Consumers unaware of smart meters ahead of EU-wide roll-out

Plenty of rubbish being talked in the above article by people that should know better. Smart meters on their own will have little impact on energy consuming habits. First, the meters will replace the existing meter (in the basement, under the stairs etc). People will pay as much attention to the SM as they do now to the non-SM.

Second, what people need (to save energy) is information about their energy consumption. Home energy displays located in, for example, the living room or kitchen could provide this. Such displays do not need a smart meter to function. They are also low cost.

With respect to energy efficiency another study from the UK noted that households spend in the range £50 to £80 per year on electricity used to keep items on standby. The figure is probably similar in mainland Europe. An average (non-electric heating) bill is £500 in the UK. This means that standby accounts for 10 to 16% of a bill. Lighting consumes a further £80ish per year. Changing to LEDs would reduce this to £8ish. So, in the UK, residential consumers could reduce their electricity bills by anything between 26 to 32% with simple energy efficiency measures (all equipment on standby is switched off). These comments could also apply to (some) people in fuel poverty.

To summarise, low cost home energy displays available now could provide people with timely and useful information on their energy habits – regardless of their financial status. Simple energy efficiency actions could reduce electricity bills by up to 32% - and all without smart meters.

And finally, there is no evidence that SMs have any health impact whatsoever. There is rumour and hearsay from the USA in this respect but that is all.

Thought some info on the highly- charged controversy in the USA around Smart Meters may be helpful to you all:
1.Groups Continue Crusade Against Smart Meters Over Alleged Health Risks | Video | TheBlaze.com http://ow.ly/dckww
2.New Life On A Homestead - Smart Meter Controversy http://ow.ly/dckLD
3.Privacy and Health Concerns on “Smart Meters” Growing Globally http://ow.ly/dcml4
4. Google "Smart Meters" and "Smart Meters Controversy" brings up some rich pickings too !

People are missing the point: you do not need smart meters to provide energy information to people - you need a home energy display - that is not and never will be a smart meter. SMs for the most part provide benefits to energy retailers. The "benefits" to consumers have yet to be defined/identifed. Taking one example: SMs could deliver accurate monthly billing - oh! er hang on British Gas already do that through a self read system (i.e. no smart meter).

I agree with Sue on this - smart meters seem to serve no other practical purpose other than monitoring or controlling people's behaviour.

If we wish to decrease our use of electricity we will switch things off.

I also don't understand why knowing when we use electricity is important - what are we all going to do - watch our TVs at 1 O'clock in the morning instead of 7 O'clock in the evening.

Power stations are already able to measure what electricity we as a population are using at any given time - they know the likely peaks and troughs and can prepare for those times.

The residents in Holland have successfully fought off compulsory SMs on the grounds of privacy; the Canadians are also mounting a defence against having them on the grounds of health.

But overriding all of this is the lack of trust that we have in the institutions that are imposing them on us.

The rampant corporatism, fully backed by the EU, is running wild over our lives and seems to have latched onto the theory of carbon caused global warming and is finding any number of ways to increase their profits.

Smart meter technology will allow the unit cost per kW/hr to be set arbitrarily thereby allowing the programmer to add amounts that cover 'other spending' (shall we say). Speeding fine maybe? Council tax perhaps? Limiting your consumption is only PART of the plan - CONTROL is ALL of the plan.

I have collected research papers about chronic exposure (http://www.chronicexposure.org) . We should be very careful with large installations of microwave technologies in homes. Another challenge is power quality (voltage transients) in the electrical network.

These smart meters will allow centralised control of the electricity supply for every household that has them with the possibility of selective cutting of power to a household level. This is a key piece of technology for rationing electricity under the pretence of tackling mythical global warming. It's just another attack on freedom, predicted by George Orwell in 1984. Smart meters should be resisted.

@Roberto

Or maybe Britain could leave the EU and save £53 million a day - we could then use that money to come up with our own renewables policies that don't depend on the EU corporatists taking their 40%.

You may find something to be proud about making the elderly and infirm pay huge tarriffs to large banks in the name of unproven science - I don't.

Perhaps you could ask yourself one question - Why when we are experiencing this massive threat of AGW do large numbers of our political elite fly around the world without a care for climate change?

Don't have a go at me, have a word with your EU masters.

@Mike Parr

What a ridiculous thing to say - "that people do not like electricity"

Electricity is a vital part of our lives.

What you really mean is that people are not buying into the 'monitoring for sustainability' argument.

Of course, you have a horse in this race as you have an interest in 'renewables'.

I don't care what snake oil solution you are providing as long as you don't use my tax to fund it - which, I suspect, is what your enthusiasm for this argument is all about.

As for using Italian power thieves as a bogey man to scare us into accepting these intrusive devices, well, you have that nasty habit so prevalent in the Brussels corridors, you try to win your arguments using fear as a weapon.

After 50 years of scares and threats from the EU that particular tactic is wearing a bit thin.

we are told by DECC that wind energy is an essential part of our energy mix.

gordon hughes has calculated that the cost of wind energy is about ten times the price of gas.

an energy mix is not improved by adding a component which is intermittent and ten times the price.

Mr Parr, you sell yourself as a consultant with 20 years experience in EU environmental regulation.

If the European Union 'consults' you, you are partly responsible for the policies followed and the cost of those policies.

And as for not using my taxes - if you are being paid by the EU, my taxes are paying for you.

I would much rather be silly/stupid than exploit the poor and vulnerable for my own gain.

I shall

Regarding the Smart Meters:

What would be helpful is a smart meter that I could attach to my cooker, freezer, microwave, or other household gadget as required. This would enable me to use these gadgets most efficiently e.g. would I use less electricity if I baked a double quantity of bread at the one time and froze half - the oven would be on for the same time, but the freezer would then have to spring into action to freeze the extra output. I suspect that this would save electricity, and such a moveable gadget meter could prove the case to me!

It is not helpful to me, the consumer, to have a meter in front of my nose, telling me how much electricity I am using; for the simple reason that I already use as little as possible for simple financial reasons!