Energy

Fuel Poverty

“Where a household cannot afford to keep warm, damage to the health of those living in cold homes can affect their quality of life. The old, children, and those who are disabled or have a long-term illness are especially vulnerable.”

Department for Environment and Rural Affairs

Energy Act 2008

Having received Royal Assent in November 2008, the Energy Act sets out the key objectives for the UK energy sector. These include:

• the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions
• maintaining the security of energy supplies
• ensuring affordable energy through competitive markets.

To meet these objectives, the Act sets out a wide range of measures including increasing the amount of energy produced from renewable energy sources, the installation of smart meters (initially for medium-sized businesses, but potentially for small businesses and households in the future) and the introduction of tariffs to encourage the growth of small-scale, low carbon electricity generation.

The Act also paves the way for Carbon Capture and Storage – a technology currently in development that prevents the release of carbon dioxide emissions from power stations that run on fossil fuels.

Smart Metering

The monitoring of energy consumption usually relies on an employee of a utilities company visiting a site, reading a meter and the usage then calculated on that reading. Where it is not possible to take a reading, as is often the case, consumption will be estimated but this fails to provide accurate information to enable a measurable reduction in energy consumption.

A new metering code of practice is being introduced to enforce energy monitoring on certain meter sizes. This will provide remote access of energy consumption data in multiple time periods, typically every half hour. This offers the customer the ability to analyse a consumption profile of their site remotely from a computer. This information can then be used to identify unnecessary energy consumption and take corrective action to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Hertfordshire County Council has installed ‘smart meters’ at several of its larger offices, fire stations, libraries, schools and adult care premises to monitor the consumption of gas, electricity and water to cut costs and meet the government’s stringent carbon reduction targets. Carbon and water reduction is now accurately measured and considerable. In many cases the investment has achieved a paybacks in under six months because of the energy savings. Some schools also use energy data in curriculum subjects.

Maple Grove School, Hertfordshire
Smart meters were installed at Maple Grove School in September 2008. Initial analysis of the energy data suggested the heating system was operating during the night through faulty controls. Using the energy data produced it was calculated that over £230 a month of gas was being wasted before the fault was rectified.