Smart Meter

They have given us a smart meter. In fact everyone is going to get a smart meter in the coming year or two, it is part of an EU carbon thing, so you may as well prepare yourself.

It isn't that smart. It doesn't engage in conversation "Ah, I see you turned the kettle on, time for a nice cup of tea and a sit down eh?" It does however dispense daily disapproval from its perch on the wall. Each computer left turned on, each slice of bread toasted and every cup of tea are counted, weighed in the balance and found wanting.

It measures gas and electricity, and records your energy use hour by hour. It will even tell you that if you carry on like this, sir, you will exceed your daily budget...

All this extra information is mildly interesting. Even when everything seems to be turned off and the fridge and freezer are having a short snooze, I find the house still uses about 80 watts just being there. If there is any sign of life such as a television and a light or two then suddenly we are using half a kilowatt.

I assume the intention is that we are shamed into reducing our energy consumption by the baleful eye in the corner. Time will tell.




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