Home Energy Monitors

What's this? Something FREE. Well, in that case I definitely want it!

A story that all households in the UK will be able to get a free household energy monitor (no, not a kind of lizard) is being carried by the BBC, as part of the upcoming Energy White Paper to be released by the government.

What this monitor is, is basically a device that you plug or clip into your electricity metering box in your house, that is able to tell you exactly where and how much electricity is being used - in real time too. So you'll know that right now, your fridge is using x amount of electricity, the oven is using y amount of electricity, the lighting is using z amount and so forth. Being in real time means that you switch the light off and you can see the reading drop more or less instantly. This device generally also involves a handheld monitor, so you can take the monitor anywhere around the house and keep an eye on your consumption at that time!

Interestingly, the article also notes that this is part of a more general EU requirement to provider consumers with real-time information about their energy use. The scheme will not be up and running until next year, but the idea is simple - to show people how much they're using, and how much they can save, to turn 'cut the carbon' into something tangible. That's the way forward.

Might we see this for campus residences? It's been suggested to me by a few people so you never know...