Children lead to bigger smart savings

Households with school-aged children look set to reap bigger rewards from smart metering, says Smart Energy GB

Anecdotal evidence suggests that UK households with school-aged children show better engagement with their smart meters than those without, according to a Smart Energy GB spokesperson.

“Anecdotally, we have seen that children have a very positive impact on engagement with smart meters,” said Rob Smith, head of policy and public affairs at Smart Energy GB. 

He clarified that the enthusiastic interest of children in the new devices appears to reap “bigger savings” compared to households with smart meters but without school-aged children.

Speaking at a smart metering conference in London today, Smith said that his organisation – which is responsible for managing public awareness of the national smart meter rollout – is now conducting trials with two schools in Wales to explore how this apparent link between children and enhanced smart benefits can be optimised.

The results of these trials are due to be published this summer he said.

Smith made his comments at Policy UK’s event, titled Delivering the Smart Meter Rollout.

He also took the opportunity to remind delegates of the promising results of a recent Smart Energy GB survey of around 10,000 UK adults which indicated that consumer satisfaction with smart meters is high among early adopters.

Other speakers warned against complacency as the rollout progresses however. Several delegates challenged speakers on the limitations of SMETS 1 smart meters in terms of their ability to retain smart functionality after customers switch suppliers.

Furthermore, a speaker from Citizens Advice gave insight into significant and increasing consumer issues with smart meters. These included “shock bills” after installation due to faulty meters or back billing.