The EUA’s chief executive Mike Foster told Utility Week the rollout presents the opportunity for a conversation with home owners about options such as loft insulation, condensing boilers or double glazing.
“It’s an opportunity to talk about energy efficiency in a more general sense, not necessarily selling a product because that’s not allowed under the legislation, but at least fulfilling a civic duty in the quest to deliver more energy efficient homes in the UK.”
Foster said that Labour peer Lord Whitty’s idea for an energy efficiency assessment to be included in the installation visit “is a question a number of people in the industry have been asking.”
He said that while the concept was dismissed by some in the industry, there are “a lot of people who think actually it’s not the worst idea in the world. Even if it’s just to perform some rudimentary energy efficiency assessment.”
Last month the government’s widely panned flagship energy efficiency programme the Green Deal was scrapped following low consumer uptake. The government is currently reviewing all energy efficiency policies, including the Energy Company Obligation.
Foster said the concept would be compatible with the overall installation as a 30 minute conversation with the householder is already timetabled into the visit to explain how the smart meter works.
“If five minutes of that conversation was just going through a little checklist, it’s not impossible. So therefore it’s a good question to ask before the mass rollout starts with some degree of urgency.
“I’m not sure how the suppliers would take it because it’s an extra task for their installers, and they have to find them and train them. But in the bigger picture is it an opportunity that we might want to take.
“It’s a good question that needs to be answered by the whole of the industry and if we have to have a debate for the next couple of months to sort it out, let’s do it now. It might be that the industry might turn round and says no actually its too difficult, but at least let’s have the debate.”