SMART METER JOBS GUIDE
Don’t Miss out on another Smart Meter job – click on this link
AUTHOR: KELLY-ANNE FAGAN
MARKET OVERVIEW
Foundation Capital expects that by 2060, world energy consumption will double from 14 terawatts per day to 28 terawatts. According to industry analyst company Datamonitor, 89% of U.S. households and 41% of European households will have smart meters by 2012.
Smart meters are a new type of electricity meter which will replace traditional meters. There are many advantages compared to traditional meters for both utilities and consumers such as lower costs for manufacturing, calibration and maintenance. In addition they provide a real-time and accurate record of the gas and electricity that an individual is using as well as costs. The smart meter system is a two way communication between the supplier and consumer of electricity consumption and as data readings are more accurate this reduces the possibility of inaccurate bills.
A key part of promoting energy efficiency in the home is the use of smart meters to help tackle climate change. Climate change is high on the agenda of EU and national governments worldwide. It will help householders reduce their energy usage and energy bills, leading to a reduction in CO2 emissions. Natural gas accounts for more than half of domestic energy usage in many European markets. With increased global demands for energy and increasing CO2 emissions the need for smart gas metering has never been greater.
Smart meters come with a wireless electronic display which gives a read-out of the gas and electricity consumption with the financial and carbon costs associated with it. The information on the energy used by household will be provided through a hand-held display device which interacts with the internet. Some display devices even incorporate a red, amber and green traffic light system that shows clearly how the usage changes when various appliances are on and off. Smart meters will also make it easier for people who generate their own energy to measure how much they are exporting back to the national grid.
In the 1990s, the Italian utility ENEL was the first to begin a large-scale smart meter programme in Europe. ENEL’s objective was to reduce non-technical losses such as theft and to be able to control contracted power. It cost €2 billion to replace 30 million electromechanical meters with electronic AMR devices and establish a new information and communication infrastructure. Soon other utilities followed such as ENEL.
Sweden was the first country where the legislator mandated the introduction of hourly electricity metering for all households. Indeed Sweden has a very high per capita electricity consumption of about 15,000 kWh, representing almost 6 times the world average. Smart meters were used to meet national policy objectives related to energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions.
