Metering technology helps council conserve energy
December 1st 2007 Technology developed by Sensus
Metering Systems could help
2500 households in Oldham cut
their district heating scheme bills
by up to 50% and provide
significant financial benefits to the
local metropolitan council.
It will soon be possible for
thousands of energy meters to be
read remotely and automatically in
council-owned homes linked to
district heating schemes across a
120 square mile area of Oldham.
Residents will pay only for the
heating energy they use, rather
than being billed a fixed amount.
The project, led by Switch2
Energy Solutions, has at its heart
an advanced Automatic Meter
Reading technology –
Sensus((S))cout - which will
ultimately enable all energy
meters to be read from a central
office using a
fixed radio
network.
The effect of
the technology is
already being
felt, with some
households
reportedly
cutting up to
50% off heating
bills compared to
the previous unmetered supply.
Jayne Clare, Switch2's managing
director, says "The Oldham project
brings together the latest
technology to measure and read
energy consumption linked to the
district heating scheme.
"This means residents pay only
for the heat they use, which will
make households much more
energy conscious – and that will
impact on the energy required to
run the district heating scheme
and on its CO2 footprint.
"Moreover, the fact that all the
meters in the 2500 homes can be
read automatically and remotely
will also deliver significant
operational benefits to the
Council." More articles from Sensus Metering Systems: | 
