmental issues to consider, and using a standard efficiency boiler is environmentally unfriendly.

The smart meters are beneficial in allowing suppliers to record customer's gas and electricity usage, and letting consumers know how much energy they are consuming on a daily basis. It has been estimated that around 26 million electricity and and 22 million gas meters will need to be fitted at a cost of 7 billion.

Whatever its benefits, one thing is clear for many experts. They believe that with smart meters in every home, it will revolutionise the way households consume energy.

Some important features

• Estimated bills will be a thing of the past, as the information will be sent straight to the energy supplier
• The displays are presented in a way that is easily read and understood by people
• People will be able to monitor their energy use at their own discretion

---

This page has been written with contributions from experienced heating engineers from Oxfordshire and Gas Safe engineers from High Wycombe. Several of the company's plumbers from Surrey have worked on similar issues as well as some of our heating engineers from Romford and our Epsom qualified plumbers.

Article Archive
RSS Feed :