A Burnaby company has been developing a smarter meter reader. They’re currently being used in Ontario, California and some southern US states, and are part of a larger vision for ‘smart’ energy networks.

At its most basic function, Tantalus Systems ‘smart’ meters let the home owner know what’s going on with their energy consumption. Right now, these meters simply record power consumption. A story in the Montreal Gazette explains:

the meters look virtually the same as all other electrical meters, but that they include a radio transmitter that lets consumers know when they’re spending more money. Energy typically costs more to produce during peak times when more people are using it – around the dinner hour, for instance, when people are cooking, using dishwashers and maybe throwing in a load of laundry. full story here

A quick look at the Tantalus web site shows that this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of their plans for managing power consumption, with networked meters talking to a central system and even allowing for remote control. Basically, each meter is part of a larger local area network – smart grid.

On the face of it, it makes perfect sense. If nothing else, maybe it’ll do away with the archaic system actually sending someone out to your home to read the meter. Aside from that mundane task, the benefits of a smart meter are obvious in helping home owners be more selective about their power consumption.

But you don’t have to wait until the technology gets implemented to do something. You can act now.

SPEC has some great tips on making you house more energy efficient and info on Energy Star appliances. Terasen Gas has their Home Energy Savings Tips web page, and a PDF pamphlet you can download.

photo from the Tantalus web site