David Cameron launched plans to create a low carbon economy in a live webcast.
The policies outlined in the live webcast include:
- An electricity internet – to add computing intelligence to electricity networks by introducing a smart grid and the use of smart meters in homes. This will allow demand and supply to be intelligently managed, and pave the way for large-scale use of renewable energy sources.
- A system of feed-in tariffs – to create a decentralised energy revolution by paying people who produce energy from renewable resources
- A new national recharging network – this will enable Britain to lead the world in replacing traditional cars with electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles
- New low carbon energy sources – to enable biogas, methane produced from farm and food wastes, to replace up to 50% of our residential gas heating
- Low carbon buildings, transport and commerce – including a new entitlement for every home to be fitted with up to £6,500 of energy efficient improvements
The Energy Retail Association in the UK have launched a Smart Metering Projects Map which pinpoints smart metering projects across Europe and the rest of the World on a Google Map.
With climate change powering the green agenda, utilities are faced with increasing regulation to reduce energy consumption. Developing new services can help to make up some of the lost revenues. But to succeed, utilities need to be able to control the grid more intelligently and help customers manage their personal consumption. Logica have led the way with award-winning smart metering projects. Take a look at their Smart Metering for Dummies eBook.
Climate change secretary Ed Miliband met with energy companies to discuss how a £7bn national smart meter roll out can be achieved between 2010 and 2020.
The UK’s biggest energy firms – Npower, EDF, British Gas, Scottish & Southern Energy, Scottish Power and E.ON – have agreed with the government that each will be responsible for providing smart meters that allow them to more accurately measure a home’s energy use to their customers.
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It is that same remote control ability that the smart meter promises to bring to everyone. “They talk with appliances with compatible communications inside …
There are many problems associated with reading metered utility consumption data, particularly for domestic users. Generally, meters are situated within domestic properties and access has to be gained in order to take readings. This is not always convenient and can cause a nuisance. To mitigate the problem new smart meters which have the ability to transmit data to the human reader are being introduced and installed in newer properties. However, the older style electro-mechanical gauge meters deployed in millions of UK properties will continue to operate for many years to come.
The current method of manual meter data collection is inefficient and expensive. The labour costs involved in visiting over 50 million domestic utility meters in Great Britain alone is compounded by the environmental impact of delivering the meter readers to and from each customer site. The Meterfax system utilises modern information and communications technology to extract utility usage information from existing, in-situ meters and by presenting facsimile images of meter displays to centrally located readers, eliminates the requirement for readers to visit each meter.
Some states already have incentives in place that encourage utilities to deploy smart meters and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). …
