World events have made households more conscious of energy consumption. Electricity is a resource and at home while most of us turn off lights when we leave a room, few of us know how to track our energy consumption.
Enter smart meters. By the end of 2024, every home, business and farm in Ireland will have one installed to measure electricity consumption. But having such a meter is just the first step. By signing up to one of Electric Ireland’s smart meter plans you get to see exactly how your household uses power. It is a simple online tool whose insights and graphs will show you, at a glance, how you can adjust consumption and possibly change your behaviour.
A recent survey of more than a thousand customers by Electric Ireland found that lack of transparency and detail on their energy bills was a key frustration. Jackie Garvey, customer experience manager for smart meters at Electric Ireland, says that this contributes to what she calls “bill shock”, when a much higher bill than you expect lands in the inbox or post box.
“Other bills, your phone, for example, are itemised and you can see usage clearly detailed. With an electricity bill, this level of detail was absent before smart meters came in,” Garvey explains.
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“If the bill was higher than expected, you could only guess why. Maybe someone had left the immersion on for an extended period, for example, but by the time you figured it out, you had already used the electricity and the bill had been paid.”
In contrast, a smart meter essentially records energy usage in real time. By taking a staggering 48 readings a day it provides accurate information you can use to change such behaviour.
The immediate benefit of a smart meter is that estimated bills will become a thing of the past, something that grated on consumers and was highlighted in Electric Ireland’s research. “If you forget to submit a reading it could be up to six months before you get an accurate update. Gaining access to the meter to read it was also a problem for some,” Garvey points out.
ESB Networks began installing smart metres in 2019; some 900,000 have been installed to date, with some 2.2 million due for installation.
So, how will such a plan work for your household?
Through analysis, Electric Ireland’s presents your consumption in simple formats to give you a better understanding of usage. These are broken down under headings such as “refrigeration”, “space heating”, “laundry” and “always on”. The latter covers all those devices that are not switched off at the mains when not in use, such as kettles, ovens and washing machines.
Customers also receive a monthly email with tips on how to use less energy and bill predictions, that should help remedy the aforementioned “bill shock”.
Having signed up to a home electric plus 24-hour price plan, Garvey has used these insights in her own 1950s Dún Laoghaire home, which, by her own admission, is not very energy efficient.
“The house was well above average when it came to energy consumption,” Garvey says. “One of the most immediate problem areas was my fridge freezer. As a percentage of my energy usage it was disproportionately high. To be fair, it was old, so I got rid of it and bought a new one. Within a few weeks I could see the reduction in energy consumption on the bill.”
But Garvey’s area of greatest consumption was a complete surprise. Despite the fact that her home used gas-fired central heating, the culprit was underfloor heating mats in the bathroom, a real luxury on winter mornings.
“I absolutely loved it but we never managed to control the thermostat properly - it could be on all night sometimes. Then it broke and I saw that my consumption dropped by a third.”
For many the tumble dryer is a heavy energy user, such data will vary from household to household depending on the age and number of appliances in it. For Garvey, laundry was “way down the list”, despite having two teenagers.
There are several plans available.
A time-of-use plan charges different prices for electricity usage depending on the time of day utilised. Typically, it charges cheaper rates when electricity demand is at its lowest, for example the hours between 11pm and 8am, and higher rates at peak times, such as weekdays between 5pm and 7pm, when demand is at its highest.
A home electric plus night-boost option offers a cheaper night tariff that is ideal for electric vehicle (EV) owners. It includes a hyper-low rate between 2am and 4am.
Another, the home electric plus weekender, gives you free electricity on either Saturday or Sunday, between the hours of 8am and 11pm. On this, electricity rates during the working week are higher so it may not suit those working from home or who are retired and at home all the time.
By signing up to a smart meter plan, householders become far more informed on their everyday energy consumption, Garvey says. “It allows households to better understand their usage and helps them to make small changes to their behaviour that will reduce amount of electricity they use.”
For more detail on Electric Ireland’s smart meter plans, see electricireland.ie/smart-meters