This is a sponsored post on behalf of British Gas.
How much does baby cost in electricity? This is the question I have been pondering this week.
According to our British Gas electricity bill our usage has quadrupled in a year. We have a gas cooker and gas central hating. So the increase in electricity I reckon must be down to the washing machine and the extra washing of baby’s clothes. But can that really lead to a 4x increase? Wifey has another theory – she says it’s because I am working from home more and proves that I am watching daytime TV. An accusation I strongly refute.
By pure coincidence I was contacted this week and asked if I’d like to write about British Gas Smart Meters.
Apparently British Gas want to educate people about smart meters, how they work and how – by showing the energy you use in real time – they can be used to efficiently manage energy consumption in a household and save money.
Smart meters replace current gas and electricity meters, and with the addition of a stylish Smart Energy Monitor (that can easily be placed in a kitchen or dining room) you will be able to see how much energy you’re using in pounds and pence… So you can see exactly what it costs to boil a kettle, play your favourite x-box game, watch an hour of TV. Run one washing cycle etc
They seem a really good idea. At the moment I have no idea what of our electric devices consume. It would be very useful to know what we are using.
The British Government has mandated that by 2019 all homes in the UK will have a smart meter and they hope their introduction will make all of us much more aware of energy consumption, help us save money and also reduce carbon emissions. And I think they might be right.
I was listening to a radio programme the other day about a school that had installed smart meters, and by getting the kids involved in science projects to monitor electricity usage and switch off classroom lights, shutdown computers etc had managed to reduce their electricity bill by over £100k.
British Gas have committed to helping their customers enjoy the benefits of smart meters (http://www.britishgas.co.uk/energy-efficiency/smart-meters.html rel=”nofollow”) early. They have already started this roll out with over 400,000 smart meters installed across homes and businesses in the UK. They say this will grow to around 1.5million by the end of 2012.
I am hoping that they will give me a smart meter soon. Then I can get to the bottom of the mystery of the extra electricity and prove my innocence.
Must go now, Loose Women is on TV.
Oh and if you want to learn more about Smart Meters ,watch this video
British Gas: Our vision for a smart future
I find that I can save hundreds per year by completely avoiding Loose Women. Saves my sanity too.