In May 2009 the government announced that every home in Britain will be fitted with energy smart meters by the end of the next decade, allowing suppliers to read meters remotely and also enabling consumers to check how much energy they are using.

It is anticipated that this task will take more than ten years to implement as there are an estimated 22 million gas meters and 26 million electricity meters in the UK; quite a logistic exercise that is expected to cost a total of £7billion.

As well as making it easier for power suppliers to bill their customers, the major benefit for consumers is to allow them to accurately check how much energy they are consuming and therefore take action to reduce it. Indeed, the government’s main impetus for introducing this legislation is to cut total UK home energy costs by £100million per year, equating to around a 2 – 3% saving per year or around a £25 - £35 saving per household, per annum.

Smart meters are a vastly improved version of the current meters, incorporating new technology that enables readings to be taken remotely by the energy supplier. It will mean that readings will no longer have to be estimated, provided by the customer or taken by an army of meter readers. More importantly it will allow consumers to also be able to exactly monitor their energy usage and allow them to make changes to their electricity and gas consumption.

By allowing the display of accurate data on the amount of gas and electricity used during specific time periods and being able to compare to other periods consumers will be able to make informed choices about how they use energy. They will be able to compare daily, weekly or even annual consumption and won’t have to go under the cupboard or outside, where existing meters are situated, to get that information. The data will be provided by a choice of delivery mechanisms such as through a handheld device, by computer via or the internet or even by mobile phone.

It is proposed that one generic smart meter will be used, regardless of supplier and whether consumers are prepayment or credit customers, for both electricity and gas supplies. The meters will also be able to measure any energy generated by the household via solar panels or wind turbines to be sold back to their energy provider.

It will all be a million miles from the outmoded 1970s technology utilised in current meters enabling all consumers to be able to focus on their household energy consumption and more importantly reduce their overall carbon footprint.

Jonathan Wallace writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.