British Gas have launched a trial to help thousands of households with smart meters cut their bills and save money by giving them personalised energy advice.
Tailored to the individuals situation for each household, the advice will be sent to 10,000 of British Gas’s smart meter customers over the ensuing six months.
For those who are unaware, the government has said that all homes must have a smart meter installed by 2019. A smart meter sends information on the energy use of a particular household back to suppliers. This will end the nightmare and confusion caused by estimated bills but will also give customers a good understanding of their energy usage.
This data will be used in personalised energy efficiency advice to households nationwide. It will include hints and tips on how to best maximise energy efficiency as well as giving a comparison and breakdown of figures to a home of a similar size in the customers postcode are.
This will make interesting reading when all the figures have been collated and it will be even more interesting to see figures over a year, if the advice has been taken.
A Residential EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) will also give a home-owner the ammunition with which to improve the energy efficiency of their household and reduce their overall running costs. A qualified energy assessor will do a survey of the property and attach a sheet of recommendations to the customer on how they best improve their EPC grade via an attached sheet of recommendations.
While a smart meter may give you a breakdown of figures it will not take the place of an energy assessor who actually views your property and makes an informed decision, in person, on the best measures for you to choose. Perhaps in time once there are more smart meters around the country and a database of information has been compiled, then smart meter reading can be used to aid theEPC process and help given even more accurate gradings and information.
Post By Paul Patane, Just EPC (Energy Performance Certificates)
