AlertMe alive to iPhone app opportunity

Smart meter specialist AlertMe will today unveil a range of new applications, including an iPhone app and revamped online interface, designed to make it easier for customers to assess how much energy they are using in their home.

The Cambridge-based company said the improved display technologies had been developed using a new software platform, known as an application programming interface (API), which will allow external partners and developers to build additional applications based on AlertMe's energy monitoring functionality.

The new user interface can be accessed through a web site or smartphone and contains five new applications which the company said would make it easier for customers to track their real-time energy use.

In particular, a new cost prediction application lets users know how much they have spent on energy over a range of different time frames, while a swingometer display shows how each day's energy consumption compares with the average regional and national performance.

Meanwhile, a more detailed display will show which appliances and devices in the home are using the most energy.

The company said the first wave of applications will be followed later this year by additional functionality that allows users to analyse their carbon footprint in real time, measure how much money the household could save by installing solar panels, and set targets for energy and carbon savings.

"We believe consumers should have access to information about their energy use and understand how much they are spending on energy in real time," said Mary Turner, chief executive of AlertMe. "This empowers them to make informed decisions on a day-by-day basis rather than waiting for a shockingly large bill, by which time it's too late."

She added that studies have shown that providing people with greater visibility over their energy use and cost can help them reduce their energy bills by between 15 and 25 per cent, while many AlertMe customers had shown savings of more than 30 per cent.

AlertMe's new applications enter an increasingly competitive market that has seen a growing number of technology firms launch smart meters where energy use data can be accessed through a web portal.

However, the company has secured a number of high-profile endorsements, most notably when Google made AlertMe one of the first European partners for its PowerMeter initiative, allowing AlertMe customers to access energy data through their iGoogle home page.