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Smart home technology should itemise people’s energy costs to help them save money, the head of an energy-saving device company has said.

Richard Morgan, business development manager of Smappee, said energy costs are the only household expenditure that are not itemised, and that the use of estimated bills are going “back to the dark ages”.

Smappee clamps onto a household meter’s main power cable and can monitor the energy consumption of the individual devices in the home. Its companion app shows energy usage and costs, helping people to see where they are wasting energy.

Mr Morgan said it is the equivalent of having a traditional smart meter on each appliance in the home, allowing people to easily see where they can save money.

He compared the method to using itemised bills to reduce costs, from credit cards and grocery bills, to monthly phone bills.

He said: “You look at all those bills for instance and they’re itemised. You go to your Tesco shop, you’ve got an itemised bill at the end of the day, how much it costs for your beans, your cabbages etc.

“One of the only big costs in a house that I can think of which isn’t itemised like that is electricity.

“So the first thing you do when you want to reduce your credit card bills, or reduce your phone bill, you look down your itemised bill and say ‘why did I spend that much on my credit card here and here?’, or, ‘why are we calling international numbers or phoning my sister for three hours every single night etc? Is there not something I can do to reduce that?’

“So having an itemised methodology to your costs is the first step in being able to visualise it, reduce it and manage essentially that cost.

“But with electricity what do you do? You get a bill at the end of the month, a single figure at the end of the month that tells you your cost is X. “And quite often that’s an estimated bill which in this day and age is just going back to the dark ages.”

Mr Morgan’s comments come amid growing concerns over energy bills, with prices of gas and electricity last month reported as having outstripped inflation since 2003/04.

As part of its plans to “upgrade” the UK’s energy system, the government aims to make sure all homes and small businesses have smart meters by 2020, with suppliers responsible for installing them.

The move is promised to bring real-time information on energy use, making it easier for people to save money, as well as bringing an end to estimated billing and making it easier to switch suppliers.

But Mr Morgan said traditional smart meters do not help people reduce their energy consumption.

He said: “They do nothing to help you reduce your energy consumption.

“They only open up questions. And what Smappee does, it opens up your eyes to the potential savings that are there within your house and for the very first time opens your eyes to the energy consumption within your house.

A new wave of “next generation” thermostats have hit the energy market claiming they can save households hundreds of pounds each year.

Thermostats have been part of most homes’ heating systems for decades, but the past two years have seen the introduction of “smart” thermostat technology, giving owners more control over their heating. And that could mean big financial savings.

Most of the smart thermostats rely on the user owning a smartphone, which can control the thermostat from wherever the owner happens to be.

British Gas’s Hive Active Heating is one of the most widely promoted of the smart thermostats. And it comes with a bold claim: you could save “up to £150 a year on your heating bills” with it.

The device, which costs £199 (including installation) is controlled via an app – which is free to download – on a smartphone or tablet. For those with older phones it can be activated by text. It allows home owners to control both heating and hot water remotely. If, for instance, the property is empty for an evening, or the temperature rises while you are out and about, you can override the programmed schedule and switch the heating off.

Samsung and Earth Networks is launching a trial efficiency program in Texas that will provide homeowners with actionable intelligence they can use to save energy, reduce their electric bills, and find the best energy service rate plan based on their personal energy use. Earth Networks is the parent company of WeatherBug and WeatherBug Home.

More than 100 utilities in 17 states are estimated to offer more than 300 plans in total available, at times overwhelming consumers with an array of sometimes confusing choices.

DongHo Shin, Samsung Electronics advisor of the DMC R&D Center, notes, “We understand that homeowners want to get insights into their energy usage and lower their monthly bills, and utilities are seeking new ways to drive energy engagement and efficiency. That’s why Samsung is working with the WeatherBug Home program from Earth Networks. Homeowners will receive a personalized WeatherBug Home virtual monthly energy audit ‘ScoreCard’ that includes Samsung Energy Insight with custom recommendations for the best energy service plan and energy bill savings. It’s a win-win for consumers and utilities.

Samsung is introducing its energy control and optimization system (ECOS), to the smart home market with the intention of helping customers pick the best plan and save approximately 25 percent. ECOS processes energy usage data to provide specific energy service plan recommendations.

