British Gas customers to get touch-screen smart-energy displays

Starting next month, British Gas will begin rolling out “stylish” touch-screen displays designed to help its customers see how much energy they’re using and better identify ways to control their power bills.

According to British Gas, the displays are “the first of a new generation” of small, fully portable devices that link directly to smart electricity and gas meters to show detailed information and real costs about energy use in real time. Customers will be able to compare their gas and electricity use by the hour, day, week and year.  They will also be able to set their own energy targets and launch a traffic light system that issues warnings when they are using large amounts of electricity.

“We want people to understand the energy they use and make informed choices about when to use it and how to save it,” said Dean Keeling, managing director of British Gas Smart Homes. “The new smart meters and energy displays are the foundations for doing this.”

The new displays, developed by metering company Landis+Gyr, will be installed in homes at the same time that British Gas begins rolling out its new smart meters.

Smart energy and water meters are seen as one way to help people understand their resource use, find ways to conserve and cut back on their utility bills. According to the UK’s Energy Saving Trust, smart meters can help British households save up to 10 percent on their bills, which amounts to an annual saving of about £105.

For British consumers, smart meters and displays will also mean that customers will only pay for the energy they use and will no longer get estimated bills.

According to government goals, all homes in the UK are to be fitted with a smart meter by 2019.  British Gas already has the largest rollout of smart meters in the country, with nearly 400,000 residential and business customers now having the updated technology.