Wednesday, 4 June 2014
Smart meters assist us in efficient electricity consumption.
What’s a smart meter?
A smart meter is a digital meter that’s located at a home or business to measure the amount of electricity used. The smart meter reads and stores the electricity usage over short intervals, typically every 30 minutes, and remotely sends this information to network distributors and energy retailers daily. The retailer can then pass this information on to the consumer and provide tools to give them a better understanding of the data.
Why are smart meters so smart?
Smart meters are one of the biggest developments in electricity supply since we first started using electric lights more than a century ago. They have the potential to change the relationship people have with energy, from a passive one in which people receive a bill once a quarter after they have used energy, to an active one in which they can access almost real-time information on energy consumption so they can analyse and understand their usage.
Smart meters offer many options and capabilities that are not possible with traditional meters. Features like remote connection when you move house and improved fault detection to help networks restore power more quickly after an outage make them revolutionary.
When smart meters are combined with other emerging digital technology in the electricity grid, what is created is sometimes referred to as a smart grid.
Compare the old and the new:
=Smart meters in Australia
Some state governments around Australia have been supportive of smart meter technology, recognizing the benefits for consumers, but all governments have different policies and approaches to their roll out.
Victoria has led the way: all five network distributors will have installed more than 2.4 million smart meters when Australia’s first mandatory program finishes at the end of 2013.
The future of smart meters globally
People around the world are starting to use smart meter technology. Many nationwide installations are planned, and some are already in progress. For example, Italy has undertaken one of the largest roll outs (around 35 million meters), while the Netherlands has plans to install smart meters in all of its 7 million homes by the end of 2013. In France, the aim is to have 95 per cent coverage of smart meters rolled out by the end of 2016.
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