According to Earth Networks, “Fifty percent of home energy use comes from weather’s effects on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC). WeatherBug Home taps into local, real-time weather data from proprietary neighborhood sensors and correlates it to smart meter data to provide personalized insights that help homeowners visualize and understand their energy use.

Smart meters are unabashedly good. This might seem like an uncontroversial statement but start poking around some of the kookier parts of the internet and you’ll quickly learn that smart meters are apparently responsible for everything from cancer to spying on you every minute of every day.

A smart meter is a relatively simple piece of equipment compared to the stuff we carry around in our pocket. It collects hourly data on your electricity consumption and uploads that data to your electricity provider wirelessly over the course of the day. A smart meter replaces the meter reader that would come around your backyard every couple of months.

More than 6.7 million smart meters have been rolled out all across Ontario and British Columbia and other parts of Canada. We went to Medicine Hat one of the, first places in Alberta to roll them out. They’ve installed 26,000 smart meters.

Wilbur McLean, a communications officer with the City of Medicine Hat, says approximately 20 per cent of the time people’s bills are estimated. This number can be much higher in other places which means the cute little graphs on your bill aren’t as accurate as you might assume. With smart meters customers can login online and monitor their actual electricity consumption, hour by hour.

Medicine Hat has a forward looking civic utility but their initial motivation was to save money. “Originally it was a cost-benefit analysis. The utility is looking at saving consumers costs and that was our motivating factor,” says Mayor Ted Clugston who says the meters will pay for themselves in seven to eight years.

Smart meters save utilities money by saving on labour costs, they can help find weak points and they help the utility plan better and perhaps even defer capital investments.

What’s in it for the consumer?

When you hear about Big Data this is it — a smart meter takes 8,760 meter readings per year instead of six to 12. And smart people and companies are working with that data to conserve energy. We talked to Ecotagious, a small Vancouver based company that works with utilities to encourage energy conservation by parsing and analyzing smart meter data.

“Because the utilities were collecting 720 times the data that they used to collect with smart meters we thought there was an opportunity to help people and provide more feedback on their electricity use so they can make their own choices on whether they want to conserve or not,” says Ecotagious CEO Bruce Townson.

Ecotagious is able to separate out the big loads — air conditioners, electric space heating, pool pumps and vampire loads. They use the smart meter data, their own algorithms and other publicly available data to generate a custom report for each customer breaking down their use by appliance and depending on their usage patterns gives them tips if they want to conserve energy.

In a four-month pilot program run in Sudbury last winter they achieved a four per cent reduction in electricity use compared to a control group. And while four per cent may not sound like much, in the utility world typical conservation programs are very happy to get a one per cent reduction. The utility they ran their pilot with quickly signed up and they now have several customers in Ontario.

“If you can show people value, help them conserve if they’re inclined to then customer satisfaction goes way up,” says Townson. “It’s visible, it’s direct, it’s tangible you’re seeing the results of it right there.

While Medicine Hat has the very successful Hat Smart energy conservation program they too have endured some blowback over smart meters.

Thanks to half a dozen fires associated with meters in Saskatchewan and some plain old resistance to change the meters have been a source of controversy.

But as Medicine Hat Mayor Ted Clugston explains the city took great care installing the meters. They inspected and photographed each replacement situation and took care to note any risks.

Etisalat announced today that it is teaming up with Belkin to introduce WeMo smart home automation solutions to customers in the UAE, ahead of its worldwide launch. WeMo is Belkin’s award-winning home automation ecosystem and the leader in delivering customizable smart home experiences.

The WeMo wireless solution will enable customers to manage their home appliances and lighting, monitor their home on cameras and measure energy consumption through their smart devices from anywhere in the world.

The intelligent home system enables limitless smart home possibilities and is available starting today across Etisalat’s retail stores in the country. A single ‘WeMo’ mobile app enables complete control of all devices and is downloadable for free on iOS and Android platforms.

Smart Home packages

Etisalat will be offering customers the choice between two basic packages:

The SmartHome Basic - 2 NetCam HD motion sensor home monitoring cameras, 2 WeMo switches with motion sensor to efficiently control lighting and electrical devices, and 2 WeMo switches to monitor household energy consumptions. The SmartHome basic with Smart LED – SmartHome basic package and 4 Smart LED Bulbs. This package will be available later this year.

