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21st January 2009 York launches nation's first Smart Meter Library programme At the end of December 2008 City libraries right across the city took stock of a collection of smart meters in order to help York residents have access to information about domestic energy consumption. The initiative was the brainchild of Christian Vassie, as Energy Champion for the City of York. 'I was completely fed up with this government's inability to act on assisting residents across the country to have access to smart meter technology, ' says Christian. Smart meters allow the user to better understand how they are consuming energy in the home. ''Libraries are about giving people access to information. I put two and two together and thought why shouldn't the public be able to borrow smart meters from their local library, as easily as they borrow a library book?' says Christian. Within 24 hours of Christian appearing on BBC News promoting the idea the entire stock of smart meters in the city's libraries had been lent out and there was a waiting list of over a hundred people. ''I believe in finding practical solutions to practical problems. I also believe in finding ways to empower as all to make informed decisions about how we live. In Italy 30 million customers have access to smart metering via the electricity company. Here in the UK the government just talks and does nothing. I am delighted that the public has so evidently understood what is being offered here in York. Libraries and local authorities all over the region are talking to York to learn how they can follow our lead. It is a great example of a Lib Dem council leading by example. ' Within months of the scheme being launched it was being copied by councils up and down the country, and in Europe. Link to press story - smart way to beat down bills
26 September 2008 Christian brings 'Smart Meter library' to the city At Last Thursday's Full Council meeting at City of York Council, Christian persuaded councillors of all parties to sign up to his idea of creating a smart meter library service to help residents reduce electricity bills and energy waste in the home. "The Credit Crunch is impacting on everyone," said Christian, who has also been working with council officers to put on a Credit Crunch event on 9th December in the Guildhall. "What we all need, and what this Labour government is seemingly so incapable of delivering, is practical assistance to help us all reduce our bills." Smart meters come in many shapes and size. Some clip to the cable next to your electricity meter and measure total energy consumption across the house. Others plug into wall sockets and help the user understand how much power an individual appliance is costing. "Our first smart meter measured total energy consumption. Within a few days our family had understood more about energy use in the home than we had ever known. Finding out that computers consume electricity even when they are off was a shocking revelation. Forget the argument about standby modes, if your computer is switched on at the wall it is consuming electricity" Christian says. That first meter, called an Electrisave meter [now rebranded as the OWL meter, helped Christian save £170 in the first year alone. The new meter, pictured right, cost just £18. It is very easy to use. Press the button on he extreme right and the display toggles between time passed since you switched it on and kiloWatt hours [or units] of energy used since it was switched on. Within a day the Vassie household learned that their 10 year old fridge freezer was using 4.28 kWh of electricity per day. That works out at 1562.6 kWh or units per year. At 15.79p per unit, from Good Energy, the fridge freezer has been costing £246.73 per year to run! The new fridge freezer costs around £45 per year to run, a saving of £200 per year on the Vassie household energy bill. 30 million customers in Italy have smart metering as standard from their energy company. Why is the government dithering on requiring all energy companies operating in the UK to provide detailed information to customers? As usual the Labour government pretends it is leading the way on tackling climate change when, in fact, we are behind almost every nation in Europe.
USEFUL L INKS
Published and promoted by Christian Vassie, 10 Blake Court, Wheldrake, York YO19 6BT
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