Digital home to help slash energy bills

Home owners could soon monitor how much energy they are consuming and automatically turn off devices that are not in use through their TVs, thanks to a new energy management technology developed by UK firm AlertMe.

The Cambridge-based company – which provides home security technologies that integrate with an internet connected wireless hub – has developed "smart plugs" that can cut the power to certain appliances using the wireless hub and is working on similar functionality for managing heating and monitoring energy use across the whole home.

Speaking to BusinessGreen.com, AlertMe's chief financial officer Michael Black, said that the new products would be launched early next year and would allow home owners to intelligently manage their energy use over the internet.

"You'll be able to text your home to turn the heating on an hour before you get home," he explained. "You'll also be able to use temperature sensors or weather forecasts accessed on the internet to lower the heating level if it is going to be a warm day."

He added that a smart meter clipped onto conventional energy meters would allow householders to track their energy use in real time and sign up to alerts if they are exceeding their expected energy budget.

The company estimates that the technology will cut domestic energy use and associated carbon emissions by a quarter, saving the average home £30 a month on its heating and electricity bills.

Black said that the company was talking to energy firms about deploying the technology for their customers and was working on a business model that could see energy companies fund the initial roll out and then charge customers a monthly subscription fee.

"Anything with an up front cost that will save people money in the future faces barriers to deployment so a subscription model where the end user has no upfront cost is an appealing model," he said. "We're considering a £10 a month fee."

In addition, to providing users with the ability to manage energy use over the internet, the company this week announced it has partnered with digital switchover consultancy firm Simply Digital Consulting to develop technology that would allow users to access the same functionality through their TV's digital set top box.

"It is quite straight forward to integrate our hub with a digibox and then the user can access the functionality through a browser on the TV," explained Black. "You could even get alerts on the TV screen if you are using more energy than you have budgeted."

The two companies have completed a successful trial of the system and are now looking to roll it out to a number of social housing projects from mid-2009.

"The fact is smart grids are years, if not decades away," said Black. "This is a way of dropping much the same functionality into homes at a fraction of the cost."