The packages are available at the most competitive market price of AED99 per month, which customers can also choose to buy on an upfront payment basis.

Commenting on the launch of Etisalat Smart Home solutions, Rashed Al Abbar, VP – Home Products from Etisalat said, “At Etisalat, we are making the concept of an automated smart home a reality today with our highly affordable innovations in home devices.

“We are delighted to work with Belkin to provide exciting solutions to our customers to adopt this connected home lifestyle. Etisalat is leading the way through providing consumers with an end-to-end smart home solution and this is in line with our vision to empower all our customers with smart technologies”, Al Abbar added.

Integrating smart home services and solutions requires a robust fixed and mobile infrastructure. The Etisalat advantage is the extensive penetration of our broadband networks in the UAE and the high level of security and speeds that are required to introduce innovative platforms such as the new WeMo home package.

“WeMo is the most approachable entry point into the smart home segment because of its unmatched simplicity and scalability. We are excited to work with Etisalat to enable smart home solutions for consumers in the UAE. We believe this will also be instrumental towards fast tracking the reality of the UAE’s Smart City vision,” said Amanulla Khan, Director Emerging Markets, Belkin International.

Consumers can experience the Etisalat Smart solutions powered by Wemo at select Etisalat Business Centres starting today. Trained specialists will assist consumers and take them through various solutions and packages available.

WeMo Switch + Motion

The Wi-Fi enabled WeMo Switch + Motion connects home appliances and electronic devices to the user’s Wi-Fi network, enabling them control these devices from a smartphone or tablet or switch on or off as soon as movement is detected. The Motion sensor plugs into an outlet and detects motion with a range of up to 10 feet. It then sends a wireless signal to the WeMo Switch to turn the connected device either on or off. The solution also enables the user to program customized notifications and change device status – from anywhere.The WeMo Switch + Motion is perfect to connect heaters, TVs, washers, dryers, fans, lights and more.

WeMo Switch

The WeMo Switch can help consumers to gain control over device energy usage by allowing them to set schedules, monitor energy usage on electronics, and find out which devices are used most often. WeMo can notify them instantly if home electronics have been left on and you can choose to either leave them on or turn them off from anywhere. Users can also find out if they have left the A/C window unit running and turn it off, find out if the kids are playing video games instead of doing homework, or schedule a space heater to turn on five minutes before they walk through the door.

Smart LED Lighting

WeMo Smart LED Bulbs allow users to control, schedule and dim their smart LED bulbs from anywhere. As easy as replacing a standard light bulb, the WeMo Smart LED Bulbs work through the WeMo Link and are controlled via Wi-Fi and the WeMo app. The long-lasting bulbs are 60-watt equivalent with 800 Lumens for a bright, pleasing warm white light. Fully dimmable, WeMo Smart LED Bulbs can be controlled individually or in groups.

WeMo NetCam HD+

The WeMo NetCam HD+ is a high definition Wi-Fi camera that allows users to monitor their home day and night in high-quality 720p resolution through a smartphone, tablet or PC. The WeMo NetCam HD+ has a wide-angle glass lens to provide details that are crisp and ultra-clear. Other premium and unique features include night vision, highly secure Wi-Fi streaming, optional cloud storage, easy setup and push to talk. The WeMo NetCam HD + also works with other WeMo devices, which enables users to access their camera via the WeMo app and set up rules and triggers with other installed WeMo solutions.

For much of humanity today, getting out of bed is followed, very closely, by turning on a bunch of stuff. We crank up the heat. We start the coffee. We click on the morning news.

Some of us then go to work — and turn the stuff off again before we leave. Some of us don’t (either work, or turn our stuff off). Some of us get home from work and crash — but some of us stay up late, with lots of lights on, watching television, listening to music, working on the computer.

More stuff — sucking up electricity.

These patterns comprise what you might call our diverse “energy personalities” — which are theoretically capable of being quantified in terms of how much power we use across the day. Heck, these personalities could ultimately be reduced all the way down to flows of electrons. But the data have never been easily accessible to create such profiles — or, at least, not until now.

Opower is an Arlington, Va.-based software firm that works with power companies to help them better connect with their customers and, potentially, change their customers’ behavior. This role gives the company access to a ton of data, including from smart meters, which record our energy use and convey it back to utility companies in intervals of 15 minutes or less.