UK - Smart Meters in every home

29 11 2009 All UK homes to get ‘smart’ power meters. The news comes after Ed Balls announced that smart meters will be installed in up to 12,000 Schools in order to save money and allow teaching staff to monitor electricity by the second [ news 26 11 2009 ].
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband this week announced that every British home is to be issued with a ‘smart’ meter which calculates how much gas or electricity is used each time an appliance is switched on while Fridges and freezers could be turned off at peak times to save power but automatically switched back on if the temperature inside rises too high.  It is said that the utility companies will be footing the initial £7billion installation programme after which the costs will be expectedly recouped from their customers. Mobile phone technology will be used to transmit information on each family’s energy consumption to a central ‘hub’ thereby doing-away with meter readers and also call centre staff.
Opinion:
More Technology and more job losses are thus announced and akin to Councils whom Bank Offshore and adopt Computer Technology at cost to Council Taxpayers in efforts to save money while similar money be additive to benefits payable to those whom it displaces. In allowing ourselves to be transformed from people having minds making decisions to one of data collectors and inputters we now traverse into the realm of being totally replaced by integrated circuit boards and much fuller automation by which Authority has bigger buttons to press while we all suffer a lack of purpose as to jobs. But saying that the next stage in the automation process must be about the manufacture of “digitally compliant devices” in which they are intelligent enough to care for themselves, know whom their true owner is and also know the identity of their associated “smart device”, thus denying its connection to another hubbed smart meter for power without approval of the true rightful owner. Clever thing is Technology yet once all devices be given a unique identity and associated to an individual would not such future “smart” technology also be aware of devices other than fridges and freezers?. Tomorrows another day but the tomorrow of tomorrow can quite easily be seen today by simply removing the access panel to ones computer and seeing the mother board which really is our final destination. Subliminally we have all been brainwashed in being subjected to films of “tomorrow land” which has blinded us in having seen it all before as reality now catches up with fantasy!. FULL CONTROL WILL FOLLOW.  
 
Smart meters
Smart meters have the ability to reduce load, disconnect-reconnect remotely, detect the unauthorized use of electricity, change the maximum amount of electricity that a customer can demand at any time and remotely change the meter's billing plan from credit to prepay as well as from flat-rate to multi-tariff. They can also interface to gas & water meters and form part of a hub connecting to servers and thus be networked just like a home/business computers. As such smart meters will become part of a “smart grid” for monitoring and billing purposes (telemetering). Currently meters provide meter readers with a “total consumption” number for billing purposes whereas energy consumption as a measure of time during a day not be known to regulate power generation or forecast energy demands. For demand to rise above that generated on-shore other sources need to feed the grid thus raising the price of the energy consumed and so consumption habits do need to change in proving a more straight line graph as to demands. Between 2000 and 2005 Enel in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />Italy deployed smart meters to its entire customer base of around 27 million customers – these meters being electronic and smart, with integrated bi-directional communications, advanced power measurement and management capabilities. They communicate over a low voltage power line before being transduced in connecting to digital data networks via servers. On April 7th 2009 the Dutch government had to back down after consumer groups raised privacy concerns over smart meters so instead of them being mandatory they are now voluntary
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OLD News10 03 2008 Darling on Carbon emissions. Although higher fuel duty is expected next month Mr Darling is widely expected to hit some drivers even harder by introducing an environmentally-friendly "showroom tax" which could put an extra £2,000 on the most expensive 4x4s and cars. Tax discs could also be colour coded to reflect carbon emissions, opening the door to more congestion charging around the country.

 
00 05 2009 Gov unveiled plans for smart meters to be installed in every home by the end of 2020. The projected cost of fitting approximately 22 million gas and 26 million electricity meters was estimated at £7 billion
 26 08 2009 Energy suppliers in price cuts row. Energy suppliers are overcharging customers by almost £100 a year because they are failing to pass on price cuts, research has suggested. Despite falling world oil prices, Britons are still paying more to heat and light their homes than last summer, with household electricity and gas bills averaging more than £1,200 a year. The reduction in wholesale prices means gas bills could be slashed by up to 10% and electricity by 3.5%, leading to annual savings of £96.40, according to research published in The Daily Telegraph by the Consumer Focus watchdog. By failing to pass on the full discounts to every household, power companies are estimated to be making an extra £2.2 billion, the newspaper said. Industry regulator Ofgem has given suppliers until next week to explain why they have not passed on lower wholesale electricity and gas prices to households.

 26 11 2009 Balls in save cash call to schools. Speaking to the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust's (SSAT) annual conference, Mr Balls will challenge schools to have an "honest" debate about making the best use of resources amid pressures on the public purse. It comes as Mr Balls confirms high-tech "smart" electricity meters are to be installed in up to 12,000 schools from January. The Government believes meters and other changes in using electricity could see primary schools saving up to £700 a year and a secondary school more than £3,000 a year on fuel bills alone. The £12m scheme will be part of a major campaign to reduce demand for energy and change teachers and pupils' behaviour using electricity in every school in England. The meters give "real-time" digital read outs on how much electricity a building is using second-by-second. It will mean that heads, teachers and support staff can see the immediate impact of high energy use and take steps to reduce their carbon footprint and bills.

 29 11 2009 All homes to get ‘smart’ power meters. Every British home is to be issued with a ‘smart’ meter which calculates how much gas or electricity is used each time an appliance is switched on. Details will be announced by the Energy Secretary Ed Miliband this week. Fridges and freezers could be turned off at peak times to save power – but will automatically be switched back on if the temperature inside rises too high. The utility companies will pay for the £7billion installation programme, though much of the cost is expected to be recouped later from customers. Mobile phone technology will be used to transmit information on each family’s energy consumption to a central ‘hub’. The system, to be introduced over the next ten years, will allow power companies to read meters remotely and mean the end of estimated bills. Energy suppliers will save billions by doing away with meter readers and call centre staff. The utility companies will pay for the £7billion installation programme, though much of the cost is expected to be recouped later from customers. The Government hopes to enhance Britain’s ‘green’ credentials by showing it is determined to cut energy consumption.

 
INTERESTING:
Of all smart meter technologies the critical technological problem is communication. Considering the varying environments and locations where meters are found, that problem can be daunting. Among the solutions proposed are: the use of cell/pager networks, licensed radio, combination licensed and unlicensed radio, power line communication. Not only the medium used for communication purposes but the type of network used is also critical. As such one would find: fixed wireless, mesh network or a combination of the two. There are several other potential network configurations possible, including the use of Wi-Fi and other internet related networks. To date no one solution seems to be optimal for all applications.