green barometer 4 - smart meters

8/3/2019 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?


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)


92% 96% 96% 94%Yes


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


21% 20% 14% 39%Not very easy

8% 13% 5% 4%Not easy at all


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)

green barometer 4 - smart meters

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