TheOnzoNews

Both the Royal Academy and the All-Party Parliamentary Climate Change Committee have recently called on the government to make a huge investment in improving energy efficiency in the home as part of the fight against global warming.  They are right to point to the chronic energy inefficiency of the country’s existing homes; these account for nearly 40 per cent of carbon gas emissions.  It is probably not realistic, however, to expect huge sums of public money to be devoted to tackling this problem when our national debt is higher in real terms than at any time since the 1680s.  Whatever government is in power, overall cuts rather than investment will inevitably be the order of the day for perhaps the next decade, and neither the scientists nor the parliamentarians indicate on what spending programme they would like to see the axe fall in order to pay for the investment they seek.

If vast sums of public money are not to be thrown at this problem, the most promising way to deal with it in practical terms is surely by promoting behaviour change among householders. 

The government claims the general introduction of “smart” gas and electricity meters will do that, by inducing consumers to save money and reduce their carbon emissions.  This is not true.  Smart meters provide greater accuracy and frequency of billing but on their own do not provide any more information to consumers, or incentive to change their behaviour, than the present generation of meters does 

Reducing energy usage and cutting carbon emissions requires effective consumer engagement.  Research shows that real-time energy monitoring displays in the home are the most effective tool for bringing about a reduction in energy use.  They can cause a fall of some 14 per cent if used fully.  There are also other mechanisms, some of which are even more cost effective; these include websites and printed reports, and messages sent to mobile telephones.  All these mechanisms may not yet be accessible by all, but as they are complementary it is likely that a combination of them will indeed bear fruit.  

Rather than demanding spending that is just not going to materialise in the short to medium term, commentators should accept reality and concentrate on promoting more practical ways of meeting the aim of cutting energy use in the home.

In the UK, Onzo has been explaining that the benefits to the consumer of basic smart meters have been exaggerated and that they should be supplemented by means of providing compelling and actionable information on energy usage.  In New Zealand, this argument has been accepted by the government.  There the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment and the Energy Minister have described the new generation of power meters as “dumb meters” and insisted that suppliers offer their customers proper tools to help them manage their consumption.  This broadcast item from New Zealand’s 3 News television channel discusses the issue, and shows the Environment Commissioner making her point using the Onzo display.

Onzo has noted the recent report by U Switch, the price comparison and switching service, that average energy bills might rise to £5,000 a year by 2020.  U Switch’s Director of Consumer Policy, Anne Robinson, has advised the consumer to take action by investing in making homes more energy efficient and reducing the amount of energy used.

A major disincentive to investment in energy efficiency is the extremely long time it takes for that investment to be repaid through lower energy bills.  Onzo argues that the best way to overcome this problem is for the cost of the improvements to be carried not by the householder but by the home.  There is a number of ways in which this could be achieved.  Onzo has called for local authorities to make loans available for the purpose, using funds raised by the issuing of bonds, which would be repaid by successive home-owners through the council tax machinery.

A significant obstacle to reducing energy use in the home is a lack of understanding of power consumption.  Householders badly need a means of providing them with comprehensive and actionable information on energy use.  Research shows that energy monitoring displays are the most effective tools for realising a reduction in energy use.  There are, however, other mechanisms, some of which are likely to be more cost effective.  These include web sites and printed reports, and messages sent to mobile telephones.  As they are complimentary, it is likely that a combination of these mechanisms will be the most effective.

Onzo therefore believes that in the programme to roll out smart meters, which is scheduled to take place between now and 2020, a way should be found to allow energy suppliers to fulfil their obligation to provide information to the consumer through a comprehensive range of these tools.