Does smart technology lead the way towards greener homes?

SMART technology has won the heart of the very richest property owners, but such gadgets are not just toys for the boys. The technology also promises to help to save our planet, according to green experts who should know. Forget the installation of a grass roof or an expensive wind turbine: homeowners determined to consume less and cut carbon emissions are being urged to install smart meters and sensors to help them to monitor their energy use.

A report out this week from Green Alliance, an environmental think-tank, details the role that smart features can play in cutting UK carbon emissions – 27 per cent of which result from how we use our homes, according to the Government. Speaking at a launch held at the Royal Society in London, Stephen Hale, director of Green Alliance, urged the Government to promote smart technology. He said: “Smart features have not had much recognition but they can make important contributions to the environmental challenges we face.”

Green Alliance believes that smart meters could – and should – be a standard household feature within a decade. It hopes that further research will confirm that the technology can work in homes of all types and periods.

The devices use data gathered by sensors in the home, along with a profile of its inhabitants, to make the most efficient use of energy to fulfil the household’s needs. If the introduction of smart electricity meters proved successful, smart gas and smart water meters would follow. Intelligent controls for heating, lighting and blinds would then be integrated, keeping the home at the optimum temperature while using the smallest amount of energy possible. The connection of home appliances via a wireless network (see left) would then be the next step for adventurous households.

But how ready are UK householders for even this starter technology? A survey by the insurer More Than revealed that 81 per cent of respondents had never heard of a smart meter. Of those questioned, 43 per cent said that they would be interested in having a smart electricity meter installed, once they had been told how it worked. Yet only a quarter of this group were willing to pay for the installation themselves. The remaining three quarters said – perhaps optimistically – that they thought the responsibility for arranging and paying for such energy efficiency technology should lie with the Government and utility companies.

More research is needed to confirm how productive the technology might be in the UK’s ageing and diverse housing stock, and also how the cost of producing it might be reduced. Howard Porter, a director of the British Electrotechnical and Allied Manufacturers’ Association, says that bringing down the cost of smart appliances, particularly the meters, is a top priority.

Providing such technology on the cheap might not make it a winner with the many who aspire to outdo their peers with unusual gadgets, but it will be welcome news for those who have signed up for the worthy quest to consume just that little bit less. www.green-alliance.org.uk