Smart meters? Good but not enough

The UK government set a goal of rolling out smart meters in all UK households by 2020 (source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/smart-meters-how-they-work) - the rationale is that by making consumers aware of their energy usage, they can reduce the energy they use. Which, in turn, means a lighter energy bill and helping the UK achieve its target reduction in greenhouse emissions.

While smart meters are a lovely shiny glittering gadgets, however, they are not enough - and I'll explain why here.

In engineering terms, a control system must be able to perform two operations: measuring the output of the system to be controlled, and acting to vary such output. By combining the two operations via a feedback system, a control system can effectively drive the output of the system to achieve its desired value.

In more mundane terms, we constantly apply this measure-act paradigm in our daily tasks: for instance, when driving our car, we monitor the speed and if it is too fast we reduce the pressure on the throttle or push the brake pedal, until the speed reaches the value we want and avoid a nasty surprise from the police.

Now, in our homes, the smart meter is very good at performing the first part - measuring - but it completely lacks the second part. A consumer can see her house is using lot of energy, but can't do much via the smart meter to reduce it.

The point is if you need energy (e.g. to warm up your house, or to run the washing machine), there's little you can do to reduce the amount you need. You can of course decide to reduce the temperature in your house (albeit increasing the discomfort), or you can wash your clothes by hand (would you?), or buy an A+ washing machine - but it's not as easy as reducing the speed of your car.

If we can't reduce the energy we use beyond a certain point, then we have to be able to use it efficiently, which in turn requires some kind of intelligence that monitors its usage and decide when it is the best moment to use it and how.

For instance: if you have solar panels, the best moment to turn your appliances on is when the sun is shining high in the sky - which (our weather permitting) happens late in the morning until early in the afternoon, when typically you are not at home (and if you are it is unlikely you remember to turn your dishwasher on and off). So, the norm is that your solar panels inject power into the grid during the day, giving you a ridiculous income (e.g. 4p/kWh) and later in the evening, when you are at home, you draw energy from the grid to wash your clothes at around 16p/kWh. You have lost 12p/kWh.

While we wait for energy storage costs to get down at an affordable level (which would ultimately solve this problem), we have another option: having a little computer turn your appliances and heating on and off to minimise your energy usage.

This is where smart technologies can make the difference. A smart heating system can turn on the radiators only in the right rooms and only when needed; by keeping all other radiators off, it can save 30-40% on your gas bill.

A smart home system can monitor your solar panels and turn on the washing machine, the dishwasher, the tumble drier only when the solar panels are producing energy - you can save other 50p per cycle, resorting to drawing energy from your supplier only if the solar panels can't ensure your clothes are washed and dry by the end of the day.

This requires our appliances to be able to be controlled externally. Quite paradoxically, the old (mechanical based) appliances can be controlled simply by turning the power supply off and on. When you turn them on, they restart from the point the power supply was cut.

Electronic appliances might not behave correctly when switched off and on by cutting their power supply: when restoring the power they might remain in standby, or restart from the beginning. Hence, it would be great if manufacturers agreed on a standard interface to suspend/restart the appliance (unlikely to happen: they will make much more money by selling at outrageously inflated price their smart version of the oven, the dishwasher, the washing machine, etc.).

It would be great, also, if the energy meters supported standard communication protocols (e.g. Z-Wave, ZigBee) so that their data could be used by commercially available smart hubs. Currently the situation is that each manufacturer uses its own standard, and I have a mess of cables and sensors near my distribution gear in the garage.

Overall, however, it is still worth trying to use what you have and invest a tiny bit to really control your energy usage.

Retrofitting your existing heating system to transform it into a smart, multi-zone system, is a matter of a few hours by a specialist; the cost of the hardware and the professional services can be repaid in as little as one year.

Adding a smart plug to control your water heater and other appliances is around ￡50 per socket if you already have a smart hub. A specialist can configure your smart hub to automate your appliances and save money.

So - yes, you can still save money by using your energy wisely by adopting modern technologies. And the right professional service.

Think Better Ltd was founded with the goal of making your life better by adopting the latest technologies.

Call us at 01606 532890 or write us to [email protected] for an enquiry. Calls and quotations are free.