1 Billion Smart Meters by 2020

A smart meter is an energy meter which keeps detailed statistics on usage, but it can also be used for electricity, gas and water. Additionally, some smart meters can also perform tele-metering, in which they communicate remotely with the utility company. Several countries are using smart meter technology, and many manufacturers of meters offer smart meters containing different features.

Depending on the smart meter, it may be possible for the utility company to collect data of energy usage in real time without ever having to manually take a meter reading again. Some meters have the ability to report power outages and other issues enabling the utility provider to give a quicker response.

The constant monitoring of energy usage can allow for power balancing which can vary the usage during peak demand periods. For example, this may be needed on hot summer days when people use their air conditioning.

Customers benefit by using smart meters as they can see a detailed breakdown of energy use enabling customers to save on their bills by looking at how they could save. This could be simple things like getting your washing machine to run at night when it’s cheaper.

Smart meters can be linked to smart billing systems. People can join a program which offers an incentive to consume power during off-peak hours. With a smart meter, it is possible for the utility company to monitor power usage by time and set different rates for different times of the day.

In quite a few countries, smart meters are part of a program of grid modernisation. With increasing populations and the rise in use of electronic products, several nations are finding it hard to provide the required amount of energy with their existing grids. The use of smart meters can help improve energy services to reduce service interruptions.

The use of smart meters is increasing rapidly and it is estimated there will be nearly one billion by 2020. This is a fourfold increase over the next ten years. The Chinese are doing a huge rollout of smart meters which will ensure the huge growth expectations.

A recent report by Pike Research estimates 251 million meters will be in use before the end of the year. This will double to 535 million units by 2015. By 2018 the smart meter will be commonplace and is likely to represent the majority of electric meters installed. Growth will then fall slightly by 2020 to around 963 installations. At this point in time global smart meter penetration will be at around 60% of the market.

Many governments are behind the adoption of the smart meter which will be shown in waves of adoption around the globe with North America peaking in 2012, followed by Asia in 2015 and Europe in 2017.

The UK government are fully behind the use of smart meters and have announced they are aiming to have a smart meter installed in every home by 2020. Smart meters will also play a key role in helping the UK government to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets of at least 34% by 2020. British Gas are also well aware of the benefits of smart meters and have already installed over 258,000 smart meters since it started doing so in 2010.

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This release was published on openPR.