British Gas flicks switch for online energy management trial

British Gas has announced plans to trial a range of new home energy management systems as part of a new deal with UK-based smart meter specialist AlertMe.com.

The company's British Gas New Energy division said it is to launch a new trial by the end of this year that will allow customers to use AlertMe's automated heating control system to remotely alter the heating settings in their home using their mobile phone or an online interface.

AlertMe.com, which last month secured £8m in investor funding to help develop its portfolio of energy management systems, maintains that the technology helps people cut their energy use by making it easier for them to ensure they are not heating empty homes.

"If you consider that heating accounts for around 47 per cent of the total UK's 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 chief executive at the company Pilgrim Beart.

AlertMe provides a range of different energy management applications, all of which can be controlled remotely and programmed to turn on and off at set times over the internet using the home's broadband connection.

British Gas is also preparing to trial some of the other technologies in AlertMe's portfolio, such as smart plugs and smart lamps, as it seeks to provide customers with new ways of tracking and managing energy use.

“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."