Research on smart meters

Following on from last week’s blog post explaining about smart meters, energy supplier E.ON has come up with some interesting research.

The research was carried out in April and shows that in the UK many adults do not know about or understand about smart meters. Of those who took part, 60% said they knew what a smart meter was, but only 45% could explain it. It was the older people who were more likely to know and be able to define what a smart meter is, with 55% of over 55 year olds answering.

Interestingly six out of ten people would ‘reduce energy usage if they could visualise their consumption’, so maybe if we can all get our heads around the idea of smart meters and what they can do, we will see the benefits.

Younger adults (18 – 24 year olds) were ‘the most enthusiastic at viewing smart meters as having a positive effect on their lives’. Men are twice as likely as women to want a smart meter, but women are more likely to reduce their energy usage if they could ‘visualise their behaviours’.

The research went on to identify that half the population already use technology for things such as online banking etc and so it would seem that with a bit more knowledge about smart meters, the UK will come to accept them and the benefits they can bring to our homes and saving energy.