British Gas, AlertMe launch energy management trial

British Gas customers could soon gain better insights into their home energy use patterns, thanks to a new partnership between British Gas New Energy and AlertMe.com.

Under an agreement announced today, both companies will begin a trial of home energy management technologies aimed at helping customers reduce their energy consumption, lower their bills and cut their household carbon emissions.

The trial was made possible in part after AlertMe, a provider of smart energy saving systems for homes, in June secured £8 million in Series B funding by investors Good Energies, Index Ventures, SET Venture Partners and VantagePoint Venture Partners. The new cash enables AlertMe to extend its product development program, keep ramping up its distribution strategy and expand its team.

Home energy usage accounts for more than one quarter of total energy consumption across Europe and the United States. Reducing home energy consumption is also the fastest and lowest-cost way to close the large gap between today’s demand and what renewables can supply.

The AlertMe.com energy kit is connected to the Internet via the home’s broadband connection, providing an online service that can be used from home, the office or even while on holiday.  It constantly measures and controls individual appliances within the home as well as measuring and managing the home’s overall energy usage. The homeowner can easily view this information and change settings as desired.

“The introduction of home energy management is an exciting prospect and will help bring the home into the 21st century, saving customers money and reducing carbon emissions,” said Gearóid Lane, managing director of British Gas New Energy. “And it’s all so simple to use — never again will consumers need to stick their heads into a poorly-lit airing cupboard to struggle with complicated controllers.”

The first offering to be trialled with British Gas will be an automated heating control system designed to make it easy for customers to adjust their home heating for minimum energy costs. The system allows homeowners to alter their heating at any time from the Web or any mobile phone. For example, they can turn on their heating before they get home, or control it when away on holiday.

The service could be made available to British Gas customers by the end of 2009.

“When one considers that heating accounts for around 47 per cent of total UK final energy consumption and 78 per cent of energy use outside the transport sector, the economic and environmental potential of this technology becomes clear,” said Pilgrim Beart, CEO of AlertMe.