A research team at Swansea University’s School of Engineering has developed what they say is one of the world’s most advanced smart electricity meters, which they hope to market to residential customers. The Wales (UK) school is now using a prototype of the meter, linked to solar panels, to supply nearly 1.5MWh per year of free ‘green electricity’ to the university. The smart meter is designed to be the focal point for a consumer’s personal energy queries. It monitors a household’s energy consumption, giving information not just through a traditional power reading but via user-friendly animated graphics of money on a large clear screen on the meter. It also goes one step further than most other existing meters in that it monitors individual power circuits in the home, including upstairs lighting, downstairs lighting and kitchen sockets. The team hopes to further develop the technology to monitor individual appliances. The visual presentation of consumption information is matched by a similar display showing power generated from micro-renewable technologies such as wind and solar that could power the home in a ‘plug and play’ manner. The smart meter already deployed at Swansea is linked to a number of solar panels on the roof of the university’s engineering building through a power converter. The power delivered from the solar panels is monitored within the meter to allow the ‘green energy’ produced to be reviewed in an easy to understand way. This allows users to easily determine whether the renewable technology has been a beneficial purchase and the likely financial performance from the initial investment. The meter also has communication features allowing readings of power consumption and generation to be instantly available to the supplier and consumer via web pages, wireless in-home displays, or even a television channel. Though smart metering is catching on among businesses, it has yet to make much headway in the residential market. Swansea researcher Richard Lewis says the next step will be “a fully functional prototype from the current demonstration unit,” followed by residential trials beginning in the next 18 months. Go to: Innovations Report

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