How is GB getting smarter when it comes to tech?

As smart meters are rolled out across Great Britain, our smart reporters investigate today’s reality and the future’s potential

There are already more than 11 million smart gas and electricity meters installed in homes and small businesses with millions more to come.

That’s a new meter for around one in five people in England, Scotland and Wales to date. As a result, the technology is quickly becoming an integral part of our lives.

Smart meters measure the energy each household is consuming and sends this via a secure network to your supplier, ensuring your bills are accurate. Each device comes with a handy in-home display, which shows you how much you’re spending in pounds and pence, in near real time.

Smart technology is opening up an exciting world of possibilities and the digitalisation of our energy system is bringing this into homes around Great Britain.

Smart meters are the gateway to a low carbon energy network and are helping to upgrade an outdated system, one that was created in the 1890s.

Bringing it into the 21 st century, this technology will enable a smart energy grid to anticipate upply and demand, which could offer more savings to households.

The smart grid will make a real difference to us all, helping us to adopt electric vehicles, make the most of smart appliances and ultimately reduce our energy astage.

Industry expert Matthew Evans, executive director at Tech UK, says the new smart grid will mean more people will see electric cars as a viable option, while helping maintain a stable and cost-effective power supply The in-home display also allows consumers to check their energy usage easily and work out which appliances are costing the most. Having this information readily available, is giving people the power to make informed decisions when choosing appliances and white goods.

Already, smart meters appear to be changing shopping behaviours. A recent survey by Populus, showed that people who either had a smart meter or understood what one was were more likely to buy energy efficient appliances.

In the future, smart meters will allow home appliances to communicate directly with the grid and run when energy is cheapest.

Dr Stephen Hall of the School of Earth and Environment at University of Leeds said: “Smart meter technology will open the door to many home innovations in the future. Things like the development of interconnected smart appliances, which operate automatically when energy is cheapest, or reduce their energy consumption to benefit the consumer, are just the start.”

The introduction of smart appliances means that more and more people will be able to take advantage of their benefits, such as fusing the washing machine or running the dishwasher when energy is cheapest, allowing our homes to operate at maximum efficiency.

Smart meters will also have advantages for anyone who generates electricity on their property, for instance through solar panels or wind turbines.

The developing technology will allow those with micro-generators to better understand their nergy consumption and what is sold back to the grid.

The future of energy is changing drastically with smart meters leading the change across Great Britain.

Smart meters are already changing behaviours towards energy usage and in the future they will continue to pave the way for things like smart appliances and electric cars, allowing consumers and households to run more efficiently and reduce energy wastage.

Dr Stephen Hall