The Futures Company recently carried out the first ever 'Smart Meter Challenge' in the UK. The survey used British Gas smart meter technology and monitored the usage of 14 households from across the UK. The results were compared against a further 14 households who had not been using the new smart technology. The results showed that participants were using 6% less gas and 7% less electricity compared to the households not using the smart technology.

The main finding of the study was that the smart technology drastically raised awareness of many different ways that households can save energy, whilst the real-time readings improved overall engagement with consumption.

However the time line for the installation of 50 million smart meters has taken another setback, with delays predicted up to a year. The Data Communications Company (DCC), who are in charge of the communications system for the devices, has said there is “no feasible way to maintain the time-scales of the current...plan”. This comment was made in response to Government officials demanding changes to the specifications of the system. As a result, the Department of Climate Change (DECC) has said that the main installation programme will also be delayed, so that it remains in sync with the delayed communications system.

The picture is very different across Europe; with 67.9 million smart meters already in use across the 30 European countries, there is much to learn from the data being collected. Delegates at the 6th Annual Smart Energy UK & Europe 2015 event will be looking forward to hearing case studies from Italy, Spain and the Nordic countries - as the majority of installed meters are in these countries and thus far, have been those most compliant with the new technology.

On the 29th & 30th of January 2015 ECT Venues in St. Paul’s London will play host to the must-attend event for the Smart industry calendar. The 6th Annual Smart Energy UK & Europe Summit 2015 is a two day conference and exhibition and is the leading and largest event of its kind to focus on European smart metering and smart grids.

The event features 5 conference streams for delegates; Smart Metering UK, European Smart Metering, Energy Storage, Smart Water, and Smart Grids & Future Cities. Speakers include Neil Pennington, Director of Smart Innovation, RWE npower, Dora Guzeleva, Head of Networks Policy, Ofgem, Chris Welby, Policy & Regulatory Affairs Director, Good Energy, and Robert Denda, Smart Metering Project Coordinator, Endesa.

The Smart Energy UK & Europe Summit also features the celebrated European Smart Metering Awards 2015. There are 3 awards up for grabs for Utilities, including the coveted Roll-out Innovation Award. There are also 8 awards available for the smart solutions industry.