Get Personalised Energy Advice To Help Save Money

Personalised energy advice for households with smart meters is being trialled to help cut energy bills and save money.

British Gas is offering the energy advice, tailored to the individual circumstances of each household, as part of a trial involving up to 10,000 of its smart meter customers over the next six months.

The Government has said that all homes must have a smart meter by 2019.

The British Gas personalised energy advice will be based on the information that smart meters provide on household energy use.

The advice being sent to customers will include:

• Personalised hints and tips on how the household can cut their energy use e.g. did you know that if you leave your boiler on whilst at work or away for the weekend you could pay an extra £140 a year
• A comparison of a household’s energy use compared to other homes of a similar size in the same postcode
• An average breakdown of where the energy is used – how much the average customer spends on lighting, heating the home, heating hot water and appliances. Customers can then see the areas where most savings could be made.

Dean Keeling, Managing Director of British Gas Smart Homes, said: “Households are under financial pressure but personalised energy efficiency advice is another way of using smart meter data to help inform customers so they can take steps to cut their bills.

“Smart meters already give customers greater control and have put an end to estimated bills. Personalised energy efficiency advice is the next piece of the jigsaw for smart meter customers”.

One of the major advantages of a smart meter is that they come with a portable smart energy monitor which shows the customer how much energy they are using in pounds and pence in real time.

The personalised advice will link this information to provide a greater awareness of how energy is being used and give practical tips on how to cut this energy use and show how to save money as a result.

Smart data analytics from technology partner AlertMe will ensure the most relevant information and advice is provided to each household in order to maximize their opportunity to reduce waste and cut bills.

After the trial, which will last for six months, British Gas is looking to extend its personalised energy efficiency advice to all its eligible smart meter customers by the start of 2013.

MoneyHighStreet comments: “Any practical tips on how to save money, whether it be on energy bills or other bills, will no doubt be welcomed by many households.

“The value of having a smart meter is questioned by a lot of people, often because they don’t understand what they are or why they should have one.

“You can learn what a smart meter is by reading an article MoneyHighStreet.com published some time ago.

“Even without a smart meter though, there are a lot of ways you can save energy and thereby save money. For example, how about switching lights off when you leave a room? Or when boiling a kettle to make a mug of coffee, only boil enough water to make the single mug and not several mugs of coffee.

“Our article ‘Six ways to save money on your energy bill‘ may be useful and help you with ideas, including of course switching energy supplier if need be.”