About Energy Display Devices

As the name suggests, an energy display device is a device that is used to display energy consumption within the home. Energy can come in many forms such as:

Mains Electricity - coming in from the national grid, and used throughout your home to power your tv, computer, lamps & lights etc

Mains Gas - coming into the house from the national grid and used in your home for boilers, hobs, cookers etc

Solar Photovaltic Panels - solar panels mounted in the garden or on the roof of the house generate electricity. This is typically fed back into the grid, for which you are given a rebate by your energy supplier. More can be found out about Solar PV & the feed in tariff here

Solar Thermal - solar panels mounted in the garden or on the roof of the house that heat up water using the suns energy. The water can be used as hot water for the radiator or hot water for your shower etc. The system is usually used in conjunction with a backup boiler or other heating device for times when it is not sunny.

Wind - a wind turbine mounted to the roof of the house or in the garden that generates electricity from wind.

Water - although not classed as energy or required by the code for sustainable homes, some devices also allow the ability to monitor water usage.

Benefits of Energy Display Devices

The primary purpose of an energy display device is to educate the occupants of a house as to how much energy is being used by a pheripheral. For example, if the energy display device is used to monitor Mains Electricity, you will be able to see in real time how much electricity is used by your TV when it is turned on, and when it is on standby. Likewise when you turn the lights on in a room you will see how much energy they are using. You will be able to compare the cost of running your energy efficient lights against your older lights.

Energy display devices that allow you to input your tariff costs (required for the code for sustainable homes) will show you the actual cost of using your TV and the amount it is costing you when left turned on or turned to standby.

An example of this is the amount of electricity a kettle can use - approximately 40 pence per hour. It does not normally take long for bill payers to realise which products are more expensive to run and make behavioural changes to reduce unnecessary consumption.

Ultimately this leads to less energy being wasted which has numerous benefits for both the consumer and environment:

- Reduction of CO2 emissions
- Reduction in waste of valuable resources
- Reduction in bills for home owner
- Can help home owner find most cost effective energy tariff for their use

Smart meters & Pulse meters

Smart meters are due to be phased in over the coming years into our homes when standard meters are replaced.

What is a smart meter?

Although the precise specification or definition of a smart meter is yet to be confirmed, smart meters are generally expected to monitor your consumption in real time (or near to real time) and keep a track of energy consumption on an hourly basis (or regular basis). The idea is that both the utility provider and the consumer will have much more information with regards to their energy usage. This in turn allows the suppliers to better manage their energy or water supply and provide more accurate billing. This is especially helpful for people on off peak or overnight tariffs etc.

Smart meters may also be beneficial to consumers, although as there is no specification at present it cannot be guaranteed that the information they provide will be available to the consumer. Assuming however that the above consumption will be available to the consumer, this will help them become more aware of just how much energy or water is being used by the house and thus helping control and save resources.

As mentioned above, at present there is no exact specification for a smart meter and thus there is not guarantee for consumers that they will be able to readily access the information provided by their smart meter when it is installed into their home. There is also no exact date for smart meter installation.

Ewgeco - no need for Smart Meters

The Ewgeco system is unique as it relies on its meters being pulse-enabled to take a reading. The majority of meters installed and available on the market are pulse enabled. This means that the Ewgeco system can be used with a very wide variety of different meters (such as electricity, gas, water, solar PV, solar thermal, heat meters etc) and can also be easily retrofitted, without the need to install new meters.

For further features and benefits of our energy display devices please see other parts of this page or click on the products for more information.

In Home Display (IHD)

As part of the Governments roll out programme for smart meters, the term IHD is being more frequently used. This stands for In Home Display and is an Energy Display Device that is compatible with smart meters.

The exact specification for IHD (In Home Display) has not yet been decided and as of August 2012 is entering the second stage of public consultation. It is therefore impossible at this point to see how an IHD (In Home Display) will be similar or different to the current CfSH Energy Display Devices.

Code for Sustainable Homes 2010 requirements - ENE3 Energy Display Devices

• 2 available credits
• Credits worth 1.17% points each
• Mandatory Element: No

Aim: To promote the specification of equipment to display energy consumption data, thus empowering dwelling occupants to reduce energy use.

Assessment Criteria: