Go Zero

Real-time electricity monitors will soon be made available free, on demand, to every household in , according to government ministers.  The joint announcement by environment secretary David Miliband and trade secretary Alistair Darling was issued by the Labour Party and the plan is expected to emerge in more detail in the government’s forthcoming Energy White Paper.

The cost of the new initiative will fall to electricity suppliers, who will be required to make the displays available to any customer that asks for one.  All new and replacement  household electricity meters will also have to come with a visual display showing how much electricity is being used and at what cost.

 Labour has estimated that its plan should be saving around 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by 2010, equivalent to taking 100,000 cars off the road.  Responding from the suppliers’ side, NPower said that the plan did not go far enough.  Energy companies are keen to see ‘smart meters’ installed in every home; these are more accurate and can be read remotely by energy suppliers, removing the need for meter reading. 

However the more expensive smart meters offer no real advantage for consumers, who will ultimately bear the costs through their energy bills.

In the meantime, if you want to purchase your own ‘energy meter’ to see how much electricity you are using, details of two types are available:  

1.  A real-time display of your overall home or small business electricity demand by fitting a simple device from Electrisave. Make your family or colleagues aware of how much they are using and when - and encourage them to save. Costs £80 in and can usually be fitted by the householder or proprietor without assistance. A clip-on current transformer (1) is wired to a battery-powered transmitter (2) which sends data to a wireless readout (3). Now available with additional sensors at £20 a pair, to monitor three-phase supplies.  http://www.electrisave.co.uk/
2. The Brennenstuhl PM230 is a plug-in meter which allows you to assess the consumption of small electrical appliances. As well as showing the instantaneous load, it has an accumulated kWh readout, so that you can measure the average consumption of an appliance that cycles on and off or operates at different load settings. Current price about £20.  (please mention seen at the Energy Management Register site if buying) http://www.greenandeasy.co.uk/

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